Logos 6 Buyer's Guide: Bronze editions

Since the launch of Logos 4, I've tried to write Buyer's Guides to Logos Base packages. Here are my belated opinions on Logos 6 Bronze packages. Bronze is suitable for students and preachers who need a good general package, intend to do a little work in the original languages, but don't need many commentaries.(There are also guides for Starter, Silver, Gold and Platinum editions.)

Bronze includes everything in Starter and adds much more. It's twice the price, but worth the upgrade, particularly for those studying the original languages. The most useful additions are: the NIV and GNT, several Greek and Hebrew Bibles and Lexicons (including BDB [$49.95], TLNT [$89.95], and TLOT [$99.95]), and the Lexham Theological Wordbook [$69.96]), commentaries such as the 10-volume Socio-Rhetorical Commentary [$199.95] and two older sets: Keil and Delitzsch Commentary [$119.95] and Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. Also added is the Baker Encyclopedia on the Bible [$139.95], the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, [$59.95], several versions of the Septuagint including an English translation [$24.95], several Greek and Hebrew grammars, Bloesch's Christian Foundations Collection [$99.95], Battle's translation of Calvin's Institutes [$69.95], the Alfred Edersheim collection [$69.95] and English translations of Josephus [$19.95] and Philo [$29.95]. Just as importantly, you also get access to the Beitzel Photo Library [$29.95] and other media, and most of the advanced tools, including the Timeline, Sermon Starter Guide and Greek pronunciation.

Anglican Bronze is an interesting upgrade from Anglican Starter. It includes few of the highlights noted in Bronze (only the BDB, TLOT, Septuagint, Philo and the tools and media). In addition to the works of William Law [$149.95], Thomas Cranmer [$179.95] and William Tyndale [$39.95], its highlights are the Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament [$139.95], the 11-volume Old Testament for Everyone series [$139.95], N.T. Wright's Christian Origins and the Question of God Series [$169.95] and the 37 volume Early Church Fathers [$249.95].

Baptist Bronze includes only a few of the highlights from Bronze (BDB, LTW, BEB, Septuagint, Calvin's Institutes and the tools and media). Instead, you get several English Bibles (NLT [$39.95], NRSV [$10] and RSV [$10]), the Holman NT Commentary [$149.97], the New Bible Dictionary [$39.95], What the Bible Teaches [$79.95], several more Greek, Hebrew and English Bibles and interlinears, the works of Arminius [$99.95] and Shedd [$179.95] and a few works of Baptist history.

Lutheran Bronze has BDB, TLOT, TLNT, LTW, Keil & Delitzsch, the Septuagint and the tools and media from the best of Bronze. It also adds the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology [$49.95], the Concise Oxford English Dictionary [$11.95], Pannenburg's Systematic Theology [$129.95], Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament [$229.95], Leupold's Commntaries [$109.95], several collected works, and a smattering of theology and church history — including the 37 volume Early Church Fathers [$249.95].

Pentecostal/Charismatic Bronze shares only BDB, LTW and the tools and media with Bronze. The most valuable is surely the 57-volume A. W. Tozer collection [$399.95], also useful are the works of R. A. Torrey [$179.95] and Andrew Murray [$194.95].

Reformed Bronze has much of Bronze: BDB, TLOT, TLNT, LTW, the Septuagint, Calvin's Institutes, Josephus and Philo and the tools and media. Of what you get instead, the most important is 46 volumes of Calvin's Commentaries and the Opening Up commentary series [$299.95]. Also worth noting is the Armchair Theologians Series [$169.95] and Concise Oxford English Dictionary [$11.95].

Verdict: Choosing between the Bronze packages is tough. Baptist Bronze doesn't really have any stand-out additions, in my opinion. Anglican Bronze, Lutheran Bronze or Reformed Bronze probably represent better value for money than standard Bronze if you can manage without the English Bibles and BEB, simply because of the better commentaries and/or the Church Fathers. Pentecostal/Charismatic Bronze loses a lot, but gains a lot in Tozer. Go with your denominational instincts: choose Anglican if you want the Fathers and For Everyone, Reformed if you want Calvin, Pentecostal if you want Tozer, and Lutheran if you want the Fathers and Augsburg.

Want more? You can read the entire guide to 37 base packages at my website: http://www.logosbiblesoftwaretraining.com/documents/logos-6-buyers-guide/