Huge encyclopaedia: The Dictionary of Christianity and the Bible
With the help of Wikipedia, I've created the Logos' largest encyclopaedia. It has nearly 18,000 articles and 25 million words, making it three times bigger than even the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary. If it was in print form, it would probably fill nineteen 1,000-page volumes.
All the articles in the dictionary come directly from Wikipedia, though don't include tables and images. Crucially, the Dictionary is fully marked-up with links, headwords and a table of contents, which means it functions just like any other Logos resource. The bold links shown above go to other articles in the resource. The links in normal type are online links, normally to Wikipedia itself.
Because of its size, there are 42 .docx files totalling more than 100Mb, which you can download as a .zip file here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zid9v5a520stxzs/Dictionary%20of%20Christianity%20and%20the%20Bible.zip
Make sure you add all the .docx files to the same Personal Book. To do that, you'll first need to unzip the files to a folder of your choice. Then, when you click on 'Add Files', click on first file in that folder, then SHIFT+click on the last file. All the files will be selected:
The book will probably take 30-60 minutes to compile, depending on the speed of your computer. I suggest setting "Type" to "Encyclopedia". There's a cover image included, in the zip file as well. If you want a description, you could use this: This comprehensive dictionary offers the most relevant Wikipedia articles on Christianity, the Bible, theology and Christian history, in one convenient Logos resource. With 25 million words and nearly 18,000 articles it's the most comprehensive encylopaedia of Christian topics available.
I'm interested in your feedback, as always. For obvious reasons I won't be able to make changes to individual articles, but if you notice any systemic problems that a revised algorithm might correct, then please let me know.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
Comments
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Thank you very much for sharing this, Mark. This is really exciting!
Do we have to format this resource as "dictionary", "encyclopedia", or "monograph"?
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Raymond Urne said:
Do we have to format this resource as "dictionary", "encyclopedia", or "monograph"?
"Encylopedia" is best. I've added that into the post.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Mark Barnes said:Raymond Urne said:
Do we have to format this resource as "dictionary", "encyclopedia", or "monograph"?
"Encylopedia" is best. I've added that into the post.
Thanks!
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This is a huge "labour of love". Thanks Mark!
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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Dude! Thanks,
macOS (Logos Pro - Beta) | Android 13 (Logos Stable)
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Hi Mark
I've downloaded it and compiled it - all good.
This is an incredible resource - many thanks for putting it together and for sharing it.
Graham
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thank you
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Thanks Mark. You're a blessing!!!
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Thanks! Great work!
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Thanks Mark.
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Thank you Mark. This is what makes Logos a great resource when you can contribute something like this.
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Thank you very much Mark for this and everything else you do to help us.[:)]
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Thank you, Mark.
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Thank you Mark as always! This is great!
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Graham Criddle said:
This is an incredible resource - many thanks for putting it together and for sharing it.
[Y][Y]
macOS (Logos Pro - Beta) | Android 13 (Logos Stable)
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Thank you Mark. This is awesome!
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[Y]
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Thank you - Mark.
Do you, or anybody else, have a suggested description that could be used as a template? It would make sense to have, or at least start with, a standard that we all will use as we compile the book.
Blessings,
FloydPastor-Patrick.blogspot.com
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With much thanks.
EDIT: Alternative cover, I HAD not compiled it and found the actual GREAT cover you included...
-Dan
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Wow, Dan. Did you make that? It's awesome! Or was there already an ancient book by that title? This looks like a well-worn cover. I couldn't find it in a Google search, though.
Mark did include a jpg file for a cover image in the zip file, BTW.
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Mark,
Thank you very much for this file!
Logos is indexing now, it will take a lot of time....
Looking forward to browsing this new encyclopedia.
Hans
MacOS Sierra / Logos 7 Collector's Edition & All Base Packages / Logos Now
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Dan Francis said:
EDIT: Alternative cover, I HAD not compiled it and found the actual GREAT cover you included...
I like it! I've included it as an alternative in the .zip file.
I see it's from a copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin, which makes sense of the figures below Jesus.
IMPORTANT: If you've already compiled the Dictionary, don't recompile it to add this image, or for any other reason. Although the Dictionary only takes about 30 minutes to compile the first time, a bug in Logos means it will take many days to recompile. This will be fixed in 5.2a, but in the meantime you'll have to delete the old PB and re-add it if you want to re-compile it.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Floyd Johnson said:
Do you, or anybody else, have a suggested description that could be used as a template?
I've added a very brief description to my initial post:
This comprehensive dictionary offers the most relevant Wikipedia articles on Christianity, the Bible, theology and Christian history, in one convenient Logos resource. With 25 million words and nearly 18,000 articles it's the most comprehensive encylopaedia of Christian topics available.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Mark Barnes said:Dan Francis said:
EDIT: Alternative cover, I HAD not compiled it and found the actual GREAT cover you included...
I like it! I've included it as an alternative in the .zip file.
I see it's from a copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin, which makes sense of the figures below Jesus.
IMPORTANT: If you've already compiled the Dictionary, don't recompile it to add this image, or for any other reason. Although the Dictionary only takes about 30 minutes to compile the first time, a bug in Logos means it will take many days to re-compile. This will be fixed in 5.2a, but in the meantime you'll have to delete the old PB and re-add it if you want to re-compile it.
Hi Mark; The plane has already taken off. I have personally been introduced to the bug. Good to know that there is a contingency plan. [:)]
Thanks.
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Erwin Stull, Sr. said:
Hi Mark; The plane has already taken off. I have personally been introduced to the bug. Good to know that there is a contingency plan.
Thankfully you can cancel the rebuild. Last weekend I went away for 36 hours, and when I came back it was still only about 10% through!
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Mark Barnes said:
Thankfully you can cancel the rebuild. Last weekend I went away for 36 hours, and when I came back it was still only about 10% through!
Yes. We live and learn. [:)]
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Bruce Dunning said:
This is a huge "labour of love". Thanks Mark!
Thanks for the culturally-sensitive spelling, Bruce!
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Mark, thanks so much for this. I don't think I have ever been so impatient waiting for a personal book to compile. [:D]
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Magnificent, thank you so much!
I've encountered a problem immediately. I extracted to new folder, but, my computer couldn't find it do I have to wait until the computer finishes indexing this file before I build the PBB?
Meanwhile, Jesus kept on growing wiser and more mature, and in favor with God and his fellow man.
International Standard Version. (2011). (Lk 2:52). Yorba Linda, CA: ISV Foundation.
MacBook Pro MacOS Sequoia 15.4 1TB SSD
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Rosie Perera said:
Wow, Dan. Did you make that? It's awesome! Or was there already an ancient book by that title? This looks like a well-worn cover. I couldn't find it in a Google search, though.
Mark did include a jpg file for a cover image in the zip file, BTW.
Found the cover and added the text...and yes I did see that after the download finished... I just got excited and started right away on a cover.
-Dan
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Beloved said:
I extracted to new folder, but, my computer couldn't find it
Extracting the .zip will only take a few seconds. If you can't find the extracted files, it might be easier to re-extract them, and keep a closer eye on the destination folder. Googling extract zip files windows vista (or whatever operating system you have) should give you the info you need to do that.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Verbum 5.2 SR6 Unable to compile, is any other Mac Verbum user experiencing this? Attached are my log file for the error (tried twice both 86 errors and failed to compile).
-dan
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Thanks again, Mark, for this PBB. Is it possible to create a similar program to extract images related to Christianity and the Bible? Then we could compile these into a PBB, maybe? Just thought I'd ask.
Also, I wonder if anyone knows a simple way to find out who wrote (or contributed to) the Wikipedia articles.
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Dan Francis said:
Verbum 5.2 SR6 Unable to compile, is any other Mac Verbum user experiencing this? Attached are my log file for the error (tried twice both 86 errors and failed to compile).
There were no logs, unfortunately.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Paul Strickert said:
Is it possible to create a similar program to extract images related to Christianity and the Bible? Then we could compile these into a PBB, maybe?
Possibly, if you persuade me of demand [;)] — and give me some examples.
Paul Strickert said:Also, I wonder if anyone knows a simple way to find out who wrote (or contributed to) the Wikipedia articles.
If you click on the "View Online" link you'll be taken to the Wikipedia site for that page. Then click on View History. However, most articles have hundreds, if not thousands of edits, from dozens of contributors. I check a random page (Theophany), and there were 468 edits from 253 different users.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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here are the log 5850.PBB_5886ac90eed44d3c97eae42940a8a115.log
3 errors 86 warnings
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Mark Barnes said:Paul Strickert said:
Is it possible to create a similar program to extract images related to Christianity and the Bible? Then we could compile these into a PBB, maybe?
Possibly, if you persuade me of demand
— and give me some examples.Paul Strickert said:Also, I wonder if anyone knows a simple way to find out who wrote (or contributed to) the Wikipedia articles.
If you click on the "View Online" link you'll be taken to the Wikipedia site for that page. Then click on View History. However, most articles have hundreds, if not thousands of edits, from dozens of contributors. I check a random page (Theophany), and there were 468 edits from 253 different users.
Click on just about any major topic. "Book of Revelation", for example, has some wonderful images of artwork.
A question for you, Mark: How do you personally feel about the quality of scholarship in the Wikipedia articles? Do you trust what you read? Or do you prefer, if possible, to compare its content with more trusted sources? Just curious.
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Thanks for all the work! The article on "Geronimo" caught my eye, and I wondered what it might have to do with Christianity. Who knew that "he joined the Dutch Reformed Church in 1903 but four years later was expelled for gambling"?
Windows 8.1 64-bit, Core i5-3330, 8GB RAM
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Thanks for all your efforts on this Mark. It works great!
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Mark, thank you so much. You are always contributing so much to the Logos community. You are a real blessing to all of us.
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We are all thankful for your effort and sharing. Great resource.
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Dan Francis said:
Verbum 5.2 SR6 Unable to compile, is any other Mac Verbum user experiencing this? Attached are my log file for the error (tried twice both 86 errors and failed to compile).
-dan
Dan, I've had the same issue. I have Logos, not Verbum, but I am running it on a Mac. I've tried to compile 4 times and had the same result each time. I also had 3 errors and 86 warnings. Strange.
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Success. I am kind of overwhelmed, and so grateful. I remember how awestruck I was when the Perseus package came along, and not to diminish the value of Perseus (which I love), this is far greater!
Thanks!
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Dan Francis said:
Verbum 5.2 SR6 Unable to compile, is any other Mac Verbum user experiencing this? Attached are my log file for the error (tried twice both 86 errors and failed to compile).
The compiler is crashing — because a temporary file is missing. It's fair to say that this PB has exposed a number of bugs in Logos, but Logos have been great about fixing them and suggesting workarounds. Over the last few weeks I've had several emails from one of the guys who works on PBs, so I'll let him know about this problem too. Hopefully he can suggest a workaround and get it fixed in the next beta.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Paul Strickert said:
A question for you, Mark: How do you personally feel about the quality of scholarship in the Wikipedia articles? Do you trust what you read? Or do you prefer, if possible, to compare its content with more trusted sources? Just curious.
One of the interesting things about Wikipedia is that it insists that all articles are written from a neutral point of view (NPOV). This wouldn't be the case with any other Bible dictionary, which — depending on the editors/publishers — would be written from a certain perspective (perhaps 'Catholic' or 'evangelical', but at least 'trinitarian'). That is that all the articles need to be acceptable to all branches of Christianity. So you'll find Wikipedia less critical than AYBD, but also less evangelical that NBD.
Wikipedia is also a place which collects existing research, it is not a place for original research. 'Proper' dictionaries — at least the better ones — often ask leading scholars to write articles, and sometimes they slip in their own pet research into the topic. This often makes those dictionaries more interesting than Wikipedia (which can sometimes be a bit wooden), but I doubt it makes them more trustworthy.
Various studies have been done about the quality of Wikipedia articles in general, and they are consistently found to be of high quality. You can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_of_Wikipedia#Comparative_studies
So, I would trust Wikipedia almost as much as I would trust other sources. But, in any dictionary, I would verify any significant point that was new to me.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Mark Barnes said:
So, I would trust Wikipedia almost as much as I would trust other sources. But, in any dictionary, I would verify any significant point that was new to me.
Your overview of Wikipedia is helpful and your advice to verify is wise.
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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Mark Barnes said:
The compiler is crashing — because a temporary file is missing. It's fair to say that this PB has exposed a number of bugs in Logos
I don't suppose switching to the beta channel would help this problem would it?
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Liam Walsh said:
I don't suppose switching to the beta channel would help this problem would it?
I doubt it would make an immediate difference. There's not been a beta release since the fixes Logos have told me they've made. More importantly, I've not seen this problem before, so they may not even be aware of it. But it would be good if a Mac user on the beta could confirm whether they have build problems.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Mark Barnes said:Liam Walsh said:
I don't suppose switching to the beta channel would help this problem would it?
I doubt it would make an immediate difference. There's not been a beta release since the fixes Logos have told me they've made. More importantly, I've not seen this problem before, so they may not even be aware of it. But it would be good if a Mac user on the beta could confirm whether they have build problems.
I was using 5.2a Beta 5 (5.2.1.0054) when the problem introduced itself to me. That's the latest beta.
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