Is Logos for You?

In the past two posts I've shown you how Logos works and some of my favorite features that it has to offer. Today, I want to set out to answer the question I've been posing all along: Is this product right for the average woman?

At the outset it must be admitted that every single Christian will benefit from the resources available to them in Logos. It is definitely worth its hefty price tag and has the potential to enrich the Bible study of everyone from teenagers to grandparents to businessmen and women to the stay-at-home mom. In this way Logos is for everybody.

But, before making such a great investment, it would be wise to take a few things into consideration:

1.) The Price Tag

With the most basic package starting out at $294.95, you must be in a financial position that allows for such a purchase. Is it worth it? Of course it is.  But for the majority of households, Logos may be considered a luxury in terms of how they study the Bible rather than a necessity. If so, consider saving up for it as an investment for your family, or making use of their payment plans.

2.) What Will You Use it For?

As I said earlier, Logos will benefit everyone's Bible study, but some will find it more helpful than others. If you are a new mom who finds it difficult to get 20 minutes of Bible reading in a day, then Logos is obviously not worth its price tag right now because you would rarely have the opportunity to make use of its vast amount of resources. It would be far wiser for you to spend the little time you have simply reading and meditating on God's Word like Christians have been doing for centuries. You will not be less of a disciple of Christ because you don't know the different greek words for "love."

However, if you are at a point in your life where you have time to commit to intense Bible study - something we should all desire - then Logos would truly be a blessing to you. In Jen Wilkin's book, Women of the Word, she wisely suggests spending a great deal of time in a biblical text on your own, observing, meditating, and making notes on the text before bringing commentaries to bear on your Bible study. Having Logos to use after you've made all of the observations you can on your own would be like having your own personal assistant to call upon, bringing to your attention all of the word studies, facts, maps, books, and commentaries that will deepen your understanding of the text.  As your library of commentaries and books within Logos grows, you will be able to study each text to profoundly new levels.

Also worth noting is the ability to call upon a substantial amount of commentaries without taking up living space in your home. Not everyone has or wants a library dedicated to commentaries and other books in their home, but every Christian should desire the benefit of those commentaries and books.

Of course women who are in teaching positions in their church will find Logos to be of profound value as they seek to handle the Word of God faithfully. If you are already making use of commentaries and other reference materials, you should certainly consider whether investing in Logos would be a wise use of your money. It would speed up your study time, give you a wider selection of resources, and potentially allow you to serve those you are responsible for teaching, better. Of course it goes without saying that writers and bloggers would benefit from Logos in the same way.

I also think it is important to consider how Logos could be used by the whole family. This is a program that everyone could find helpful as you grow together in your knowledge of the Lord. I could see it being of particular use for homeschooling families.

3.) Can Your Computer Handle It?

Does your computer have the space to run such a large program? Adding Logos to an already cluttered and full computer will slow it down to a snail's pace (which would be why it is not on my MacBook, but rather on our desktop that my husband keeps nice and tidy).

4.) Will You Take the Time to Learn It?

There is a steep learning curve to Logos. Don't plan on opening it up the first day and starting the most intense Bible Study you've every experienced. You will need to be able to take the necessary time to explore all of its features before hoping to get the most out of it.

While there is a helpful youtube channel dedicated to explaining how to use the different features of Logos, I did not find a simple, "Here are the basic steps you would go through to get the most out of your Logos experience" video. Perhaps I was asking a little too much.

If you are not going to take the time to explore and master the program you will have a very expensive tool that is useless.

5.) Are You Ready to Go Digital?

The reason why Logos is so great is because it can search all of your resources at once and pick out every single instance where the subject you are searching for is mentioned. Obviously, it will not search the books that are still lining your beautiful book shelves, so you have to decide if you will continue to buy hard copies of books (oh how I love them) or if you will embrace the digital revolution. We have decided to make our commentary purchases from here on out through Logos because of the immense benefit the search capabilities offer. Other books, will have to be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Worth mentioning is the fact that you can will your digital library to someone upon your death, which means you don't have to worry about your growing library dying with you one day, and thus all of the  money you spent being wasted.

Final Thoughts

I would certainly encourage every woman who is able to, to make use of the resources available through Logos because I would encourage every woman to study the Word of God to the utmost. It is not just a program for pastors, seminarians, and professors - it is a program for Christians. Unfortunately its price - while warranted - will make it a difficult purchase for many families. You must weigh the value of such an incredible resource against your current financial limitations. If you are able to, Logos will certainly take your regular Bible study to the next level and thus has the potential to give you a more awe-inspiring view of our God.