iPhone

Review and Save with Logos

Here is a new promo from Logos.  They are giving away free books in exchange for reviews of their apps. They want an “honest rating and review” for the apps for iOS and Android.  This is an interesting way to generate app store reviews, and is not really all that painful.

The first book was The Life of Charles Hodge by Archibald A. Hodge, and today they hit 2500 reviews and started giving away Luther’s Commentary on Galatians.  Both books have been widely available as a ebook since Al Gore first invented the Internet, but it is nice to have them in the Logos format.  In addition to the older free book, they are discounting another book by 50%.  So far it is Fee and Stuart’s How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth and How to Read the Bible Book by Book.  Both are worth having although they are widely available in print for a few dollars.  Still, if you are looking for some basic Bible introductory material, these are both worth reading.

I read books with several apps (Kindle, Google Books (Play), GoodReader, Kobo, Goodreads, even Stanza occasionally), and I find that the Logos reader is the best of all.  They were the first to use real page numbering, the footnote system is the best by far, and the highlighting is amazing.  Notes sync between the desktop and the mobile device, so any changes I make are made on either platform.

Logos books can be read with the Logos App, the Vyrso App, or the Faithlife Study Bible.

The promo lasts through October 19, so do your part to help out the team and review Logos in the app store of your choice.  More books will be “unlocked” as the numbers grow.  While I am hoping for a Free International Critical Commentary set, I do not think that is going to happen.

New iPhone / iPad App – Think Christianly

The folks at Zondervan shared a link to a new free iPhone app in support of Jonathan Morrow’s recently published Think Christianly.  Morrow is has an M.Div and MA from Talbot, School of Theology and seems to have fully embraced social media as a part of ministry. The Think Christianly website has a real “emergent” feel, the material found on the site is solidly evangelical.

The App is an interesting way to access the website.  It is not as trendy as the new Relevant App, but in all fairness the Think Christianly app is designed for the iPhone, not the iPad so many of the “bells and whistles” are just not available. The App is a good way to access the blog, Twitter Feed, and Podcasts.  All of the Podcasts are from Morrow and covers a number of relevant apologetic topics (Is Hell for Real?  Spiritual but Not Religious?  Is Religion Dangerous?)  The App also offers access to a number of short videos on similar topics.  I watched the video on the problem of evil.  At just under 7 minutes, Morrow explains the basics elements of the issue and gives (what I think) is a fairly standard (and correct) answer.

The apologetics found at Think Christianly might not appeal to everyone, but Morrow is doing some good work.  If anything, the site and app are traditional in their approach to apologetic issues.  Maybe that is the problem, if the goal is to reach people with solid answers in the (post) modern world.  I suspect that the people who will find the most use of this app are Christians struggling to keep their faith rather than outsiders and seekers looking for solid answers.  I could be wrong about that.  But this App is far from a collection of Nooma videos, it intends to challenge the user to think a bit harder about hard topics.  What is more, the app / site holds to the belief that there are some answers to these questions.

One downside for the app (for me) is that the app is designed for the iPhone and therefore does not take advantage of the higher video quality of the iPad.  The App is built with MethodApps and the same “look and feel” as other apps built with that tool.