Transforming the way you work with Libronix.
Well maybe or maybe not but I am hoping for a growing collection of tools which will assist you in working with Libronix.

The First major project comprising Libronix Tools is a conversion filter which will take Openoffice.org documents and directly export them into ready to compile Libronix Sermon Files.
After that is finished I plan on creating some other XSLT filters for Openoffice.org which will enable import/export functionality for a number of Libronix's XML based documents.
You can read more about the first filter which is somewhat simply named OOo2lbxsfl by clicking the link below. (or here if you insist).
The file, code hosting and bug reporting and more should all be done at the Sourceforge site. I will of course host the completed version here but the most up to date version will always be available at the Sourceforge site.

• Project page on Sourceforge
• Bug Reports

There's a post on the Logos Blog about Logos in the Classroom. Actually it's a commercial for a 15 minute talk by Senior VP Dale Pritchett, which itself is basically a commercial aimed at Seminary professors to convince them to replace their single classroom textbooks with the full Logos Digital Library. If you have the 15 minutes you should listen. If you only have about 7, do a quick read of the PDF transcript.
I have two simple observations to make.

Upgrade the audio please

The audio is probably over compressed. It's either that or the audio is the result of several takes and a bad patch job. Dale comes into various sentences sounding completely different and it seems with different breathing patterns; almost as if they've taken two or more clips and sliced and diced them into one speech. The only reason I mention this is because I found it annoying to listen to. I'm tempted to say it's over compressed because I've experienced the same phenomena with other Logos media. Michael Heiser's excellent lecture "The concept of the Godhead in the Old Testament" was plagued in it's Camtasia format with horrible over compression that introduced all sorts of nasty audio artifacts into the speech. It's worth downloading the MP3 on that one instead of listening to the stream.

Yes, But...

I agree wholeheartedly with the principle message of Mr. Pritchett's speech. But I also see a problem

I'm disappointed... I was hoping to attend Camp Logos II this year, but can't go due to time conflicts... Still, I am learning quite a bit by writing for and teaching the NoVA Logos Users group, plus my own personal bible studies using the software...

I find it just amazing how deep into an original language study I can go, without actually knowing the languages, yet be confident I am learning... (You can see some of what I have learned and taught in the tutorials posted here: ( http://groups.google.com/group/logos-connections-springfield-va-usa/web/... ) It even may encourage me to learn them... :) [Oops, just noticed the links on the other site aren't all working... I will contact the Group manager and try to get things updated this week...]

For those interested in influencing Logos Libronix 4.0, please visit the newsgroups over at news.logos.com (you will need a newsreader like Outlook Express) and browse around. The owners and creators of Logos are always asking for input on various areas over there and they listen!

Logos Website: http://www.logos.com

God Bless...

John

EDIT: I corrected a misspelling in the name of the book. Please download new version attached to this post below.

A PBB resource of E.W. Hengstenberg's Commentary on Ecclesiastes is now ready. You may download it below.

Ecclesiastes is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. Wise are the words of Solomon, the author of this book. I have found three particular sayings in this book to be wise beyond measure: First, "Vanities of vanities, all is vanity!" -- The key to understanding Ecclesiastes in my opinion is to see that the book paints a realistic picture of what life is like under the Fall. Perhaps the best commentary on Ecclesiastes is Romans 8:20, which tells us God subjected all creation to futility in hope that the creation would be set free from bondage.

Second, "Remember your Creator." Paul makes clear in Romans 8:20ff that the Creator had a design in mind in redeeming the world from its futility. Thus, Ecclesiastes points to the redemptive work of Christ.

Finally, "Fear God and keep his commandments." The Covenant God requires fidelity from his people. Yet, God's commands are not burdensome; they are the gracious commands of a gracious God.

Grace,
Bill

I think I finally found a way to convert Libronix file to a PDA readable format... I need to experiment a bit more, but if you have a fast enough PC, and the latest SnagIt, you can do a Text Capture of a Scrolling Window... Once in a text file, it is trivial to move it to a PDA and use it...

I already knew about Faststone Capture which will capture scrolling windows as picture files or PDFs, but it seems some of the newer commercial screen capture utilities will save it as a text file... (If my tests with SnagIt fail, there are some others I will try...)

If someone else wants to test their setups and post their results in the comments, I'll try to put everything into a document as some point on what works and what doesn't...

FYI, if someone does get this to work, do NOT distribute the files you create from copyrighted material... They are only licensed for your personal use...

God Bless,
John

The text below comes from the attached paper I wrote to answer when I was asked about using Logos Libronix for creating Bible Studies legally... Feel free to comment as this is just my take on the subject...

...

Just to start off, the thoughts in this paper are just for general, unofficial guidance. The definitions I have giving are solely my own, unless I have cited a source. For legal guidance, please contact a lawyer. Also, I am speaking from a United States point of view. Depending on the country you are in, these guidelines may not apply.

During one of the Libronix classes I taught, one of the users asked if it was legal to use Logos Libronix to create a bible study. This is an excellent question to write about because the answer is not straight forward, and it is commonly ignored. I thought about just typing this up on my blog, (http://www.stilltruth.com/blog/normanjd), but realized a paper might be more useful…

The resources in Libronix (and other libraries, whether physical or digital) fall in two categories: Copyrighted and Public Domain.

Public Domain resources are free for anyone to copy and distribute without asking for permission. These consist of works that either the authors have rescinded all rights to, or expired copyrighted works. Most Libronix user created content that has been posted to the Internet would be considered in the Public Domain. Examples (some taken from Wikipedia in March of 2008) would be:

Personal Book Builder (PBB) files
User created Timelines
Graphical Queries
Original Text of the Bible
Works created and first published before January 1, 1923, or at least 95 years before January 1 of the current year, whichever is later*

This is my first submission to this site, although I must say I visit regularly and enjoy the blogs as well as the benefits from downloading the many PBB's available here. A big Thank you to all who compile them and make them available!

Krummacher's work on David is a classic which was reprinted by Klock & Klock. I scanned this from my personal library about four years back and recently did the painstaking work of editing. I have tried to maintain the look and feel of the original as much as possible. This was a labor of love and I trust you will enjoy.

Below is an excerpt from the Foreword by Cyril J. Barber.

"The life of David, Israel's shepherd, psalmist, and king, possesses a fascination all its own. A "man after the heart of God," he nevertheless demonstrated the weaknesses of the flesh. The psalms show him to be a man of like passions. He knew fear as well as joy, felt the hurt of injustice and the anguish of ingratitude, as well as the desire to establish an administration of justice as well as relieve the helplessness of the oppressed. All of these facets of David's colorful life and reign are captured by Friedrich Wilhelm Krummacher (1796-1868)."

Krummacher, F. W. David, King of Israel. Klock & Klock.

Formatting

The documented formatting for lbxsfl is very limited as it stands. It is based upon basic wiki syntax and provides for the following:

• Paragraphs
  • <crlf>
  • line breaks \\
• Headings (1-6)
  1. !
  2. !!
  3. !!!
  4. !!!!
  5. !!!!!
  6. !!!!!!
• Emphasis
  • Italic /
  • Bold *
• Lists
  • UL <crlf> *
  • OL <crlf> #.
  • nested lists of both types are accomplished by equalized spacing before the tag
• tables | | |
• Horizontal lines ----<crlf>
• hyperlinks
  • (this is misleading and appears to work only internally with Libronix- a big limitation)
  • [[datatypereference|displayedtext]]
  • Refer to the documentation regarding the differences between parsed and unparsed references
• Segment
  • {{ }}
  • Language Uses the two or three letter language code after a colon the word follows.
  • {{:el γινωσκω}}

Overview

I am attempting to write an export filter for
OpenOffice.org which will export Libronix Sermon File's ready to be compiled from within Libronix. The Libronix sermon file format (*.lbxsfl) is just a basic XML file with some fairly simple rules. I have yet to determine whether or not the formatting represented in the help file represents the entirety of all of the formatting options. (Internal Libronix Link)

Sourceforge is providing the bug tracking and file serving for this project. You can link directly to it and related projects at: http://sourceforge.net/projects/libronixtools/

If you are interested in helping with developing tools for Libronix to be released under GPL licensing and you wish to distribute them under the libronixtools sourceforge account let me know.

A PBB resource of John Donne's Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions is ready for download at the link below.

Devotions contains the famous phrase "No man is an island, entire of itself"; but it is also a classic on the subject of physical pain and suffering, and in particular, preparation for death. We don't like to think much about death today, much less muse and write about it.

My favorite quote in Devotions reads: "As death is the wages of sin it is due to me; as death is the end of sickness it belongs to me; and though so disobedient a servant as I may be afraid to die, yet to so merciful a master as thou I cannot be afraid to come;..."

Grace,
Bill