By Dr. David deSilva

Many Bible students are familiar with Logos Bible Software, by far the leading system for digital Bible study on the market.  One of the features that makes Logos so attractive over its competitors is the extensive integration of the Bible software into a Logos Digital Library like the Logos Gold Library, a vast collection of digitized books, both classic and modern, in the areas of biblical studies, theology, and practical ministry.  With a few keystrokes and clicks, the user can gather together in one place literally every reference to, say, Galatians 3:1 in his or her digital library in addition to having the tools necessary for the study of the text itself.

But Faithlife, the company that created Logos Bible Software and its ever-expanding library potential, is always innovating.  One of its most recent developments is a division called Mobile Education, Mobile Ed for short.  This began as a vision for making seminary-quality instruction available informally to pastors and lay leaders who would never go to seminary but wanted to deepen their knowledge and hone their ministry skills.  Mobile Ed has been inviting established scholars to prepare video courses in their areas of greatest strength with the goal of creating a comprehensive curriculum, each video course being fully integrated into the Logos library and Bible software as well.

It was only natural, therefore, that a seminary like Ashland, several of whose faculty have been tapped to record courses, would partner with Faithlife to make formal theological educational opportunities available using the combined strengths of the Logos system with its Mobile Ed courseware and the live interaction with experienced faculty and fellow students that a seminary environment makes possible.  I am personally very excited to see us launching a “Graduate Diploma in New Testament” using a combination of our own online courses and “fused courses” built around Mobile Ed modules.  These fused courses will involve all of the components of our more traditional online courses – presentations by our faculty, group discussions, webinars, course readings (generally available within the Logos family of digital texts), and assessments – with the added benefit of a major guest lecturer via the Mobile Ed courseware plus instruction in, and experience with, using Logos to attain course objectives.  The entire program can be completed from a distance.

Students who complete this graduate diploma, which consists of five courses, will gain a solid footing in the study of the New Testament while earning Masters-level credit and becoming more proficient in the use of the Logos Gold Library, a valuable, potentially life-long tool for ministry.

It is my personal hope to see this partnership grow to include additional graduate diplomas that, when pieced together, can constitute a complete Masters degree that can be fully realized without a student ever needing to leave his or her zip code.

David A. deSilva, Ph.D. is a Trustees’ Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek.

More information about our Graduate Diploma in New Testament can be found here:

seminary.ashland.edu/faithlife 

Learn more about Mobile Ed here: www.logos.com/mobile-ed