Logos Bible Software is arguably the world’s most prominent and popular sermon-prep and Bible-study software. Released in 1992 by Faithlife Corporation, this digital library application contains over 100,000 titles and theological resources in more than a dozen languages, including Christian classics, academic works, commentaries, encyclopedias, Bibles, devotionals, Greek and Hebrew lexicons, datasets, lectionaries, dictionaries, interlinears, and many other resources.
We last wrote about them during our 2024 exclusive multipart investigation, revealing that they were selling thousands of sexual and pornographic books through their platform, searchable through their multiple channels, and were dragging their feet to have them removed. As a result, they purged their platform and changed the way the company vetted books for publishing.
These past few weeks, the team at Logos has been busy meeting with publishing partners, including HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Baker Publishing House, and recently with Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, the latter of which caught our eye.
Eerdmans Publishing Company is a long-time publisher of Christian books. Established in 1911, they are an independent publisher of religious books, from academic books and scholarly works in theology, biblical studies, and religious history to popular titles in spirituality, ministry, and cultural criticism. Some of their more well-known recent books include In Quest of the Historical Adam by William Lane Craig, a commentary on Galatians by N. T. Wright, The Gospel According to John by D. A. Carson, Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, etc.
Logos has previously offered Eerdmans books and collections, and by all accounts the relationship has been mutually beneficial.
In 2022, Eerdmans entered a firestorm after they openly promoted Pride Month on a company blog while sharing several books the publish that promote the normalization and acceptance of LGBQT ideology. They doubled down a week later, writing:
“We do not think it is for us as a publisher to define doctrine for the church. … Our role is to publish books, representing both settled and experimental positions, that serve the church in its ongoing deliberations. We therefore routinely publish books that contradict each other on many contested doctrinal points.
…With regard to Christian understandings of LGBTQ+ people, Eerdmans has been publishing books for quite a few years by authors who have come to an affirming conclusion on biblical and theological grounds. This is not new for us.At the same time, Eerdmans has continued and will continue, to publish books by and for people who have not come to this conclusion.
They’ve done more than that, however. Despite claiming they will publish both sides, there is one side they will NOT publish:
Steven Wedgwood in his piece ‘When Neutrality is a Myth’ puts it this way:
Pay close attention here. Eerdmans says it is happy to host a debate. It will publish authors who support and promote LGBTQ ideology. It will also publish authors who do not. But it will not publish authors who actively oppose LGBTQ ideology.
The reference to “discredited/harmful ‘therapies’” is particularly telling, as the label “conversion therapy” has now been expanded to include any care that is deemed insufficiently “affirmative.”
Whether Eerdmans knows it or not, it has excluded the orthodox Christian view under the guise of freedom and toleration. This is the methodology of the fake moderate. All opinions are allowed except those that directly and effectively refute the new liberalism.
Unsurprisingly, their direction of advocacy seems to only go one way. While Eerdmans has never published a blog or dedicated article highlighting their books on the importance of biblical marriage and the need for each child to have a mother and father, they have gone out of their way to publish several disturbing pro-LGBTQ posts, explaining that they are seeking to “create space to listen to faithful voices from the LGBTQ+ community and learn how their lived experiences contribute to our faith communities.”
Eerdmans released a Lament for Gay Children by lesbian author Karen Keen, where she offers an apologetic for why the bible supports her having a “wife” and laments that gay children have a tough time in a society that doesn’t embrace and support their sexuality.
But more notably, for their 2023 Pride month celebration, they had Shannon T.L. Kearns, one of their authors, write a post titled Loving Your Transgender Neighbors.
Notably, Kearns is the first openly transgender man ordained to the Old Catholic priesthood and co-founder of Queer Theology. He has publicly praised and promoted the goodness and holiness of polyamory.
In his article, whose purpose again according to Eerdmans is to “create space to listen to faithful voices from the LGBTQ+ community,” Kearns promotes transgender adults and children having access to gender-affirming care, so that doctors can cut off healthy breasts and chemically castrate confused children.
Furthermore, Kearns condemns legislation that 1)aims to protect women in sports and 2) prevents men from using the women’s washrooms, all done on the publisher’s promotional pages.
It’s enough to make one ask: how demonic and expansive would Eerdmans’ published literature have to be before Logos no longer considers them “friends” and viable business partners?
While Eerdmans pretends to be neutral on these matters by insisting that “we do not think it is for us as a publisher to define doctrine for the church,” their position is untenable given their goal to “serve the church” and “serve the ecumenical church” in their publications.
Would they publish a book that denies the miracles of Jesus, or openly denies his virgin birth? How about a book arguing that he is a created being? Would they release a book of “experimental theology” that argues Jesus was a homosexual who had relations with the other disciples- a sort of exploratory thought-piece on the cutting edge of Christian belief, done to prick the conscience and stand as a “contested doctrinal point” contra alternate settled theories?
And if they did publish a book about gay promiscuous Jesus, would that give Logos pause?
At what point is “too much” too much? What responsibility does an explicitly Christian company have to select partners wisely, even if it means they don’t get all the offerings they want? If Eerdmans began publishing exclusively pro-homosexual books, with a smattering of orthodox titles, would they still be picked up and considered “friends?”
Perhaps Logos might want to call Antelope Hill Publishing: we hear they have a couple of books that may be useful to one’s library and worth making a collection out of, as long as they can stomach a few pro- LGBTQ, racist, and Nazi-promoting books published on the backend and promoted on the blog pages.
By the looks of it, with how they treat Eerdmans, they almost certainly can.
