Tag: books

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News

Major Progress! Logos Issues New Statement About ‘The Great Pornographic Book Purge of 2024’

A Logos Bible Software’s Executive has issued a new statement regarding their company’s efforts to rid their sites of thousands of sexual and pornographic books that have long been embedded in their libraries, apologizing for allowing the perverse content on their platforms while acknowledging “our existing workflow failed at keeping illicit titles off the Logos platform.”

Exclusive: ‘Logos Software’ Selling Hardcore Erotica Porn Alongside Devotionals and Bible Studies
‘Sexual Magic for the Solo Witch,’ + A Timeline of Logos Bible Software’s Customer Service Inaction, P.1
Logos Bible Software Sells Books on ‘How to Write Erotica’ & Be A Porn Star+ A Timeline of Customer Service Inaction, P.2
Update: Logos Claims They’re Cleaning Up Their Erotic Books, But What Is Taking Them So Long?

While Logos and their various representatives have steadfastly refused to speak to us on or off the record since we first broke the story, Vice President of Content Product Matt Bennett gave an apology and update about the status of their efforts, buried deep in the 6th page of a forum post:

On behalf of the Logos team, I apologize for allowing illicit titles on our platform and for the time it is taking for us to get everything down. We want logos.com (and our apps) to be a safe place to study Scripture, and we’re committed to removing titles that don’t meet our standards, as outlined in our Distribution Philosophy.

Today I want to update you on a few things:

  1. First, we are actively removing inappropriate titles from our platform. We are treating this issue as a major priority, and our team is being thorough to review titles manually and electronically. Thank you to everyone who has sent products to titlereview@logos.com. We’ve responded to each email within one business day, and we’ll continue to respond to every title sent our way. 
  2. Second, we know our existing workflow failed at keeping illicit titles off the Logos platform, so we’re rebuilding our process to better vet and filter content.
  3. Third, we have removed and will continue removing illicit titles from the Print Library Catalog. This was a disconnect in our systems that required coordinated effort with our developers, and we will soon be able to remove titles from the Print Library at the same time we remove them from the platform. We’ve made significant progress here.

As a side note, we’ve updated the FAQs in our Distribution Philosophy to answer how publisher content gets to our platform.

Again, thank you for your patience as we work to get this right. We don’t take for granted your trust in us, and we hope to regain your trust as we improve our processes in order to bring you a broad selection of relevant, high quality content. We’ll continue to share updates in the forum thread here.

While it’s undeniable that Logos did NOT make purging the pornography a priority (despite their continued insistence to the contrary) after it was first brought to their attention by a customer seven weeks ago, and then later by us to a large audience three weeks ago, a noticeable shift occurred between the evening of March 18 and the afternoon of March 19, where we tracked at least 725 books being removed from their platforms. This includes over 320 erotic Harlequin books, as well as these gems.

Since the 19th, more books have continued to be removed at a rapid clip. In fact, we are pleased to reveal that with rare exception, Logos looks properly purged of the vast majority of sexually graphic books, and the site resembles how it should have looked when it was brought to their attention seven weeks ago. 

Notably, this recent widespread removal came shortly after we posted the aforementioned Logos books to our Twitter feed, garnering tens of thousands of views and ultimately being shared with key people at Logos, perhaps prompting renewed efforts and swift action. In any case, we are very pleased with how the site looks now and that our efforts have permanently changed the way Logos does business.

While Logos remains elusive in its commentary, there remain many, many unanswered questions. If you work at Logos and are willing to share some insights/ insider’s perspective into this illicit book fracas, please DM us on Twitter or email us at editor@protestia.com.

We guarantee absolute anonymity, even under the threat of a lawsuit.

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News

‘Sexual Magic for the Solo Witch,’ + A Timeline of Logos Bible Software’s Customer Service Inaction, Part 1

Yesterday, we broke the news that Logos Bible Software and their sister site Faithlife E-books were selling over 1000 titles that contained hardcore erotica and pornography that rivaled the most sordid and smuttiest of Harlequins, and that they have since apologized and pledged to take it down.

Some of our readers questioned why we did not go to the company privately with our concerns. They insisted that rather than blowing them up publicly, we should have simply shared our findings with them rather than rushing in and going off half-cocked without giving them the chance to respond.

This article exists to peel back the layers and offer some context, background, and inside baseball. It explains why we did it and how it all started with the “Sexual Magic of a Witch” and a complaint sent to customer service to Logos on February 2 by one of their long-timers users, that we’re sharing in full today.



This is in Part One.

In Part Two, we will share Logos’ customer service response.

Logos Sales and Customer Support,

Over the weekend, (Feb 2) I sent a message to your CEO, Vik, through Linkedin and the Logos platform, but I have not received a response. I have serious concerns about the material you are selling in your “Christian Bookstore.” 

As I shared with Vik, I have been an enthusiastic Logos customer for several years and have spent tens of thousands of dollars on your platform. This last week, while searching for additional books on the topic of the New Age movement, I was shocked to stumble on the fact that you are selling sexually explicit and how-to occult books!

The book that appeared in my initial search is Crimson Craft: Sexual Magic for the Solo Witch.

I looked up the table of contents and was shocked to learn that this book is about how to perform perverse sexual acts on yourself and others while using spells and witchcraft. 
This is the table of contents taken from your site:

Why would anyone studying the Bible need a book explaining how to cast spells while performing BDSM and Kink acts? Why is Logos selling books like this? This book and others like it have no place in any library, especially a Christian library. 

After making the horrible discovery above, I thought, is this a one-off, or are there more books like this in your online bookstore? I was shocked at what I found. The answer is the Quin book is not a one-off. 

Here are just a few of what appear to be 100s of erotic pornographic fiction titles currently being sold on Logos. (Read some of those titles)

 Slow Satisfaction, Slow Seduction, Wild Licks, The Hookup Plan, Taking the Lead, That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon, I Need a Hero Box Set: A Military Romance Collection, Unbuttoning the CEO, One Night with the CEO, Getting Dirty with the CEO, Hard Rhythm, Ravished by a Highlander, Tamed by a Highlander, The Seduction of Miss Amelia Bell, The Scandalous Secret of Abigail MacGregor, Seduced by a Highlander, Conquered by a Highlander, A Highlander’s Christmas Kiss, Laird of the Black Isle, The Taming of Malcolm Grant, Laird of the Mist, A Highlander Never Surrenders, The Scot’s Bride, Highlander Ever After. 

These books contain pervasive explicit sexual content, vulgar language, explicit pornographic sex scenes, BDSM, and other gross stuff. The content in these books is so perverse and vile that I dare not copy a redacted, let alone a full-text citation. The content is beyond disgusting and gross. 

Logos, you are selling some seriously dirty filth! You claim to “exist to empower believers everywhere to go deeper in the Bible through a fusion of Bible study resources and powerful technology.” The books you are selling contradict your claim.


Moreover, there are no explicit content warnings on your website! There are no content filters in your software products, and I have confirmed that this pornographic and occult content can be full-text searched in Logos 10 Gold or higher without purchase! This poses significant risks to my children. Now, I’m forced to take away access. 

Anyone (again even children) with access to Logos 10 Gold or higher can click on “Library,” click the “Add to Library” tab, and then search for any key term or book title listed on Logos.com! All the books I mentioned above can be full-text searched – again without purchase. 

Here is a reproduction of the issue. When I type in the word “sex” in Logos, I expect to find Biblical and theological treatments on the topic. What possible reason could Logos have for including “200 Questions About Sex” by Cosmopolitan or “Working Sex: Sex Workers Write About a Changing Industry” in your collection of books?

And once the book is added to your “Print Library,” you can search for any keyword or phrase. If the term is found, Logos will return nearly a paragraph of text! Again, there are zero parental controls and what appears to be hundreds of sexually explicit books.

If a determined user searches for a phrase near the end of the resultant paragraph, only 3 to 4 words are needed; it appears that a user can theoretically read any searchable book in its entirety. Here is an example of what I’m talking about. 

 “Working Sex” book, a search for “or the amateur” returns the following result.

Now, type a phrase near the end of the paragraph, like “been stuck with the epithets,” and the next section of the text is returned.


Do it again, and the text continues to progress.


And again.

I think you get the picture. This is one example. There are far more graphic titles in your collection with graphic sexual content that no one should be reading, especially Christians!

Here are two publishers Logos is working with that have an extensive catalog of romance porn books, and there appear to be others. 

Publisher: Forever

Publisher: Forever Yours

When we’re at the point where we are forced to blur suggestive book covers sold by the “world’s leading Bible study software company” website, there is something seriously wrong with Christendom.  

There are no Bible verses in this book. I checked.

How can you put up a message like this next to porn books? This is the Bible we are talking about! God’s holy word!

Besides the sexual content, your store contains non-theological/academic books on Spellcasting, Spell Recipes, Divination, Witchcraft, Astrology, Manifesting, Tarot Card Reading, New Age, and Occult Rituals – some targeting children. These are not academic or research books. Why is Logos selling this demonic material? This material is dangerous

Here are some examples: (Ed. Note, picture of below book added by us)

The Junior Witch’s Handbook: A Kid’s Guide to White Magic, Spells, and Rituals, The Junior Witch’s Handbook: A Kid’s Guide to White Magic, Spells, and Rituals, The Junior Astrologer’s Handbook: A Kid’s Guide to Astrological Signs, the Zodiac, and More, The Junior Tarot Reader’s Handbook: A Kid’s Guide to Reading Cards, A Kid’s Guide to the Chinese Zodiac: Animal Horoscopes, Legendary Myths, and Practical Uses for Ancient Wisdom.


Publisher: Running Press Kids

None of this content belongs on the “world’s leading Bible study software.” I should not have to worry about protecting my family or my brothers and sisters from Bible software. You need to remove this content from your website. This is very disheartening, to say the least. Logos, this is unacceptable!

Please provide a response as to when it will be taken down.

Part 2 continues tomorrow.

Categories
News

Exclusive: ‘Logos Software’ Selling Hardcore Erotica Porn Alongside Devotionals and Bible Studies

Update: Logos announced the same day this article was published that the offensive material on their platform was an error and that they were removing the offending content ASAP.

This post contains links with graphic descriptions and language. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.

Logos Bible Software is perhaps 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 over a dozen languages, and has been endorsed by everyone from John MacArthur to Beth Moore.

Logos offers access to Christian classics, academic work, commentaries, encyclopedias, bibles, devotionals, Greek and Hebrew lexicons, datasets, lectionaries, dictionaries, interlinears, and all other sorts.

Aimed at colleges, seminaries, pastors, teachers and laypeople, these items are offered through standalone purchases or through packaged bundles. In some cases, these bundles cost up to $2149.99.


Books are also offered through Faithlife E-books, which has over 100K titles and is named after their namesake Faithlife Corporation, which owns several other companies in this field:

Faithlife E-books and Logos also sell hardcore erotica. We have uncovered hundreds of books that Logos has sold or is currently selling that contain extended graphic and descriptive sex scenes rivaling the most sordid and smuttiest of Harlequins.

A few examples include: (Warning, to view, click to enlarge)

Content can also be seen here and here

While one-offs of these books can be purchased and added separately, the content can also be full text searched via Logos 10 gold or higher without purchasing the books, giving any bored pastor quick access to this content where no one would think to look, and without ever having to pay for it. There is no content warning for this literature through the program, and it cannot be locked down or blocked by a firewall.

So why is Logos selling it?

According to Logos’ distribution philosophy, “Logos is not a church, charity, ministry, or nonprofit” but a “technology company and bookstore that serves churches, pastors, academics, and laity.” While their guidelines insist that they don’t sell media that contains pornography, they clearly do, with nearly 750 titles containing explicit content cataloged.

One longtime Logos user, whose identity we are shielding, estimates he’s spent over $15,000 on their resources in the last decade. He has contacted the company multiple times over the last month, sounding the alarm about selling these perverse resources, but alleges no one has responded to him or bothered returning his messages.

We hope you will change that.

You can submit a customer service form to Logos here, or call this number: 1-888-563-0382, or email them at cs@logos.com, sharing this link and insisting that they stop selling erotic and pornographic books.

Please DM us on Twitter with any correspondences they send back.

Categories
Church Evangelical Stuff News Scandal

Largest Christian Book Publisher Removes Ravi Zacharias Books From Print

Ravi Zacharias’ books and resources will no longer be offered by HarperCollins Christian Publishing (HCCP), the religious publishing arm of HarperCollins that includes both Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, after it was revealed in an RZIM investigation that the late apologist spent decades as a serial sexual predator.

HCPP has published over 20 books that were either authored or co-authored by Zacharias over the last 25 years, including his most well-known work, Can Man Live Without God? which has been published in 21 languages. His latest book, Seeing Jesus From the East: A Fresh Look at History’s Most Influential Figure, co-authored with Abdu Murray (Zondervan), was released in April 2020. Zacharias has sold over 2 million books.

Casey Francis Harrell, vice president of corporate communication for HCCP, said in a statement about the decision to remove the books from print:

In September, when the most-recent sexual misconduct allegations against the late Ravi Zacharias surfaced, HarperCollins Christian Publishing immediately suspended all projects and shipments of his work.

Following the findings in the independent report, the company will immediately take all his publications out of print. We are deeply saddened, and we mourn for the victims.

This is not unexpected news, as there was been much discussion over the last 4 months over what to do with his books, with people even asking whether or not they should be burned, after the interim report revealed that the allegations of sexual impropriety were true. Steve Baughman revealed last month that Zacharias’ upcoming book Jesus for You, set for release in 2021, had been scrapped.

https://twitter.com/RaviScam/status/1354133350735253504

Lee Strobel, who prominently featured Ravi Zacharias in his book The Case for Christ, the international bestseller that had over 5 million copies in print as of 2016, announced that he and his publisher were likewise halting printings of their book, and would be revising it to remove mention of Zacharias and his interview.

When questioned about the decision, after being accused of engaging in “cancel culture,” Strobel pointed out, “The difference is Ravi never showed repentance. The book is for spiritual seekers and I don’t want his hypocrisy to be a stumbling block to them in considering the evidence for Christ.”