reason for b-greek/ATT: Eric Weiss

Theodore H. Mann thmann at juno.com
Fri Dec 11 08:32:27 EST 1998


On Thu, 10 Dec 1998 08:56:00 -0800 Eric Weiss <eweiss at gte.net> writes
(snip):

>"Unless you can read Greek, you have decided to let someone else tell
you what the Bible says."

I have a question regarding the above statement.  Even if we do study
Greek, aren't we still relying on others to tell us what the Bible says? 
As I study the language, I rely on BAGD, Thayer, Vincent, Louw & Nida,
Wallace, Vine, Mounce, B-Greekers, etc., to explain the definitions of
terms, and the grammmatical/syntactical/morphological (etc.) nuances of
the language.  How can I be certain that they are correct?  Unless I
become VERY expert at the language, to the point of being able to examine
and possibly challenge scholarly research, I have to rely on these people
and hope that they are correct.  It seems to me that any way it is
sliced, I am relying on someone to tell me what the Bible says, even as
the big-Greekers also had to rely on others.  What can be said, I think,
is that the odds of coming up with an accurate translation of given
passages in the NT are better if I allow language scholars to tell me
what the Bible says, than if I rely on those who are deficient in
biblical languages.  And to do that I'm not certain I need to know much
about NT Greek. Or could I be mistaken?  

Theodore "Ted" H. Mann
thmann at juno.com


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