Mounce's first year grammar
A K M Adam
akm-adam at nwu.edu
Tue Nov 30 17:18:41 EST 1999
Michael Burer and all,
I second Jonathan's and Clayton's observations, with the further note
that among those of us who don't assent to Mounce's theological
conclusions, the Exegetical Insights are even more distracting--it's
hard to teach from a text that proclaims as an "insight" something
that one thinks exegetically suspect as well as theologically
off-kilter.
I hasten to add that I'm not claiming to be wiser in exegesis or
theology than Mounce, Wallace, Marshall, my old classmate Craig
Keener, or anyone--just to have reached different conclusions. And
it's hard to work with a text that's teaching at cross-purposes to
what you're trying to inculcate.
If you're sympathetic with Mounce, the Insights are a real plus. If
you aren't they're a real minus.
Grace and peace,
AKMA
At 2:58 PM -0600 11/30/99, Michael Burer wrote:
>Two list members, Jonathan and Carl, have recently made disparaging
>comments regarding the Exegetical Insights which Mounce includes at
>the front of most every chapter. I believe this deserves a response.
>It is very important to understand that these short vignettes serve
>a didactic purpose. Mounce's textbook is one of the few I have seen
>which has a clearly stated purpose and goal to help budding pastors,
>ministers, and exegetes learn the Greek of the New Testament (see
>the Rationale Statement, pp. xiii-xviii, and Chapter 2 "Learning
>Greek", p. 3-6). The Exegetical Insights obviously fit within that
>purpose, for they show the student that Greek pays dividends in
>understanding. It is also important to understand that he only wrote
>a few of them, so it is not accurate to infer that he is behind them
>all; other contributors include his father Robert Mounce, Daniel
>Wallace, Darrell Bock, I. Howard Marshall, Craig Keener, etc. I
>think it is an excellent feature to have such a variety of scholars
>contribute to these vignettes. Of course you may say that they are
>"irritating" or "distracting" because you do not agree with the
>overall theological stance Mounce has taken, but I may also say they
>are encouraging and helpful because I do agree with his stance and
>that helps me stay dedicated to the task of learning Greek. At the
>very least, the Exegetical Insights show Greek in action, and
>whether you agree or not with the resultant interpretation, seeing
>Greek in action is a helpful aspect of any grammar.
>
>Best regards to all,
>Michael Burer
>Ph.D. Student
>Dallas Theological Seminary
--
Seabury-Western Theological Seminary
akm-adam at nwu.edu
To translate is human; to parse, divine.
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