[B-Greek] Very interesting GNT, _A Readers Greek New Testament_
Theodore Mann
theomann at sbcglobal.net
Wed Apr 28 17:05:42 EDT 2004
I find the RGNT quite helpful. Everyday I work my way through a
portion. In addition to checking the parsing where necessary, I write
the vocabulary I don't know on flash cards (which includes most of the
footnoted terms), memorize them throughout the day, then return to the
passage, trying to read with understanding and without having to go
through an internal translation process (not so easy to do). It's
surprising how much of the vocabulary I remember when I come across the
same terms in later readings; even terms that appear only a few times in
the GNT. It helps a lot that I don't have to look up every word that
appears in the GNT 30 times or less. The RGNT saves time, and makes
reading more enjoyable for me.
Ted Mann
-----Original Message-----
From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Patrick
Narkinsky
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 12:54 PM
To: Jonathan Ferguson
Cc: B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Very interesting GNT, _A Readers Greek New
Testament_
Jonathan,
I appreciate the sentiment behind your comments. However, I think it
is a mistake to place the RGNT in the same category as Strong's and the
like.
To my way of thinking, the distinction here is that some tools are
designed to help you learn Biblical Greek, and some are designed to
help you *fake* knowing Biblical Greek. The common thread between
Interlinears, Strongs, Vines, etc. is that they all try to replace a
knowledge of Greek rather than build one. The RGNT, on the other hand,
is useless unless you know a fair amount of Greek already. At a bare
minimum, you would need a fair amount of vocabulary, a knowledge of the
alphabet, and at least some grammar. Furthermore, it's stated purpose
is to allow newer students (i.e. probably those who've completed
first-year Greek at the seminary level) to learn vocabulary inductively
rather than by rote. It's just not a tool to allow you not to learn
Greek - it's a tool to help you learn Greek.
I think there's an awesome danger of exclusivity here. As a community
of Greek students, we should remove every barrier we can to the study
of the Greek New Testament, including cost barriers. Frankly, the
Greek language is enough of a barrier to entry without our help. I
don't think anyone is proposing that the RGNT should replace the
NA26/UBS4. But it does have a place.
My $0.02,
Patrick
--
Patrick Narkinsky - patrick at narkinsky.com
"If men used as much care in uprooting vices and implanting virtues as
they do in discussing problems, there would not be so much evil and
scandal in the world, or such laxity in religious organizations."
_Thomas á Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
On Apr 28, 2004, at 11:31 AM, Jonathan Ferguson wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I just thought I'd make a few comments. Learning New Testament
> Greek isn't a task to be taken lightly. I think a person who doesn't
> want to invest just $50-60 for a Greek New Testament may not have the
> right view of the subject. Would you not agree that a lot of weird
> views and unfounded doctrines have been started or at least aided by
> the occasional "Strong's Concordance Greek scholar," who quotes "the
> Greek" but due to their ignorance of the subject, makes several
> mistakes. Reading the Greek New Testament is one thing, but rightly
> interpreting it and understanding its meaning is another (such as John
> 1:1 and the anarthrous THEOS, Heb. 1:8, etc.) I've heard several
> pastors and teachers say "the Greek word here is _______" and then
> they proceed to make an attempt to make a point from something foreign
> to the author's intent. I'm not saying this to discourage the person
> just now getting into Koine Greek, however I think if you're going to
> invest so much time in lea
> rning
> paradigms, vocabulary, rules, etc., then the money side of it
> shouldn't be such a major part of it.
>
> I started Biblical Greek my senior year in highschool on my own
> using Mounce's beginner Greek grammar, along w/ Parson Technology's
> Greek Tutor (both helped quite a bit). Adding up all of the books and
> material I've bought since then (2 years ago) it comes to about
> $800-$1000. Now, I do not need all of these supplies yet (such as
> A.T. Robertson's "Big Yellow" advanced grammar, and Wallace's _Beyond
> the Basics_ though I enjoy both from time to time), but still, I know
> the higher I move through school by God's grace, the more I can put
> those books to use.
>
> What does a beginner need? I'm certainly not an expert, but
> Mounce's book ($40, and $18 for workbook), a GNT (UBS $40, TR $25, or
> RGNT $29), and a Greek lexicon and concordance. I suppose those would
> be a good start. That's not that much money when you compare it to
> the time you'll be investing in the subject.
>
> I suppose I need to stop rambling now. I just thought maybe I
> should bring up how some people are just wanting a surface knowledge,
> when a "surface knowledge" usually does more harm than good (I
> experienced this several times at an old church of mine).
>
> in Christ,
>
> Jonathan Ferguson
>
> Bob Jones University undergrad.
>
> 1 Peter 3:18
>
>
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