[B-Greek] Greek for laymen

Polycarp66 at aol.com Polycarp66 at aol.com
Mon Mar 8 09:35:06 EST 2004


In a message dated 3/8/2004 9:02:25 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu writes:
I would agree that Waldo's "advice" is extreme; the problem with acquiring
"a feel" for Biblical Greek is one that we've noted several times--learning
"enough Greek to be dangerous": there are some who learn "a little Greek"
and want to demonstrate what they know--or don't know. On the other hand,
there are some for whom this is an eye-opener, a view into a fascinating
vista for lifetime exploration. I once  would have discouraged, although
not in such extreme form as Waldo above, the endeavor to "get a feel of
Greek." I now think that whether one profits from such an endeavor or not
has more to do with the learner's temperament and respect for the
boundaries between what one has come to apprehend and what one is well
aware of not understanding. Having looked at Mounce's program of
expectations for one completing his "Greek for the Rest of Us," I would
guess (without having looked at the book itself) that those who complete
the course would fall into both the above categories: those who now know
enough Greek to be dangerous, and those who now know enough Greek to
appreciate the broader dimensions of Biblical literature as a phenomenon of
human culture as well as of profound inspiration.
__________

On first reading Waldo's post on this subject I was also inclined to think 
that he had a point (which I have stated myself on occasion) but that it was, 
hopefully, simply overstated.  An elitist attitude is to be avoided since it 
always seems that the more we learn, the more we find that we still don't know.  
Perhaps what is needed is not to avoid teaching A LITTLE about Greek but to 
avoid instilling the notion that the student thereby has a handle on the 
language.  I have seen too many who could look up something in Strong's concordance 
and then begin to argue for some 'off the wall' view based on their 
understanding of what they have read -- they have somehow gotten the idea that they 'know 
it all'.  What is thus needed is a teaching, along with some basics of the 
language itself, of a bit of humility -- a realization that what one has learned 
is only a small part of the subject which can be greatly modified by other 
factors.

gfsomsel



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