[B-Greek] Yes, DO continue! (was: "Please discontinue")

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Wed Nov 24 07:27:29 EST 2004


At 9:40 AM +0100 11/24/04, A. Dirkzwager wrote:
>I think you made the wrong decision. As far as I know beginners can ask
>their questions on the list and will get answers. But the "guys ... so far
>over my  head" have their questions too to be discussed. In my opinion they
>ought to have this opportunity without feeling guilty that not everybody
>likes what they are doing.

While Arie may think he should have expressed himself more diplomatically,
what he says is right on target. Anyone who has stuck with B-Greek for a
month or more knows what our FAQ means when it says, "We are grateful to
David for his vision of a forum where the Greek text and language of the
Bible are probed in ongoing conversation by an eclectic group of beginning
students and veteran teachers, lay persons and clergy, conservatives and
liberals, earnest inquirers and academic scholars --equally committed to
probing the Biblical text in the original Koine, and jointly exploring the
mysteries and probabilities of Biblical Greek morphology and syntax."

Back in the Fall of 1997 we asked B-Greekers to respond to a questionnaire;
we had 117 responses at that time; I endeavored to summarize the findings
from those responses in a message dated 97.10.20 that you can find in our
archives, "B-Greek Survey Report: some brief comments." Perhaps we should
conduct a new survey after the passage of seven years and expansion of our
subscriber list to something over 1400 worldwide, but I think that what we
found then about ourselves is very likely still true. I cite from two parts
of that message:

>>1. WHO WE ARE:
>>33/117 Lay persons seeking to enhance skills in Biblical Greek
>>20/117 Pastors  seeking to enhance skills in Biblical Greek
>> 5/117 Undergraduate college students studying Biblical Greek
>> 3/117 Seminary students studying Biblical Greek
>>16/117 Lay persons chiefly interested in Koine language/linguistics
>>36/117 Professional teachers of Biblical Greek
>>Others: Ph.D. candidates; one who wants involvement with "dispassionate
>>scholarship in order to keep my scripture interpretation honest"; one
>>missionary in Peru; one pastor "beginning to use the GNT in personal
>>meditation"; one "bored pastor seeking intellectual stimulation."
>
>I have to say that I think this is a remarkably balanced break-down of our
>list-membership (or of those who have responded): there are relatively few
>young people beginning to learn Greek in institutions of higher learning;
>most of us are adults: lay persons, pastors, and professionals in academia,
>with a smattering of individuals now working on professional degrees in
>Greek or engaged --a couple, at least -- in mission work abroad, one of
>them translating the GNT into a native language.
...
>>3. WHAT KINDS OF GREEKS WE ARE:
>> 6/117 have done little or no study in Biblical Greek
>>16/117 have taught themselves much of what they have learned of Biblical
>>Greek
>>36/117 have done one or more years of formal course work in Biblical Greek
>>50/117 have been reading and studying Biblical Greek for several years
>> 9/117 opted the "other" category and have explained themselves as holding
>>advanced degrees in Biblical Greek or in exegesis involving skills in
>>Greek, four list-members admit to active involvement in research projects
>>directly concerned with Biblical Greek linguistics
>
>This is a good breakdown of long-term students and professionals in Greek
>and new learners. That explains why we get elementary questions quite
>commonly and I think that one of the services we can perform for new
>learners is to help them. Personally I think this is a mission we share,
>and the more so, the longer we've worked with Greek, although those who
>have been learning for a shorter period may have a clearer notion of
>exactly what frustrations new learners are coping with. On the other hand,
>many of our threads focus upon some fine points of syntax or diction, and
>some involve elucidation of background cultural information that some of us
>are in better position to supply than are others. Our exchanges thus run
>the spectrum from quickie grammatical explanations to much more profound
>explorations of the range of possible meanings in a phrase or a pair of
>verses. In sum, there's something here for Greeks of all kinds--and
>especially for those who bring their gifts ...

>----- Oorspronkelijk bericht -----
>Van: <JEvans1007 at aol.com>
>Aan: <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
>Verzonden: woensdag 24 november 2004 5:34
>Onderwerp: [B-Greek] Please discontinue
>
>
>> Please drop me from your listing.  Right now, you guys are so far over my
>> head that I get completely lost just trying to read the things you
>discuss.
>> Maybe when and if I learn more I will rejoin the group.  Right now, I will
>try to
>> find some beginners like myself and, maybe, get some help.

-- 

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/



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