[B-Greek] "Sunday School Greek"

Eric Inman eric.inman at wescorpflex.com
Tue Jan 23 10:18:56 EST 2007


I agree that sustained dedication is what is really required, but perhaps
there is one thing of great value that can be learned and appreciated very
quickly. When I was growing up I was highly impressed by preachers and
teachers who referred to the original languages to support their positions,
and so I started studying Greek and Hebrew on my own even before I got to
college where I could take classes in them. The point where I realized that
those preachers and teachers didn't really know what they were talking about
for the most part seemed to come very early on in the process, although I
can't pinpoint exactly when. So perhaps it might be possible in a Sunday
School Greek class to get a student to the point where they are not so
easily misguided by common mistakes that preachers and teachers make when
referring to the Greek text. It seems like this would have significant
value. 

Eric Inman

-----Original Message-----
From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Carl W. Conrad
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 6:26 AM
To: B-Greek B-Greek
Cc: suzanne mccarthy
Subject: [B-Greek] "Sunday School Greek"

Suzanne McCarthy, some of whose previous posts in the blogosphere I  
have noted in this forum, has a piece that she posted Sunday on the  
Better Bibles Blog with the rubric I have indicated in my subject- 
header above
  (http://englishbibles.blogspot.com/2007/01/sunday-school-greek.html)

I am reluctant to stir the pot again regarding the whole pedagogical  
quick-fix methodologies for acquiring enough Greek to confront the  
Biblical Greek text in a meaningful and fruitful way, but it's not as  
if the topic is going to go away, while human nature remains what it  
is. The comment I appended to Suzanne's blog-post follows:
----
     I shake my head, old curmudgeon that I am and a retired  
professor of Greek whose last classroom experience was a January 20- 
session crash course in Biblical Greek for seminary students. Of my  
13 students two did quite well, considering the nature and  
limitations of the course. But these were seminary students who had  
to have this course to get into the school's first exegesis class. I  
agree with Peter [Peter Kirk, who posted a previous comment] that the  
dedicated student with application and industry can make a very  
significant start within a short time, but very few are likely to  
succeed -- precisely because the application and industry required  
are just not there. Aside from that, whatever is accomplished, be it  
in three successive days, once a week, or in the course of one month,  
is only a beginning and the beginner needs to be aware that the  
beginning demands an ongoing commitment. Anything less really  
deserves -- I think -- disparagment. What Euclid (I think) said of  
geometry is certainly as true for Biblical Greek: "There is no royal  
road ... "

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/


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