[B-Greek] "Sunday School Greek"

George F Somsel gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Tue Jan 23 11:43:44 EST 2007


It's only elitist if you also consider the idea feasible that the average person can become a "Sunday School Brain Surgeon."
 
george
gfsomsel
_________



----- Original Message ----
From: David Opderbeck <dopderbeck at gmail.com>
To: Carl W. Conrad <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu>
Cc: suzanne mccarthy <suzmccarth at yahoo.com>; B-Greek B-Greek <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:40:18 AM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] "Sunday School Greek"


Again from my lay person's perspective -- some of what I'm hearing here
sounds elitist.  It kind of sounds like the debates centuries ago about
whether the laity should have access to scripture in the venacular.


On 1/23/07, Carl W. Conrad <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu> wrote:

>
> On Jan 23, 2007, at 10:18 AM, Eric Inman wrote:
>
> > 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.
>
> Yes, I think that would be a significant gain from the effort. On the
> other hand, teachers and preachers of the sort you mention are
> precisely the ones that give meaning to the (para)phrase: "A little
> Greek is a dangerous thing."
>
> Carl W. Conrad
>
> >
> > -----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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>



-- 
David W. Opderbeck
Web:  http://www.davidopderbeck.com
Blog:  http://www.davidopderbeck.com/throughaglass.html
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---
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