[B-Greek] Using Greek
Alexander Ring
akring at mac.com
Wed Mar 11 11:20:52 EDT 2009
I have always responded that you don't need Greek to understand the
NT; any good translation will make it accessible, just as any good
translation makes The Iliad accessible. What I do say though is
reading the NT in English is like watching black & white tv. You get
the picture and all the dialogue and you understand what is
happening; the story is all there. Reading it in Greek is like
watching color tv; suddenly another dimension is added and I'm seeing
things I didn't notice at first. The story hasn't changed, but my
appreciation (and often understanding) has deepened. (Although I've
been thinking that with the advent of HDTV and Blu-Ray, maybe I need
to change my analogy.)
I also take moments to point out in Bible classes where knowledge of
the Greek impacts our understanding of certain texts. Not in an
obnoxious way (I hope), but reminding them this really shouldn't be
an option.
Alex
On Mar 10, 2009, at 7:20 PM, Stephen Lord wrote:
> We've all encountered someone who was dismissive of the utility of
> knowing or exploring Greek in an effort to better understand and
> interpret the NT. I'm curious how list members would or have
> responded to such an attitude.
Rev. Alexander Ring
11221 Farwest Dr
Lakewood, WA 98498
akring at mac.com
It is now quite lawful for a Catholic woman to avoid pregnancy by a
resort to mathematics, though she is still forbidden to resort to
physics and chemistry.
- H. L. Mencken
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