“Why Biblical Greek?” Foundation

Several months ago, I made a post about the Biblical Greek Program I’m part of. I posted some pictures of Bible passages/stories we were acting out, and I included a link to the BGP website. Not too long after that, my brother Andrew did a guest post on my blog about how he got into teaching Biblical Greek. It later occurred to me that I haven’t addressed the why of studying Biblical Greek. With contributions from friends and fellow students of Scripture, I will approach the question from three angles in this series, and hopefully inspire some aspiring students to take up the challenge and learn to read the New Testament and many other writings in their original language. (This series is by no means comprehensive.)

Angle 1: Many of the translations of the NT that we have in English are good translations, but there are many nuances and grammatical constructions that cannot be translated into good, natural English. In essence, learn Greek to enhance the accuracy of your understanding of Scripture.

Angle 2: Reading anything as a translation not only limits the understanding of nuance and grammar constructs, but distances the reader from the writer and world of the writer. In essence, learn Greek to get closer to the writers of Scripture, and to better understand the world Jesus lived in.

Angle 3: So much of English grammar and vocabulary (like medical terminology!) is borrowed from ancient languages like Greek and Latin, so you never know when it might come in handy. Also, language learning is good for brain function and increasing long-term memory. In essence, do it because it’s a tool you’ll always have with you.

If you haven’t seen my post “The Importance of Scripture in the Life of a Christian”, I recommend reading it as a prequel to the upcoming series.