Comments on: Are Biblical Languages Necessary for (Postmodern) Ministry?

By: Dan Hauge

Dan Hauge — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 04:36:15 +0000

It seems to me that gaining at least a basic reading competency in the original languages is a very “postmodern” thing to do–at least in the sense that trying our best to encounter and learn from another culture and way of thinking is a valuable thing to do. As anyone who has spent time learning any other language knows, it is an art of learning not just new vocabulary, but different ways of framing our thoughts. Differences between languages often reflect deeper cultural values and habits of thinking (although this reflection can also be overemphasized), and while we can never truly enter into the “horizon” of a different people from a different time, our approaches toward reading and writing in the original languages of Scripture can only help us engage these texts in a humbler and more enriching way.

By: elderj

elderj — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:50:40 +0000

I’m not educated in these things, but I wonder… once the language has been translated why is it so important to study in the original language? After all the gospels themselves are translations since Jesus likely spoke mostly in Aramaic. I seriously don’t know what I think about the issue.

By: rob

rob — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:00:43 +0000

On of my fellow ThM students at Regent was a pastor doing a thesis on an obscure point of grammar in Amos. I hope that, unlike me, he has now finished! But that is to say… it can be done. I looked up Piper’s academic background and see that he himself has put in the work (PhD in NT). But I’m confused as to how an intensively academic exposure to the NT could land you in Calvinism. ha ha.