Greek Is Really Cool - But Not My Forte

Thankful For Many Things

Well, my audit in Greek is finished and I'm thankful for a lot of things.  I'm thankful for what I've learned, and I'm thankful that it's over ... for now.  Studying Greek was really cool, but it definitely is not my forte.  Had I actually taken the class for credit, I would have received a B in the course which is OK, but well below the goal that I set for myself.  So I had to make a difficult decision

Going into the class I was perhaps a little skeptical of the benefit of learning the language.  Of course, there is the joy of being able to begin reading the Bible in one of the original languages, but would it really make that big of a difference?  A friend of mine had this to say about learning Greek, "The difference between studying the Bible in English versus Greek is like the difference between watching television in black and white versus high definition color."  I think my friend hit the proverbial nail on the head with that analogy.  I can see now how much clearer the pages of Scripture shine with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ when translating from the Greek.  Mind you, I'm under no illusion that I've only begun to scratch the surface of my understanding of the language, but I've seen enough to appreciate the value.

So I have nothing but wonderful things to say about my experience with learning Greek and I'm looking forward to continuing my study of the language, but just not right now.  The time commitment to studying a language is immense.  Even though this was just an audit course for me, I spent far more time on this course than any other course that I've taken at DTS.  This is to be expected, however, I just don't see that I'll have the kind of time necessary this Spring to get the most out of the class.  So I'm going to basically try to keep reviewing what I've already learned and keep my skills sharp so I can develop a solid platform to continue in the near future.  All in all, I have no regrets for stepping up and taking this course.

So, if you're planning on studying Greek at a seminary and you don't have any previous experience with the language or struggle like me with foreign languages, I'd recommend a slightly lower course load during the semester to offset the amount of time you'll need to dedicate to learning Greek.  It's totally worth it, but it's a grind and takes a lot of time, commitment, and discipline.

Protecting the Family

Making the Home Network Safer

Who can forget the iconic sound of a 56k modem as it completed its handshake protocol;  the virtual on-ramp to the digital superhighway known as the internet. It’s amazing to think how much the internet has changed our lives over the past two-plus decades.  But for all the wonderful advancements the internet provides us daily, it also has a dark and dangerous side.  Just under the surface of any search engine through the keystroke pitter-patter of search terms, a vast ocean of pornographic sites set their fishing lines; ready to snag its innocent, curious, naïve, addicted, or defiled victims.

As the father of four young boys racing full speed into or towards their teen years, I’ve struggled with how to protect my kids from this virtual cancer of depravity.  And if I’m being honest, how to protect myself from lure and temptation of an empty pleasure which only leaves me hurting in my shame and guilt; deceptively stealing away from me the joy and sufficiency of God’s grace.  Well, after many days, weeks, and months of trying different solutions, I’ve discovered a way to easily protect my family and my home from this evil and it’s something I feel is worth sharing so read on!

And This is Why We Audit

Epic Faceplant

Greek has been a fickle friend this semester.  Sometimes, I think, "I got this."  And then other times my brain breaks and starts leaking out of the bottom of my shoes.  I just wrapped up my sixth quiz of the semester and I'm still feeling the pain from the epic faceplant I just brilliantly executed.  I managed an impressive 27 out of 98 (although my final score will probably be in the neighborhood of 40).  It's times like this that I remind myself that this is exactly why I choose to audit this course.

I mentioned that I struggle to pick up languages in general, and this is true.  But with this course, I just feel like I'm about two weeks behind in my understanding.  I mean it takes about two weeks for the learning to settle into a firm-ish knowledge.  So while we're just wrapping up chapter 18 in Mounce's "Basics of Biblical Greek", I'm just getting comfortable with chapter 14.  And this is despite studying just about every day.

Point is, it's not so much that the language is difficult.  There is just so much to learn and remember that I find it takes a while to sear into my memory.

I Miss Being Sick

Being Reminded of the Important Things

Even though I’m only auditing a course this semester at DTS, I’m still required to attend chapel sessions.  It seems far too easy sometimes to simply treat this as another tick-in-the-box exercise that is common in academia.  But every now and then, I stumble upon a message that deeply moves me and reminds me of the purpose of my education, and more importantly, my life.  As the kids scampered off to their Saturday morning activities, I watched a service by Michael Easley that struck me in such a way.  But not in the way you might think, I actually reflected on the fact that I miss my pain.  

Getting My Greek On

Auditing Greek

Alright, we're a couple of weeks into this Fall semester where I'm auditing first-semester Greek.  Things are going fine so far but I've already experienced the normal ups and downs of studying a language.  After crushing my first quiz, I got a bit overconfident and was brutally humbled on my second quiz.  But a big exam later this week should really give me a sense of if I'm on the right track or not.

Needless to say, any language course requires a tremendous amount of time and discipline to stay on top of the learning.  So it's been a solid hour or two most days (especially after the second quiz).  Anyway, I'm starting to get a handle on things and I find Koine Greek to be very technical which is just AOK with me.  So I'm sure I'll have more to write next week but now it's time to get back to studying noun and adjective forms! 

ST104OL - Critical Review

ST104OL - Summer's Unfinished Business

 

It took a little while to get over my jetlag after a nice little family holiday in August, but now I'm home and getting back into the groove of a new school year for the kids.  I realized though, that I had a little unfinished business in posting a critical review of my ST104 summer class.  So with the kids tucked neatly into bed this evening, I've got a little time to share some of my thoughts on the course and how things went.

Hanging in There

Decision Update

Just a quick update today.  I've completed all my semester work for ST104OL Soteriology and I'm getting ready to head home for the first time in years to take a little time off.  Before heading out though, I thought I'd share that I've made a decision with the assistance of the kind staff at DTS.  Rather than withdrawing at this time, I'm going to audit a course this Fall to buy myself some time to see if I can make things work moving forward.  Still not sure what's on the horizon, but at least there's still hope.

What will I be auditing?  Well, I can't audit any course that I might end up taking as part of my degree.  So I've decided to go ahead and audit NT101OL New Testament Greek.  Basically, I'm terrible with languages, so I figure this will give me an opportunity to gain some skills I wish I had, without having to stress out over being - right, terrible with languages.  And in case you think I'm being overly hard on myself; I've been living in Poland for ten years now and I still hardly speak a lick of Polish...

Stay tuned, I'll be posting my ST104OL recap shortly after the final grades are posted.  Really couldn't say how I did in the course as much of the final grade rests on the last two assignments I submitted.  I did OK on the final exam with an 88 after answering 3 questions wrong.  I had a facepalm moment as one of the answers I got wrong was from a passage I actually taught on a few weeks back.  I think I mentioned how much I hate taking tests - yeah, it's the little details that getcha.  So look for that debrief in a week or so.