Λεγω My Λογον

An Update and a Couple Links

2010-02-01T07:03:00.001-08:00

My translation of the Art of Grammar is still going. I will probably post what I have been working on here soon, but I think I may leave out the commentary section. It will allow me to get done quicker as well as I am not always so certain my thoughts are that interesting. Plus as school is starting up again, it will be hard to do much. I am taking New Testament Theology, Evangelism and Church Growth, Reformation History and Doctrine, and Greek Exegesis of Matthew.

In the meantime, here are some interesting links. The first is a Wordle using a large corpus of Greek texts both Ancient and Medieval (TLG). The second is a comparison of a Wordle of the BC texts and a Wordle of the AD texts. It is interesting and fun!

Book Review: Green

2009-11-06T14:18:00.001-08:00

Green by Ted Dekker is the latest edition to the Circle Series. It is intended to serve as both a prequel and a sequel to the original three (Book Zero, as Dekker calls it). It begins after White, the third book, with the Circle fracturing between those who want to fight the Horde again, led by Samuel, Thomas Hunter's son, and those who want to convert, rather than kill, the Horde, led by Thomas Hunter. Meanwhile, Kara Hunter, Thomas' sister, and Monique de Raison deal with a visitor named Billy who can read minds and wants to use Thomas' blood to travel to the time of the Circle.

This book, while entertaining, struggled to know what it was. Was it the prequel or the sequel? Really, I would say it was only a sequel, though it would have been stronger if there was no attempt to make it also a prequel. Too many of the characters and events only have meaning if you have already read the other three. Plus, it gives away the ending of the trilogy, weakening its ability to work as a prequel. Prequels cannot give away this much information and cannot rely too much on the later material. Actually, the connection that makes it a prequel only occurs towards the end and is really strange and confusing, probably only making sense if you had read the earlier books.

Taking the story as a sequel, it was pretty good. I enjoyed reading it. Revisiting old characters and worlds is always fun. This story, however, does not seem to have the strength that the earlier stories had. As with the other stories, it tells in a way a biblical event. For Green, it focuses on a literal understanding of the book of Revelation. Of course there are not exact parallels, or is it as fantastic as the Left Behind series. It does, however, leave you asking what just happened. Also, it ties in the other books related to the Circle Series. I have not read either of the other series: the Lost Books Series and the Paradise Series. The Lost Books seem well merged. I could gather pretty well the important information and I don't know if any of the characters from that series show up, but, if they do, they do well explaining their backgrounds. The Paradise Series, however, is not as well grafted in. Billy is one of the characters from those stories, and I probably would have needed to read those books to understand his character better. Dekker probably avoids trying to give away too much for those who want to read the Paradise Series, but I was lost in understanding Billy. I wonder how much more he would have made sense if I had read those books.

Overall, it is a fun book for those who have already read the Circle Series. It does not, however, work as a prequel. Read Black, Red, and White first then read Green.

Review: It Happened In Italy

2009-09-14T09:13:00.001-07:00

It happened in Italy by Elizabeth Bettina tells two stories: the story of the Jews in Italy during World War II and the story of Elizabeth herself as she discovers the story of the Jews, bringing participants together again after many years. The Italians, unlike the Nazis, did not see a need for abusing the Jews they were to detain. Instead, the Jews in Italy were treated with humanity, reflecting the humanity of the Italians, and as a result, many Jews were saved in Italy.

The story was overall a good story. The biggest problem is the book spent too much time discussing Elizabeth Bettina's journey. I would have preferred more about the Jews in Italy. I had the problem of not being as concerned about her story. I wanted to hear the story of the Jews in Italy. While that story is still told, it is split up by Bettina's story. The story of the Jews is still a moving story. Many stories about the Jews show the inhumanity of their captors. This has led to the view that all of our enemies during World War II were pure evil. The story is more complicated than that. In Italy at least, the Jews were treated with civility, and many lives were saved. Humanity corrupted by sin is a complex thing, capable of extreme acts of evil and of good.

A New Beginning

2009-08-23T20:35:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow, I start my seminary career. A new step in my life. It feels really weird to think that I am attending seminary. I am taking:

Biblical Interpretation

Old Testament Theology

Greek Exegesis Practicum

Patristics and Medieval Theology

Spiritual Formations

This should be a good semester. It also means that my translation of Dionysius Thrax might be spaced out a little more. I will try my best to keep it pretty regular. On the plus side, I get to buy 14 books. I always like buying books.

Concerning Rhapsody

2009-08-23T06:21:00.001-07:00

Translation:

Rhapsody is a part of a poem encompassing some subject. And the rhapsody has been said as if it is some staff-song (rhabdody), because men who went around with the bay-wood staff sang the poems of Homer.

[Greek Text]

Commentary:

That section was difficult, especially the last sentence. This section is about the rhapsody which is a section of a poem about a particular subject. Think of the different segments of the Iliad and the Odyssey that are often viewed on their own.
The second sentence, I believe, is either an explanation of what Dionysius thinks to be the etymology of rhapsody or an explanation of rhabdody, which maybe a common misspelling of rhapsody.
- The "because" clause gave me the hardest trouble. Here is the original Greek: ἀπὸ τοῦ δαφνίνῃ ῥάβδῳ περιερχομένους ᾄδειν τὰ Ὁμήρου ποιήματα. First, I had no idea what the object of the preposition was. Then, I also was struggling to find how the infinitive fit into the sentence. I knew that τὰ Ὁμήρου ποιήματα was the object of ᾄδειν and that περιερχομένους was the subject. What I did not know was the infinitive can be used with any prepositions (a little searching through Smyth helped there). Because of my NT background, I thought that infinitives went only with ἐν, μετά, διά, εἰς, πρός, πρό, and that was about it (those were the ones mentioned in Mounce). It is always good to learn one's ignorance. I also decided to translate the απὸ causally though this may be just as much of a source idea. My first translation until I smoothed it out was "because of the singing of ones going around of the poems of Homer with the bay-wood staff." That is a more literal translation that leaves singing as the object of the preposition.

Are there any other ideas about what is going on here or how this should be translated?

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Concerning the Period

2009-08-19T14:19:00.001-07:00

Translation:

There are three punctuation points: full, middle, and comma. And the full point is the sign of the completed thought. And the middle point is the sign used because of a breath. And the comma is a sign of a not as yet completed but still lacking thought.

In what does the period differ from the comma? In time. For, on the one hand, in relation to the period the interval is great, but in relation to the comma the interval is altogether small.

[Greek Text]

Commentary:

Grammatically and conceptually, this was a fairly straightforward section. It concerns the punctuation points that you often see in Greek texts (well, at least three of the punctuation points). I don't know what the points looked like at the times (anyone have information on this?), but here is how they correspond to our current usage:
- The full point is the normal period, and like our period, it shows the end of a completed thought.
- The middle point is the raised period (a semi-semi-colon?). I have wondered what the purpose of the sign was because at sometimes a period seems the best way to "translate" it and at other times a comma seems best. Apparently, it is a place for the reader to take a breath.
- The comma is the usual comma, and it represents a partial thought.
This next section I am a little unsure about. I believe when Dionysius refers to the period here (στιγμὴ), he means the full point (τελεία). He is making a distinction between the period and the comma, yet above he includes the comma in the list of the three punctuation points (στιγμαί). I also think that the middle point is not included in this discussion because it does not seem as though Dionysius attaches any grammatical significance to it. The full point and the comma both deal with thoughts, but the middle point signifies a breath. Or perhaps I am wrong. As I think about it, Dionysius has already told us what the distinction between the full point and the comma is: completeness of thought. We are left, however, wondering what the difference between the middle point and the comma is. Neither signifies a complete thought, so both in some way show sections of a thought. So how do we tell the difference between the two? Dionysius answers this question with time. The pause is greater with the middle point while the comma's pause is very short. The problem with my first idea is that I had no idea how to explain the time answer.

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Concerning Pitch

2009-08-06T19:22:00.001-07:00

Translation:

Pitch is the resonance of a musical sound. The resonance of height is shown by the acute accent. The resonance of leveling is shown by the grave accent. The resonance of a change in direction is shown by the circumflex accent.

[Greek Text]

Commentary:

Dionysius (I am constantly wanting to type Dionysios) describes pitch as basically how the musical sound (or voice) sounds.
This next section is very difficult for me. I am still not certain as to how it should be translated. It was not so much the grammar that caused problems as figuring out what the words meant. Here is the section in Greek: ἡ κατὰ ἀνάτασιν ἐν τῇ ὀξείᾳ, ἡ κατὰ ὁμαλισμὸν ἐν τῇ βαρείᾳ, ἡ κατά περίκλασιν ἐν τῇ περισπωμένῃ. This section is made up of three smaller sections each with three parts: (1) ἡ (2) κατὰ followed by a noun (3) ἐν τῇ followed by an adjective
- The first issue is to what does ἡ refer. The feminine gender points to either ἀπήχησις (resonance, sounding) or φωνῆς (sound, voice). The more natural choice seems to be ἀπήχησις due to its significance to the previous sentence.
- The next two parts gave me the most fun. There are six words which can be divided into two groups: the nouns following κατὰ and the adjectives following ἐν. These can be divided into three sections: those referring to the acute accent, those referring to the grave accent, and those referring to the circumflex accent.
  - When I looked up the nouns, the most relevant meaning I found was when following κατὰ they mean "of the acute accent" (ἀνάτασις), "of the grave accent" (or "without a rise in tone" ὁμαλισμός), and "of the circumflex accent" (περίκλασις). On their own, however, they mean "height," "leveling," and "change in direction," respectively (there are of course other meanings, but these seem to be the next most relevant).
  - The adjectives I had seen before and knew that they refer to the accents as well (though I did learn that this happens when they are in the feminine gender): ὀξεία – acute, βαρεία – grave, and περισπωμένη – circumflex. Their basic meanings are "high," "low (or unaccented)," and "being wheeled about."
- The question arose in my mind: which of these words refer explicitly to the accent and which refer to their basic meaning? It seemed to me that both the noun and the adjective could not explicitly mean the accent. Woodenly, that might look something like: the resonance of the acute accent is by (in, with?) the acute accent. That doesn't really explain anything which seems to be Dionysius' purpose, so I figure that one set refers to the accent and the other set explains the accent. I eventually decided on the way translated above because the adjective group is the group I have seen before in reference to accents. I realize that isn't the strongest reason, but I couldn't see a better way with the resources I have.
- Whichever group names the accents, they both offer insight into how the accents sound. The acute accent has a high sound. The grave accent seems to be a level sound. Ὁμαλισμός refers to a leveling, like that which one might do to the ground, and βαρύς can either refer to a low sound or a unaccented sound. The circumflex accent has a sound that changes (wheels about, twists).

Any comments or advice as to how this passage should be translated would be appreciated. Do you think I am correct or should I have translated it another way?

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Concerning Reading

2009-07-30T09:48:00.001-07:00

Translation:

Reading is a faultless utterance of poems and prose works.

One must read according to delivery, variation in pitch, and distinction. From the delivery we see virtue, and from variation in pitch skill, and from distinction the particular mind in order that we might read the tragedy heroically, and the comedy lively, and the elegies clearly, and the epic vigorously, and the lyric poem elegantly, and the lamentations subdued and mournfully. For the things which are not produced according to the observance to these rules of reading both despise the virtues of poets and render the habits of those who read absurd.

[Greek Text]

Commentary:

First, notice what reading is. It is the faultless utterance. Reading involves speaking aloud. Greek works, in particular, are meant to be read aloud, not, as most of us are used to, read quietly in our heads (I suspect most modern English works are meant to be read silently. I wonder how this has affected writing style. I also wonder whether reading aloud or silently is better for learning and understanding what is being read).
If we should read aloud, then we should read correctly, that is, the way the work was meant to be read in order that we may feel the full effect of what the author intended. Dionysius gives us three main points on which to focus: delivery (ὑπόκρισις), variation in pitch (προσῳδία), and distinction (διαστολή).
- Delivery belongs to the art of orators and actors. This is one place, as Anonymous commented on the previous section, it would be handy to have a Classical scholar or at least someone who has read something like Aristotle's Rhetoric that might better inform us on what delivery entails. We do see, however, that based upon the delivery we can observe virtue or excellence (I really cannot decide whether it refers to the reader or the text. The following ἵνα clause makes me want to say the text, but the next item in the list "from variation in pitch skill" seems to point to the reader while I am uncertain of the final item of the list (though I might be leaning towards text. See below)).
- Variation in pitch concerns the pronunciation of what we see today as accents. The pitch accent of earlier Greek was probably starting to die out when Dionysius Thrax wrote in the 2^nd century A.D. Basically, I see Dionysius as arguing for a reconstructed pronunciation, a utilization of the pitch accent when reading ancient works because we can see the reader's skill based upon his use of variation in pitch (I myself do not use a pitch accent. I have been trying to learn Randall Buth's Reconstructed Koine, but I find it really hard not to slip back to Modern Greek pronunciation which I have used for at least a year or two now and I really like).
- I am not sure what to make of "distinction." Could it be enunciation? That is my best guess, but I really don't have assurance of it. What Dionysius tells us we can see from distinction does not give me any clues either. He says we can see τὸν περιεχόμενον νοῦν, which I translated "the particular mind" (or maybe "the contained mind," "the surrounded mind," "the particular thought"? This last one might have some virtue) but I am not certain what he means by it. Perhaps, it means the particular characteristics of the author or the interpretation of the reader (If we went with "the particular thought," maybe distinction refers to vocal pauses indicating punctuation and the particular thought refers to phrases and clauses. That is appealing. What do you think?)
This ἵνα clause is a wonderful passage. It makes me want to go try to read the Iliad, plays, and other poetry. He gives a list of the different genres of Greek literature with an adverb describing the way these genres ought to be read.
- The word "lively" (βιωτικῶς) has the idea of pertaining to common life
- The word "clearly" (λιγυρῶς) seems to have some sad connotations, something clear, sweet, and sad. While I cannot think of any in particular, I have head songs that I would describe that way.
The final sentence says that if one does not read according to the aforementioned guidelines, one ruins the skill and artwork of the author as well as makes those guidelines laughable.
- The first section of the sentence offered some difficulty: τὰ γὰρ μὴ παρὰ τὴν τούτων γινόμενα παρατήρησιν. The phrases are intertwined in a way that I did not expect to see. Normally (at least in what I have read of the NT so far, which of course is different), I would have expected the παρατήρησιν to fall before the γινόμενα in a nested structure (which seems to be fairly common in Greek) especially with how the sentence begins, but Dionysius threw a curveball at me and placed the παρατήρησιν outside the τὰ…γινόμενα structure. I wonder if and how this changes the emphasis.

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Concerning Grammar

2009-07-25T14:44:00.001-07:00

Translation:

Grammar is the craft of the general things said in both poets and prose writers. Its divisions are six.

First, a practiced reading according to pronunciation with pitch.

Second, an interpretation according to the inherent poetical customs.

Third, an easy explanation of both the obscure words and inquiries.

Fourth, a discovery of etymology.

Fifth, a consideration of analogies.

Sixth, a judgment of the poetical forms, and this part is the best of all in the art.

[Greek Text]

Commentary:

It is always great when the first sentence gives you a lot of trouble. Here is the first sentence in the original Greek:
γραμματική ἐστιν ἐμπειρία τῶν παρὰ ποιηταῖς τε καὶ συγγραφεῦσιν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ λεγομένων.
- LSJ gives as a gloss for ἐμπειρία experience, practice, or craft. The examples provided for "craft" connect ἐμπειρία with τέχνη (Arts and Crafts, anyone?), so it seemed fitting. I am, however, unsure if any of the idea of experience or practice colors the use of ἐμπειρία here or not.
- Παρὰ + Dat. also offers some difficulty since my background so far is mainly NT Greek where παρὰ + Dat. will usually be "beside" or "in the presence of." Those ideas did not seem to fit here so I looked in LSJ and Smyth (P.S. I don't own either one of those, sadly; I am just using electric versions). LSJ had παρὰ used in quotations of authors, and Smyth gave possession as a meaning of παρὰ + Dat. While nothing is being explicitly quoted, Dionysius is referring to what the authors have written, so I have translated it as above. Possession is still a valid possibility, and it is not really excluded in my translation, but I think "of" sounds a little awkward there and may not be entirely clear.
- I had no idea what to make of ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ. My first literal attempt gave me "as to the many" (though, it probably should have been "much"), but I was very unsure what to make of it. I guessed that it might mean the things that the poets and prose writers wrote to the people. When I searched, however, I found that ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ is an idiomatic phrase for which LSJ gives the gloss "for the most part."…..*crickets chirp*…..That was as helpful as trying to light a candle with a lightning bug. What was helpful, though, was the example given: "μὴ καθ' ἓν ἕκαστον, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ π[ολύ] Isoc.4.154." "Not according to each one, but in general," or something along those lines. This phrase is modifying λεγομένων so "things said in general" which I smoothed to "general things said." (Actually as I sit here and think about it, "for the most part" and "in general" are connected, but when I use "for the most part" it is normally showing some doubt or lack of completeness, so that threw me off.)
- So my understanding of the first sentence is that Dionysius views grammar as the examination of the whole of what both poets and prose writers have written. I think this is shown in his six divisions of grammar. Grammar does not deal with just poetry or just prose nor is it just form or just content. The six divisions remind me a lot of modern exegesis (with the exception of the first one and maybe replacing poetical customs and forms with grammatical structures or discourse analysis).
The first division concerns reading, which is also the next section. I will wait until then to say much, but I do think that practiced reading would help exegesis by offering a better picture of the whole instead of the exegete focusing on each word exclusively.
The second division is the interpretation of the poetical customs within the text. Sadly, I can't say all that this entails as I am not an expert on Greek poetry, but things like elision, meter, and other ways that poetry may get in the way of understanding. It could also be that Dionysius wants those doing grammar to point out various poetical conventions whether or not they hinder understanding.
The third division focuses on explaining difficulties in the text (see above J). Ironically, this sentence offered some difficulties. The sentence is: τρίτον γλωσσῶν τε καὶ ἱστοριῶν πρόχειρος ἀπόδοσις. The challenge for me lies in γλωσσῶν τε καὶ ἱστοριῶν. My first instinct for γλωσσῶν was "languages," but a little research led to "obscure words" which seemed a likely possibility (I suppose "dialects" is still a good possibility and may be best keeping the context of poetry and drama in mind). Ἱστοριῶν can be taken two ways: inquiries or knowledge gained by inquiries. The context led me to choose the former. Since γλωσσῶν is dealing with difficulties that arise while reading a text, ἱστοριῶν would also deal with similar difficulties, but here the idea is of inquiries made of the text or about the text instead of difficult words (or dialectical differences).
The fourth division is that of etymology, the study of words and their roots. Dionysius is advocating that a part of grammar is discovering how the words are formed.
The fifth division I do not fully understand: the consideration of analogies. Perhaps he refers to comparing the words and structures in one work to another to shed light on the word or construction. I wonder if we will ever see these divisions put into practice throughout his work.
The sixth division concerns the judgment of poetical forms. The last phrase of this sentence gave me trouble. In Greek, the sentence is: ἕκτον κρίσις ποιημάτων, ὃ δὲ κάλλιστόν ἐστι πάντων τῶν ἐν τῇ τέχνῃ. I am not sure what to make of the relative phrase and how it fits. One possibility is that it is this division of grammar that is the best in the art, so I have decided to translate it as thus.

This turned out to be a lot longer than I expected. I appreciate any critiques, comments, suggestions. I think I am going to start a post which will contain the whole translated work which will edited based on suggestions or what I learn as I move further in (also minus the comments so it could be read more continuously).

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Introduction to Dionysius Thrax

2009-07-24T11:52:00.001-07:00

As a way to practice translating Greek as well as to read something that I have wanted to read, I am going to translate through the Art of Grammar by Dionysius Thrax (Τεχνη Γραμματικη Διονυσιου του θρᾳκος). Dionysius, a Thracian (from the area of Thrace northeast of Greece), lived during the 2^nd century B.C. (or B.C.E if you prefer) who, according to the Souda, a 10^th century A.D. (or C.E. if you prefer, though I am not entirely sure the A.D. is in the right spot) encyclopedia, worked in Alexandria. He wrote the Art of Grammar when the vernacular Koine Greek was becoming more divergent from the classical Attic Greek of literature in order that people might better understand the older writings.

I will translate each section of the work and post it hopefully regularly. I might also comment on the text, noting constructions, words, as well as my own thoughts.

There is a Greek text at Bibliotheca Augustana as well as at Wikisource. Feel free to compare and critique my translations.

Here is the Table of Contents:

Concerning Grammar
Concerning Reading
Concerning Pitch
Concerning the Period
Concerning Rhapsody
Concerning the Letter
Concerning the Syllable
Concerning the Long Syllable
Concerning the Short Syllable
Concerning the Common Syllable
Concerning the Word
Concerning the Noun
Concerning the Verb
Concerning the Conjugation
Concerning the Participle
Concerning the Article
Concerning the Pronoun
Concerning the Preposition
Concerning the Adverb
Concerning the Conjunction

Christianity in Crisis 21st Century

2009-05-29T22:00:00.001-07:00

Christianity in Crisis 21^st Century is a book written by Hank Hanegraaff who is updating his previous book Christianity in Crisis. In this book, Hanegraaff examines the claims and teachings of false teachers, particularly the Word-Faith, health and wealth teachers. When I started looking at it, I was unsure of what to expect, but it is an interesting and engaging. I never really looked into what some of these teachers said. I always figured it was merely God wants you to be rich. Hanegraaff does a good job at showing what these teachers teach using their own words. The book is filled with quotations, if not in the text itself then in the end-notes. It really blew my mind the twisting of Scripture that occurs and not just in the realm of money. God is a powerless God. Jesus was rich. Faith needs to be in Faith itself. Words shape the world. What is spoken comes into existence. Hanegraaff does go a little over board with acronyms for my taste. Everything has an acronym. FLAWS looks at the errors of the false teachers. ABCDE looks at corrections to those errors. Each of those has other acronyms inside them. But some people like acronyms, so it isn't completely a bad point. Overall, this is a good book, not a heavy read, but one that will strike you as you see some of the errors that exist in the world.

Oh, How I Wish I Had Time

2009-02-25T07:22:00.000-08:00

This semester is going to be a challenge at some points, such as now when I have an application essay to write, a resume to finish, along with actual schoolwork. Eventually, hopefully, I will have time to actually really write things on here. Until then, here are some interesting pictures:

Siege of Leningrad Blockade Now and Then

Lent

2009-02-25T05:21:00.000-08:00

Today is Ash Wednesday, forty days (excluding Sundays) before Easter. It is well known for people giving up things they should have already given up so that they can look good. I am going to try to use this time to work better at reading my Bible. I found this reading plan which goes through the New Testament during the season of Lent. The guy who originally made it up is going through it in Greek and I think I will as well.

Lincoln's Faith

2009-02-08T06:15:00.000-08:00

I read an interesting article the other day about the faith of Lincoln. Historians are divided on how deep his faith went, but the article gave a quote written by Lincoln during the middle of the Civil War which is pretty amazing:

“The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God can not be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God’s purpose is something different from the purpose of either party—and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say this is probably true—that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere quiet power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.”

Here is the whole article:

The Puzzling Faith of Abraham Lincoln

Kiss: An Enjoyable, Wild Ride

2009-01-20T14:25:00.001-08:00

I have read several books by Ted Dekker before, and they always prove to be enjoyable. Kiss has continued this tradition. Kiss is written by Ted Dekker and Erin Healy, who apparently is Dekker's editor on some previous works. I was a bit concerned because I had not heard of Erin Healy before and I did not know what kind of affect she might have the quality. This book, however, did not suffer in quality; in fact, I found it very well written, so I approve of this collaboration.

Kiss is a mystery thriller with Dekker's touch of supernatural (cf. Blink). I cannot say too much or else I would give the fun of the story away. But, the main character, Shauna, wakes up after a terrible car wreck with amnesia of the past several months. Her father ignores her, her step-mother hates her, and her beloved brother is brain-damaged. She is left trying to reclaim her memories, but some people do not want her to remember.

This story is a good thriller, a good mystery, and a good emotional ride. Some parts are very tense, not so much because you worry about someone getting hurt or the like but because you are certain Shauna should not be telling all the information she is to the people she is. There are times I wanted to yell out, "NO!! Don't say that!!!" and when she did, I was left wondering how this would come back to bite her.

The mystery was well done. It was gave you just enough to have an idea what was going on but not enough to know all the details. It was not too hard to guess what was going to happen, but there were still enough smaller things to keep you going. Actually, there was one detail at the end that took me by surprise.

This story contained familial love, romantic love, intense anger (there were several times I wished one of the characters would kill another of the characters), sadness over injustice done (this book brings up human trafficking and torture, as well as a brief mention of the Terry Schiavo case). It takes you through an emotional gamut.

One thing I really appreciated about this book was its latent Christianity (as C.S. Lewis called it which Dekker refers to on his blog). The story contains a Christian worldview. There is a right and a wrong. God is present (though not all the characters always acknowledge it). It is a Christian story in the same way that The Lord of the Rings was a Christian story, a quality story written by a Christian that upholds Christian virtues and a Christian worldview, even if God is not invoked on every page or the Gospel is not presented to the characters with amass conversion following. God is mentioned in this story. Several times, an old rhyme Shauna's mother used to tell her would come to her mind that contained the three Persons of the Trinity. A couple of characters are Christian but none of the main characters are and none of them become Christian either. They just respond to a situation in a world where there is a God.

At the end of the book though, the authors do give a "moral" to the story: remember your past and remember how you were brought out of it. That is a very important message that is repeated over and over again throughout especially the Old Testament. It is a message that we need to continue to hear today. I think Dekker and Healy did an amazing job fleshing out that message with an entertaining story that I was able to read in one day.

Gospel Reminders

2009-01-10T07:33:00.000-08:00

Gospel Reminders is a blog that my former pastor showed me. Everyday the author gives a quote that pierces my heart and reminds me of all my failures, pushing me towards seeking my God. To some that up: it is good stuff.

Homecomings and Temptations

2009-01-08T08:23:00.001-08:00

My computer has been having problems since I tried to update my anti-virus program. That is why I have been absent for a little while, but now my computer is usable (but not fixed….and still no anti-virus). My mind has been a busy place lately. Many things have been plaguing my thoughts, and I can't seem to make any sense of most of it.

One thing I have decided upon: It is bad for me to practice Greek from the New Testament. If I do, I tend to want to view it purely in that mindset and I can't do that healthily. I have taken out Xenophon's Anabasis to use for practice. I am really enjoying it. I can view it grammatically and as simply a story.

This does not mean I cannot read from the Greek New Testament, but I cannot let grammar cloud over the meaning. It is one of those annoying temptations I wish I didn't have to deal with.

Cyril and Methodius

2009-01-03T09:07:00.000-08:00

To me, these guys are cool (definitely a technical term). They helped bring writing and Scriptures to the Slavs. The alphabet used to write Slavic languages is called Cyrillic because of these guys. They were given the title "Equal to the Apostles" because of their work in bringing the gospel to a massive language group.

Here are some articles to read:

Christianity Today

Wikipedia

A Late Present For You

2008-12-31T07:15:00.000-08:00

I am not sure but I think traditionally Christmas songs are not to be sung until after Christmas maybe until Epiphany or something like that (12 Days of Christmas are the days after Christmas, I think). So here is a present for you:

Καλα Χριστουγεννα

Mice Skeletons

2008-12-30T20:46:00.001-08:00

My dad is working on finishing the basement so we have been cleaning and putting some kind of sealant on the floor. As I was sweeping in one area, I found a couple little dust piles, but then I looked closer. There were mice skeletons in the piles. Death has been on my mind a lot in the past several months as I have pondered the first creation and the fall and the entrance of sin and death then as I have been reading Surprised By Hope by N.T. Wright. Did some form of death exist before the fall? What did God mean when he said "You shall surely die?" How can death be the enemy, the final one to be conquered and yet Paul is able to say death is gain. What should our relationship to death be? Should we look forward to it as gain or should we despise it as an enemy?

I think I might use this as a reason to do some studying. I will report back to you.

For That Linguist Deep Down Inside

2008-12-29T19:34:00.000-08:00

Forvo is a cool little website that offers pronunciations for words in different languages by native speakers. I can see it being a great help for learning a language so for those learning German, Greek (Modern pronunciation), Hebrew, Turkish, or even Klingon, check it out. For that matter, indulge your inner philologist and listen to all the languages. You know you want to.

An Interesting Quote

2008-12-26T19:08:00.001-08:00

Simone Weil (I have no idea who this is, I got it from the Christianity Today review of the Spirit which I have not seen) said, "Imaginary evil is romantic and varied: real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring: real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating. 'Imaginative literature,' therefore, is either boring, or immoral, or a mixture of both."

A Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T19:34:00.001-08:00

I have been having a wonderful time at home, spending time with my father, my mother, my sister, and my two adorable nieces. I have three new books in my possession, one of which may appear here as a review. One of the others I received was Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion which I am happy to say was one of my niece's favorite gifts. She wanted to flip through all the pages, and she was very sad when I took it into the other room. God bless you all on this Christmas Eve.

The Beauty of Winter

2008-12-22T13:35:00.001-08:00

I arrived back in my hometown of Peoria, IL, to find ice and snow everywhere. Down in TN, not much snow and ice are to be seen. Even though it is absolutely frigid outside, it is also amazingly beautiful. God has done well in coating the landscape in white.

This reminds me of a question my grandmother asked me: "If there was no death before the Fall, was there winter?" It is interesting that the season of death can be such a beautiful season. I sure hope there were seasons before the Fall, but even then, it could be a sign of God's working good in all things. Or both. Mere Speculation. I will just enjoy God's beautiful creation and dream of the one to come (I am not sure if that is a double entendre or not).

Review: The Orthodox Study Bible

2008-12-19T16:02:00.001-08:00

I have finally gotten around to reviewing the Orthodox Study Bible. Here it goes:

The Orthodox Study Bible, published by Thomas Nelson, is a new study Bible with two interesting features. First, all of its notes and articles are written from an Eastern Orthodox perspective. Second, the Old Testament is translated from the Septuagint (LXX), which the Eastern Orthodox use, rather than the Masoretic Text (MT). These two features make it a valuable resource for most students of the Bible, Eastern Orthodox or not. For this review, it will be important to note that I am not an Eastern Orthodox, so my thoughts will be those of an outsider.

First, the edition I have is the hard cover. It comes with a nice, sturdy dust cover with a beautiful icon of Christ on the front. The colors of the cover match that of the icon, red and gold, very pleasing to behold. Removing the dust cover, the Bible looks a lot like many standard pew Bibles (at least for many of us Baptists). It is maroon with the "Orthodox Study Bible" written in gold on the front with the Eastern Orthodox cross also gold. The font of the text is decently sized (big enough to be read without being a large-font Bible), and the font of the notes are as well very readable. Some of my favorite parts of the Bible are the paintings/icons that are placed throughout the text. They are beautiful, and many seemed to be filled with theological depth.

The study Bible contains several articles and resources at the front and back of the book. The introduction explains the differences in numbering at some places (Psalms, Jeremiah, and Malachi) between the LXX and the MT. There is also a list comparing the Old Testament books in the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant traditions. The different books are: 1 Esdras (a variation of Ezra), Tobit, Judith, 1-3 Maccabees, Psalm 151, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of Sirach, Baruch, Epistle of Jeremiah, the Prayer of Manassah, the additions to Esther, and the additions to Daniel. While I do not consider these to be inspired, the church throughout history has found some value in them as well as it has quoted from them. If you do not have some form of the Apocrypha, here is a good place to get them. The study Bible also has a section with a brief overview of all the books of the Bible. This section is very brief and is not really something to write home about. There is also an introduction to the Eastern Orthodox church which is very informative.

In the back of the book, there are a set of articles entitled "For Prayer, Reading, and Study." The first article in this set is "How to Read the Bible" which explains four characteristics of Eastern Orthodox Bible reading: it should be obedient, ecclesial, Christ-centered, and personal. There are a lot of good things in this article that should apply across branches of Christianity, though there are some specifics I disagree with, but they are not necessarily bad (for instance, how the ecclesial characteristic works out, I am not sure liturgy is the best way to interpret through the Church, though it definitely could play in). The next tool provided is a lectionary. It offers reading based on the church calendar. Sadly, due to my Baptist background, I lack much knowledge about this tool, but it does offer some insight into the way the Eastern Orthodox think, how verses apply and the like. It also has a glossary, again useful for the Eastern Orthodox understanding of different topics. After the glossary, there are morning and evening prayers. I have yet to really use written prayers (someday I think I want to), but there are some good things in these prayers. They also contain the Nicene creed (sans the filioque clause) and some Psalms to use in the morning which I have used and I have enjoyed.

Then, there is an index to the notes which not only point out themes but also references to church fathers. This could be extremely useful if you wanted to find what a certain church father said on various things. This seems like a good time to discuss the notes themselves. The notes are not focused on a specific subject. They are generally explanative from the Eastern Orthodox perspective. Because of that, typology and allegory are used more frequently. Also of interest is that many of the notes come from church fathers. This gives a historical perspective that we do not often find in newer commentaries. Plus, if we do get a historical viewpoint on a passage, it is unlikely to come from the church fathers who are an important part of the church and the whole church has much to learn from them (as well as other parts of the church). Another type of note points out verses that are used for different occasions in the church calendar.

After the index of notes, there is the index to the study articles. These articles address many of the important issues. They attempt to address differing interpretations on the issues (but for instance in the article on Justification by Faith, they seem to misinterpret the idea of sola fides), and offer some idea of Eastern Orthodox theology on the big issues.

Overall, this is a very good study Bible even for those not Eastern Orthodox. The Eastern Orthodox, at least for many Protestants I know, are a mystery, and this study Bible clears up some of the theology and mindset. It is helpful in learning to respect this important branch of the Body of Christ. It, however, should not be the primary Bible of Protestants. It seems, though, to offer much for the Eastern Orthodox Christian, and I am glad to see this tool available for them, despite my disagreements in theology.

The Joy of Organization

2008-12-19T09:41:00.001-08:00

Speaking of the end of the semester, one thing that I have been able to do that has immensely improved my mood is to organize my room. Last night, I put all my new books from this semester in my library, reorganizing it as well, and then I bought some file folders and organized all my papers and articles. Loose papers are the bane of my existence and really put a damper on my mood, but now they are all sorted and I feel better. During the middle of the semester when my roommate and I were writing all our papers, articles and books were scattered everywhere. It was unpleasant for my state of mind. Now, however, everything is the way it should be, tidy…tidier at least.

Another Semester Down, One to Go

2008-12-19T09:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I had my last final. It feels very good to be done with classes because it was a hard semester, but it was a good semester. I had History of Christianity, Biblical Theology, Elementary Hebrew, Contemporary Christian Life and Practice, and the book of Hebrews. They were all really good classes and I have learned a lot. Biblical Theology especially has altered my understanding of how the Bible fits together. I exhort everyone to go get Graeme Goldsworthy's According to Plan to get an introduction to Biblical Theology.

I only have one more semester left at Union. Then, it is off to seminary. I am going to need God's wisdom and provision for that.

Christmas Giveaway!

2008-12-19T08:53:00.000-08:00

Trevin Wax at Kingdom People is giving away his ten favorite books of this year and an ESV Study Bible for subscribing to his blog. I encourage you to check out his blog and subscribe.

As a sidenote, I should giveaway some books to get more visitors. Anyone want some John Phillips' commentaries?

I Am a Thinker

2008-11-20T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Typealyzer is an fun little site which analyzes your personality based on your blog. I am a Thinker based on this site :-)

Word of the Day: Καίνος

2008-11-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

As I read and research for my paper, the topic is slightly morphing. It seems that I am focusing a lot on the word καίνος "new." As John writes in Revelation: And the one sitting on the throne said Ιδου καινα ποιω παντα 'Behold! I make all things new'" God is working toward making all things new. When Christ returns, there will be a new heavens and new earth (Rev 21-22, 1 Pet 3) (Just so you know, I would argue that God will transform the heavens and the earth, rather than destroy and remake, but either way God is making things new).

Even though God will make all things new upon Christ's return, he is in the process of making things, particularly us humans, new now. This is through our salvation in the Cross. When God shines his light in us (2 Cor 4:6; an echo of Gen 1), we partake in the new creation (2 Cor 5:17). We are to take off the old man and put on the new man (Eph 4:24; Col 3:10). This new man is renewed according to the image of God (Col 3:10; reference to Gen 1:26-27) (Note the constant reference back to Genesis. I think that is going to be the main point of my paper).

Word of the Day: Γένενις

2008-11-13T06:26:00.000-08:00

Γένεσις (Genesis - birth, history, lineage) is the first part of my Biblical Theology paper I need to start working on soon, particularly the genesis of man. What I am basically planning on discussing in this section are man's creation, man's place in the rest of Creation, dominion mandate, and image of God. The overall purpose of the paper is to trace the idea of man's creation-new creation throughout the Bible. It is going to take a lot of work.

Talking Robot

2008-11-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

Language Log is a great site for all your linguistic urges. They linked to a site about a talking robot. At the bottom of the page, there are several videos of this thing in action. What makes it cool is that it is using (imitation) human speech instruments to accomplish its sounds. Check it out.

Word of the Day To Return (I Hope)

2008-11-11T06:21:00.000-08:00

I am going to try to start up Word of the Day again (not that it really started last time...). I figure since this site is named for this feature, the feature ought to be there...And in honor of this hopeful return:

Word of the Day: ἐλπίς (elpis - hope, expectation)

BDAG gives it the definition "the looking forward to something with some reason for confidence respecting fulfillment." It seems to me as a casual English user that hope and expectation have different meanings in English. Hope (μὲν) is more of a wish or desire that has no reasonable chance or at least a very small one of actually being fulfilled. Expectation (δὲ) has a decent chance of being fulfilled.

Thus, if you really wanted a nice new Lego set for Christmas but your parents have made no mention of it and have in fact hinted at socks and underwear, you might hope for Legos but expect socks. Now, if you wandered into their room while they were gone and find a way to look on the top shelf (obviously for pure reasons) and just so happen to see a Lego set, you would no longer hope for Legos, you would expect Legos. There is now a basis for your desire.

The Greek word, at least when used by Christian authors, has the same connotations as the English 'expectation.' Our hopes in Christ are not unfounded, but have a basis in his death and resurrection, and the faithfulness with which God has interacted with his covenant people throughout history. Particularly, we have a basis that Christ will certainly return, judge the living and the dead, and consummate the marriage with the Church even though it has been 2000 years since he left.

A Review: Billy

2008-11-09T13:28:00.000-08:00

Billy by William Paul McKay & Ken Abraham
Billy is a (somewhat fictionalized?) biography of Billy Graham’s start as a evangelist, his interactions with Charles Templeton, who was at one time an evangelist and eventually renounced his faith, and the struggle of faith to which these interactions led. The biographical information is framed by a story of an interview with the aged Templeton.
I see there being two parts to a book review: the writing and the message. Concerning the writing, this book was not outstanding, but it was not awful. The writing at the beginning was slow and weak. It seemed much like the way some of my papers start out, a writer’s block exercise. Once the authors, however, got into the book, any imperfections in the writing faded to the background, and the story took over. One concern I have is where the line between truth and fiction is. The back cover says this book is “based on the remarkable true story.” I am not an expert on the life of Billy Graham but from what I could find, the major events mentioned are all correct. I am assuming that the conversations for the most part have been fictionalized. Fictionalized does not mean bad though. The authors have crafted a wonderful story of love of God, romance, doubt, and a strengthened love of God. One minor problem was on pages 57 and 62, the authors mention the Greek word for sin. They, however, use the word metanoia which happens to not be the Greek word for sin but for repentence. The Greek word for sin is hamartia. It could be possible that they were trying to show the greenness of the young Billy Graham at his first preaching engagement, but since they don’t point out the correct word, I doubt it.
The message of the story was thought-provoking. The contrast between the questioning of Billy Graham which leads to faith and the questioning of Charles Templeton which leads to apostasy offers much to think about and is something that many people need to consider. I know I have doubts and how I deal with these doubts influences how my faith grows. Charles Templeton’s problem was his lack of theological basis. Without that, attacks on faith aren’t blocked by anything; they can just come in and take over. Billy Graham didn’t have much training but he had some, and that bit he had gave him something to stand upon. But more importantly, he clung to God through his doubts. His example in that is encouraging; God can guide us through doubts.
The strangest thing that the authors did was toward the end of the book when Billy Graham was wrestling in prayer about his view of the Bible. The authors add in the forces of Heaven and Hell battling over Billy Graham’s soul. It felt a bit contrived. Also, while they did portray Satan as being on a leash (something that it seems many Christians don’t realize anymore), they also put God on a leash saying that God could not do anything to influence Billy Graham except keep Satan at bay (well, I should say angelic forces, not God, because God does not partake in this struggle). I disagree with the theology of this section, but there are a lot of Christians whose view of theology I disagree with, but they still have something to offer that I can learn from. And, this book offers a portrayal of two faiths, one that dies and one that survives, and we can learn from that.

What is Life?

2008-11-02T06:11:00.000-08:00

One of my friends posted this letter by James Dobson as though he were a Christian writing from the 2012 where Obama gets elected (Note: unless you are an extreme conservative who confuses Christianity with the Republican party, this will really annoy you). I don't have any real desire to critique the letter here; I think its own absurdity accomplishes that. However, I found this rebuttal which mentioned something very interesting.

In our current political culture, the phrase "Pro-Life" only refers to abortion. There is something seriously flawed with that. Why is abortion the only Life issue? The author of the rebuttal says:

"You make a mistake when you assume that younger Christians don't care as much as you about the sanctity of life. They do care--very much--but they have a more consistent ethic of life. Both broader and deeper, it is inclusive of abortion, but also of the many other assaults on human life and dignity. For the new generation, poverty, hunger, and disease are also life issues; creation care is a life issue; genocide, torture, the death penalty, and human rights are life issues; war is a life issue. What happens to poor children after they are born is also a life issue."

That is a statement I can stand behind. Abortion is very important, but you can't chase after that, claiming you are "Pro-Life" when you let so many other die. The last line of that quote is especially true. What use is it to save a baby's life if we shove it out on the streets as soon as it is born, neglected by its drug-addicted parents, barely getting enough food. That isn't "Pro-Life."

I am not saying that abortion should be allowed, but we should make sure we actually care about Life as a whole, instead of just in the womb.

Concerning the Greek Verb

2008-10-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

As a student of the Greek language, I read and am taught things that make sense, but I often wonder: Was this really how the original speakers thought about their language? For instance, I am reading Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek by Constantine Campbell. He argues that Greek verbs do not have tense (past, present, future, perfect) contained in the words themselves. Only when the verbs are in a context that calls for tense do the verbs show tense. What the verbs do have is aspect, i.e. how the action is viewed, and remoteness, i.e. how close the viewer is to the action. While I am not trying to reproduce his book here and so this might not make much sense, it really does make a lot of linguistic sense to me. The scheme fits well.

However, is this how the Greeks viewed their verbs? Well, at least according to one of their grammarians, Dionysios Thrax, not really. He says (my translation), "There are three times: present, past (having gone by), and future (about to be). The past has four different sections: imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, and aorist. There are three relationships between these: present to imperfect, perfect to pluperfect, aorist to future" (the original). He views the verbs more in terms of time (though, that last line is interesting...I might return to that sometime).

The next question is whether or not the Greeks' own view is important. If someone calls all trees trees without recognizing the distinction between the different types of trees, he isn't completely wrong but he lacks the botanical sophistication to point the distinctions out. Or maybe a better example might be the difference between an interior decorator and a normal guy. To the normal guy there is just green, maybe a dark and a light green, but green nonetheless. To the interior decorator, though, there is forest green, jade green, emerald green, sea green (I am a normal guy; those were the only crayons I could think of). The interior decorator has an increased sophistication when dealing with colors.

So maybe, the Ancient Greek grammarians lacked the needed sophistication to recognize what was truly occuring in their language. Maybe they only saw the verbs in context and, therefore, drew conclusions only from the context, which usually showed tense, but they did not have the linguistic sophistication that we have now to look at unaffected meanings.

We have two views (there are other views out there as well). One uses modern linguistic tools to examine what authors have written and considers what might be occurring in the text. The other is looking at the language from within but without the current linguistic tools and discussions.

Which is correct?

A Taste of Church Politics

2008-10-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

I have been experiencing church politics lately. At the church I grew up in, I was too far removed from anything to see what goes on, but at my current church, I have had my eyes opened. We have been in the process of finding a new pastor. We brought in a really good guy for the interim position that has preached very biblically, and as a result, most of the church loves him. Notice the word "most." There are a couple in the church who...I can't say they are Arminian....how about Anti-Calvinist? I don't know that they have a really good idea why they believe what they believe because they never seem to bring up their points and support them.

Our interim pastor, on whom the church will vote in a couple weeks, is a Calvinist, but he is well-spoken and biblically grounded, loving man. I find myself likewise in the Reformed tradition, but I don't think that a pastor's ability as a pastor is hindered by their position on this matter. If a pastor was recommended that was an Arminian who preached the Bible faithfully, being true to the text, wrestled honestly with what the Bible says and still came out as an Arminian, then by all means, let him preach. But for this couple, I don't think it matters how biblical someone is as long as they are not Calvinist.

We had a business meeting last night. One of the couple brought up the pastor's view of free will. He has been going through systematic theology and started last week on the Providence of God. The one who asked the question wanted to hear the rest of the discussion before she voted (It won't be until the night of the voting that he can continue the Systematic theology). That wouldn't have been so bad except he has never been silent on his views. Last Sunday, he preached a wonderful sermon on the kingship of Christ, and his views came out. Several other times, it has been brought up. There was no question for any other member in the church as to what he believed.

It was actually amazing because the whole church, mostly not we younger Reformed guys but the older members, stood up for the pastor and said that he has stated his views and basically, we have been given all the information on this topic to make a decision. To see people think through things and be open-minded and greatly-loving solid preaching is a wonderful thing.

Food. Fridays. Fathers.

2008-10-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

I love it when my roommates get food from family. It means I get food.

Also, Fridays always start out at bad days but somehow I end up enjoying them.

I mostly don't mind turning into my father except for the fact that he always falls asleep when he reads. I am starting to do that. I have too much reading I want to do in life to have that characteristic.

The Jesus of Invitation Hymns

2008-10-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a John Donne sonnet I was introduced my Freshman year in Written Comp II:

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

I thought of this again after we sang The Savior Is Waiting at church last night:

The Savior is waiting to enter your heart,
Why don’t you let Him come in?
There’s nothing in this world to keep you apart,
What is your answer to Him?

Refrain: Time after time he has waited before,
And now He is waiting again
To see if you’re willing to open the door,
O, how He wants to come in.

If you’ll take one step t’ward the Savior, my friend,
You’ll find His arms open wide;
Receive him, and all of your darkness will end,
Within your heart He’ll abide.

These two things paint two completely different pictures of our Savior. John Donne shows God violently taking us out of our bondage to sin. He uses a couple of strong images: a town that has usurped against the rightful ruler and an unwanted betrothal to the desired man's enemy. Donne desires God to restore the rightful rule to the town and reclaim him from the marriage. The Savior Is Waiting displays Jesus standing outside our hearts hoping that we might open the door. He wants to come in but he is powerless to do anything about it. Time after time, he has waited and so far you have said no, but he is still waiting, hoping fingers crossed that this time you might say yes. That song hurts my heart. On the other hand, Donne's poem causes me to rejoice. How amazing it is that God has rescued us from sin.

Word of the Day: Νομιζω

2008-05-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

I suppose this is the first word to be considered. Νομιζω: I suppose, consider, think. It is quite fitting since I will consider many words here. Most of the words will probably come from Koine Greek, but I may find other words especially when I start to learn Hebrew come this fall. I will find a word and unleash my thoughts upon the unsuspecting world.

Now νομιζω had the meaning "I hold as a custom; I use customarily" in classical Greek (according to BDAG, it is used once with this meaning in Acts), but it also had the additional meaning of "I suppose, consider, think" which became the primary meaning in the New Testament. Νομος is a related word meaning "law, custom."

I got The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright by John Piper today from one of my friends who went to the Together For the Gospel conference but already had this book. It looks very interesting.

A great side thought: Paper books will always be better than electronic books for their ability to enable me to waste a lot of time. The interesting words one can find in lexicons.