That sort of expense of resources and time has lead some to question the value of spending so many credits learning the Bible's original languages. Seminaries could get people out into the work of doing ministry much more quickly if the workload in Greek and Hebrew were lightened. Some argue that the time invested in dead languages would be better spent in counseling or other church ministry courses. After all, our English Bibles are outstanding, and programs like Bibleworks and Logos make research in the original languages much simpler.
To be straightforward with my position, I do think it is worth the time and effort. I also know that it is not fun, especially in the beginning. What follows is my assessment of the benefit that learning the original languages holds for pastors. I am in no way seeking to condemn any pastor who does not know Greek. I am also aware that, down the road, I too may be one of the majority that loses the languages after seminary. Please do not think this is condemnatory. I am merely explaining why I think it is a beneficial endeavor, and why those of us who are non-ordained members of the church should encourage our elders to make sure that our pastors have the time and means to study their Bibles in as much depth as they are able.
For those of us in Presbyterian churches, there is a confessional basis for these classes. "The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which, at the time of the writing of it, was most generally known to the nations), being immediately inspired by God, and, by His singular care and providence, kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical; so as, in all controversies of religion, the Church is finally to appeal unto them." Thus begins Chapter 1 section 8 of the Westminster Confession (the second half of which was quoted in my previous post). What the Confession is explaining is that in theological disagreements it is the Greek* text to which we must appeal. Some would say that with the lexica and software programs available one needn't know Greek in order to appeal it. But in Greek, as with all languages, meaning is found context. If our pastors do not know Greek syntax and structure (those issues that the advanced Greek classes deal with), then our church councils are at the mercy of theologians and academics instead of elders and pastors.
Tied closely to this is the idea of what a pastor should do, or rather, should be. He should be an expert in his field. I doubt anyone would want to go to a medical doctor who did not attend medical school, even if he appealed to the wide and useful knowledge base available. "Look, I didn't go to med. school, but between wikipedia and web m.d., I'm pretty sure we can fix your tendinitis." That would not be confidence inspiring. I don't mean to say that pastors who do not use Greek every week aren't experts, but I know that these men did learn the languages at some point. Medical doctors won't remember everything they learned in med. school. Needless to say, they learned enough to allow them to practice medicine well. We should expect no less of our pastors, and part of that process is learning the original languages.
A third reason that Greek and Hebrew are important is exegesis. Our English Bibles sometimes make exegetical decisions for us. Take something like "the love of God" (ἡ αγαπη του θεου). This phrase shows up often in 1 John. Usually, the ESV translates this phrase as "the love of God." The NIV sometimes translates it as "God's love." The question in these texts, though, is whether John means our love for God or God's love for us (an objective or subjective genitive, to be precise). The NIV editors believe it to be subjective, and so they translate it that way, but the Greek is ambiguous at this point leaving us to use the larger context to figure it out.
Another good example is 2 John 6. In the ESV, "And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it." The NIV translates it this way, "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." Notice the difference? The NIV defines "it." In Greek, it is a feminine singluar pronoun, which in this passage can refer to "love," "commandment," or "truth." If a pastor were to forgo learning and using Greek, he would likely assume that John is referring to love, but this may not be the case. Knowing Greek does not give you all the answers, but it does lead you to ask the right questions. If a pastor doesn't know Greek, he will always have to rely on the work of others as a primary, not secondary, source.
Another aspect in which an education in the original languages is valuable is that it makes us slow down. This was a point that Dr. Agan made in class. We are too good at English. We can breeze through a text rather quickly and not see the little things. In reading a second language we tend to read more carefully and precisely. Another thing that happens in our first language is that we fail to stop and think about the tiny details. For instance, sometimes there is one English word for a few Greek words, or vice versa. In Greek if we are reading and see two different words for the verb "to see" in one paragraph, we might just slow down and ask why.
Yet one more reason that learning Greek, and learning it well, is a worthwhile undertaking is that it helps pastors understand the text in such a way that they need not appeal to their knowledge of Greek to make their point. This may sound odd at first, but I think it is true. If you know and understand the language, you can probably find a translation that emphasizes whatever nuance you are hoping to draw out. If you don't have a good grasp of what is happening in a text in it's original language, you are more likely to quote a lexicon to make your point. This can make your sermon sound too "heady" or, worse, cause people to think that they need to know Greek to understand the Bible. To put it another way, I have heard it said that if you know something really well, you will be able to explain it in a simple way that a child can understand. With a good understanding of what is happening in the Greek, a simple explanation in English will be sufficient and transparent in a sermon while concurrently delivering the nuance of the Greek text.
Finally, the more a pastor uses the Greek, the better he will be at it. If our pastors don't learn Greek (and Hebrew) they won't use it. If they do not receive a good background for it in seminary, they will rarely gain this on their own later. A foreign language is a lot of work, and if one doesn't consistently use and practice it, it will continue to be hard. When it remains hard it won't be used. Software programs don't make the work easier. It is much easier to know the language and use the tools as a help in answering exegetical questions or looking up similar grammatical constructions. Using these tools to look up every tense and all of the uses of the dative is a task that will be far to burdensome for any pastor to bear. Only in learning the language well enough to read it on one's own (or with the use of a good reader's Bible) will allow a pastor to keep his language skills in the midst of all of his other responsibilities.
In short, I think it is imperative that those of us who are training for the pastoral ministry should at least learn the languages well, even if, as pastors (myself likely included down the road), we don't use it on a daily basis. While all of a pastor's duties are important, none are more so than knowing his Bible. The best way to know any written work is knowing it in its original language. It is hard. I know it is hard. My Greek grammar that has found itself tossed on the floor at times knows it is hard, but it is oh so rewarding. The effort, the time, the expense that is spent learning these languages in seminary will be rewarded, over and over, down the road. We must trust the wisdom of our father's in the faith who taught these languages before our time. We must take it upon ourselves to teach and be taught them in the future, for God's glory and the church's good.
*and Hebrew. In this post I will mostly be writing about Greek, since I have yet to learn Hebrew
"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."
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