Starting on Monday of this week we have had a wonderful guest teacher for a Doctor of Ministry class here at Knox. I have been sitting in on the class while I taught the Koreans in the afternoon and tried to keep up with my other work as well. The class is taught by my friend, Dr. Steve Runge who works for Logos Software ( http://www.logos.com ). Steve even looks like a brilliant guy (as opposed to me, who looks like a bridge troll).
Steve is teaching us this week about what is called “Discourse Analysis.” It is a name that scholars use for trying to see why languages do what they do and in our case, more specifically, why NT Greek does many of the things that it does. It is one of the most helpful methods of looking at the Greek New Testament that I have come across in a long time. Part of this may be because Steve is such a great teacher (and he is a great teacher, what other Greek class do you get to watch clips from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Oceans Eleven, and more than that they all added greatly to the teaching and learning experience), and part of this may be because of the wonderful helpfulness of the tool which Steve has designed for the Logos platform.
Those of you who know me, know that I am not one to give away complements unless I really mean them. The class this week has been beyond wonderful. If you would like to learn more about Steve’s methods for NT study or his tools, you can do two things: First, use the above link to go to Logos and check out his “Discourse Analysis New Testament.” There is even one made in the ESV for those of you who haven’t had the privilege of studying Greek. Just put “Steve Runge” in the search box on the Logos home page; Second, check out Steve’s blog at http://www.NTdiscourse.org and you will see some great, practical application of the work that Steve is doing.
For those of you who think that Greek grammar is all “ivory tower” I really encourage you to check out Steve’s blog. You will see some great stuff there that will help you understand the text in new and exciting ways. I plan to share some of my own discoveries with you over the next few months.
Keep Reading,
SamLam