And every language other than English is Greek to me.
I really want to learn Greek. I've actually been trying to talk a professor of mine into teaching a part-time Greek class. He's a classics professor with a great interest in Greek culture. Greece was eventually taken over by Christianity in about the 4th century A.D., which is probably where his fascination with Christianity also stems from. I can't figure out if he has faith in some form, or he just studies it and is fascinated by it. But either way, he's fluent in Greek.
So why do I want to learn Greek? Sure, I want to learn a second language (which I should have done a while ago really). But there's a lot more to it than that.
For anyone who doesn't know, the New Testament was originally written in Greek. Specifically, it was written in something called Koine Greek, which is just the common form of the language that was popular between about 300 B.C. and 300 A.D. or so. It's also the language the Septuagint (the Greek Translation of the Old Testament) is written in. (Wikipedia rules).
So why does this matter? Well, I am a Christian. The way Christians "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pt. 3:18 ESV) is through reading and understanding the Bible. And by "understanding," I don't just mean head knowledge. I mean actually knowing it, applying it to one's life. And English is not the greatest representation of Greek. No language is. The best way to really know what the Bible says and means is to read it in the original language. And through that I can grow. Any Christian can grow.
So that, my friends, is why I want to learn Greek. I specifically have an interest in the New Testament, which is why I pick Greek over Hebrew, though I wouldn't complain about learning Biblical Hebrew either. It's not just a thing where I can boast about knowing another language (who can honestly boast about that?). It's where I can read and know what God has to say. That's what ultimately matters, right?
