Here is a recent interview I did with Dr. Ellen Marmon on "The Bible & Ministry". It is such a blessing to know Ellen and fun to interview her. The interview, which was a real treat has us discussing things like missions, calling, ministry, gay marriage / homosexuality, etc. You will be blessed watching/listening to this. Oh, by the way...it is audio only set to a still frame photo. That shouldn't deter you though...seriously, you'll be blessed by Ellen's pastoral nature, witticisms, and insights. Enjoy!
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
9/8/14
Recent Interview With Pete Enns
Hi Friends,
I just wanted to draw your attention to a recent interview I did over at Pete Enns's site/blog. I share one of my major "Aha! Moments" as a Christian and Bible scholar. Check it out HERE.
I just wanted to draw your attention to a recent interview I did over at Pete Enns's site/blog. I share one of my major "Aha! Moments" as a Christian and Bible scholar. Check it out HERE.
5/27/14
An Interview About My Book "Entering The Fray"
Hi Friends, I just wanted to point you in the direction of a recent interview I did about my book Entering the Fray. Thanks to Matt Montonini for doing the interview on his "New Testament Perspectives" blog and encouraging others to dig into the book. Check it out HERE. If you'd like to get a print or digital copy of the book you can do so on Amazon.com.
4/3/14
Ancient Greek Honor Society: Gamma Rho Kappa (GRK)
Recently I had an opportunity to sit down with a friend and colleague, J. Klay Harrison, to discuss the newly launched (International) Ancient Greek Honor Society. The name of the society is Gamma Rho Kappa (GRK; see the logo to the left). In the interview we discuss the purpose of GRK among other things. You can listen to it for free HERE (scroll to the bottom of the page to download it for FREE). You can also learn more about GRK and read some relevant documents HERE. Chapters are already forming in academic institutions. Why not bring a GRK chapter to your school? Download the audio and click the above link to learn how.
5/9/13
Secrets To Learning A Foreign Language
Hello friends. I was recently interviewed, along with several others, about some of the keys or "secrets" to learning a foreign language. Of course, much more was said during the course of the interview but they extracted a nice little chunk that fit the article's theme. You can check out the interview, which is titled "Expert Secrets for Learning Foreign Languages" HERE.
7/21/09
A Conversation With Brandon Wason: Interview Series, Pt. 8
Recently, I had the opportunity to spend some time in conversation with the author of SitzImLeben.com, Brandon Wason. Brandon will begin is PhD work at Emory this fall and is highly intersted in Christian origins and New Testament studies. Take a few minutes and drop-in on our conversation; I'm sure you will enjoy it, just as I did. When you're done, be sure to visit Brandon's blog.
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Michael: Brandon, thanks for agreeing to chat with me for a few minutes, I anticipate that this will be quite fun. I was wondering if, to begin, you could set the context for the rest of the conversation by sharing some of your personal background?
Brandon: Thank you, Michael. I appreciate the experience! Well, I'm originally from California and have spent most of my time there. I was not into academics very much during high school, mostly just skateboarding and basketball, but after graduating high school I started becoming more involved in church and started reading more books on the bible and related subjects in order to teach small groups, etc. Actually studying books on the bible really intrigued me and I started reading more technical books and decided that I should go to college and major in bible or theology. I ended up majoring in classics after reading F. F. Bruce's autobiography and that is sort of the very short version of how I became interested in academics.
Michael: For those who haven’t read Bruce’s autobiography or may not know exactly who he is, could you say a little bit about it and why you think it influenced you in the way that it did?
Brandon: F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) was a leading evangelical, biblical scholar. Since I participated in an evangelical church, his writings were well known to me. He's written a ton of commentaries on the New Testament and various books about the nature of the NT writings, its history and its theology. But what made him so popular, I think, is that he was very accessible to people just getting their feet wet in this field of study, like me. I rated his opinion very highly and so when he talked about his experience as a "classics" scholar, that made me consider majoring in it for myself. Of course, I had to make up for the lack of studying Judaism and theology when I came to seminary. Still, his book was very formative for me, in fact, you can read my thoughts about it here: 5 Influential Books.
Michael: I find it quite intriguing that it was someone’s autobiography that pointed you in the direction of what sort of school to attend in your pursuit of biblical academics. It seems clear to me (and others perhaps) that academic texts are still a major influence in your life. To see this, one needs look no further than your blog actually, which brims with information on books. So, can you say a little bit about your blog and why you started it?
Brandon: I had originally started a blog back in the summer 2005 called Novum Testamentum Blog. It was just me at the beginning, but some time later I opened it up to other authors. I enjoyed the blog immensely and it opened up many avenues of discussion and fostered many friendships. But as things became more and more busy as at seminary, it became increasingly difficult to maintain and eventually, it suffered a slow death. Nevertheless, I continued to follow many biblioblogs and continued to do the biblioblogs.com website with Jim West and John Hobbins. It had always been my intention to get back to blogging and so, I finally did this summer and already, I've found it very worthwhile. Since reading academic books is such a large part of my life now, it naturally becomes a focus of the site. Still, I hope that it remains only one aspect of the blog because if it were just about books, well I imagine that it will become quite boring.
Michael: The name of your new site is Sitz im Leben, is there a story behind that title?
Brandon: Broadly speaking, the German phrase Sitz im Leben refers to original context of a situation. It's a term that is widely used in biblical studies and it loosely describes what my blog is about: getting back to the first-century origins of Christianity. To be sure, it's not that my posts focus heavily on form criticism—they do not, though I do talk about those things here and there—but really I was just surprised that the domain name sitzimleben.com was still available.
Michael: Speaking of life settings and origins, so far, you have shared a few things about the origins of the faith & academic spheres of your life. What are your ultimate academic endeavors and where do you hope all this study leads?
Brandon: Originally I became interested in this field because I thought it would be wonderful to teach the bible, but I soon also became very interested in the research side of things as well. Because, ideally, I'd like to teach in a seminary environment in the future (although, I wouldn't mind teaching at a secular institution either), I decided to attend Candler School of Theology at Emory University. I am very grateful that I will be able to stay at Emory and finish my doctoral studies here as well. Without a doubt, I think that it is a great school for the academic side of New Testament studies, but also one that has a mind toward the church. So, when I will be finished in about five years, the plan is to be able to teach this material at a school that is a healthy environment for both teaching and research. As far as specifics, that's just too hard to know at this point.
Michael: Following up on your comments, let me ask: What advice would you give to budding scholars or those who have a desire to teach in biblical higher education some day?
Brandon: Well, I'm just starting off at the doctoral level, so, others will be able to make much better and more thoughtful / mature comments on the matter. There are a number of things that has helped me get to this point, although I still have much further to go. My wife has been very supportive of me during the highs and lows, without her, I don't know where I'd be. Second, I think I developed my desire to do doctoral work pretty early, so, things like a good GPA, fruitful relationships with professors, and familiarity with the field in-general just came natural. I usually planned most of my coursework around how I thought it would prepare me for graduate work, therefore I was able remain very focused. One thing I found very helpful was talking to professors who know the field well. Many of them have been able to give me sound advice about papers, resources, and the dreaded PhD application process. Nobody likes applying to PhD programs and the waiting period is the worst—it's a necessary evil filled with rejections. It's also good to have friends in similar places as you. (Michael and I actually talked quite a bit during the waiting period and it was nice to share good news with each other!)
Michael: A moment ago, you mentioned “specifics” about your future as a teacher being a little uncertain. Would it be appropriate to ask if you have any specific “research topics” that you are considering doing dissertation work on or is that a subject that is still being mulled over?
Brandon: I recently wrote my MTS thesis on the Eucharist in the Didache and I continue to be very fascinated by that document. I may or may not do more work on the Didache during my graduate career but I do plan to write more on it in the future. One of my main areas of interest has been Luke-Acts and Emory is one of the best places to study this. I've already taken a few courses on Luke-Acts during my master's degree but I plan on doing more work in this area. I have a few ideas on the table for dissertation topics but I haven't decided on anything concrete yet, or who my advisors will be. I think they give a little bit of time to figure those things out while in the program. So we'll see.
Michael: Your fascination with the Didache piques my own interest. Can you say a little more for my readers about what the Didache is and why you have such an interest in it?
Brandon: Thanks for asking. Actually, I'm going to be starting a short blog series on the Didache. Basically, the Didache (or, the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) was an early Christian church handbook. It probably dates to around 100 C.E. or earlier and reflects some segments of the early church that we do not find in the New Testament. Nevertheless, it has a very "biblical" feel to it. The first major section is an adaptation of a Jewish “Two Ways” tractate (also included at the end of the Epistle of Barnabas), which describes the way of life and the way of death. The Didache further talks about early Christian rituals such as fasting, prayer, baptism, church leadership and the Eucharist. Given all of this, one can easily see how this document is important.
Michael: Moving from the Didache to biblical scholarship in general, what would you say are the two most important discussions happening among biblical scholars today?
Brandon: Michael, that's a good question but a difficult one to answer. First, I would say that the role of the "theological" interpretation of scripture within the academy is fairly important since it seems that the academy and the church’s use of scripture have two separate, although, equally important agendas. This isn't a discussion that I've been involved in much myself but I am curious how this discussion will pan out and what ultimate role the "theological" approach will play in our field. Second, I would probably say that rhetorical criticism is an important discussion currently taking place. It seems like a lot of people are taking a stab at it but there aren't many set rules for doing rhetorical criticism, so, it often ends up looking a little like the Wild West. I think those participating in the Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity group at SBL are making some good progress but, again, the field is still very open-ended.
Michael: I know you said you weren't up to snuff on all the conversations taking place regarding the theological interpretation of scripture, but do you think you have any significant contributions to make to the dialogues surrounding rhetorical criticism? If so, would you mind sharing one or two?
Brandon: Like I said, there are a number of different ways of looking at a text through rhetorical criticism. Betz and Kennedy have paved much of the way but personally, I find the use of judicial, epideictic and deliberative species of rhetoric more applicable to the Greek citystate than the early Christian situation. Paul, after all, was probably not a trained rhetorician. I took a directed studies course on rhetorical criticism with Vernon Robbins and I like his approach of utilizing earlier Jewish discourse to inform the discussion of the six different types of Christian rhetorical dialects: prophetic, priestly, miracle, apocalyptic, pre-creation, and wisdom. So, I generally try to think in terms of those categories. Of course, that leaves the question open of how to utilize other forms of Greco-Roman rhetoric such as the progymnasmata, which I think are important, but still, I think we need to do more work in the field to know exactly how they relate to NT discourse.
Michael: Thanks for those insights; I think you make some great points there, points we could surely talk about for a while! However, we’ll start to bring this to a close now. Let me just inquire about one more thing, it’s a question that I ask everyone I interview: If you could own just one book (along with the Bible), what would it be and why?
Brandon: Another good, but difficult question, Michael. Recently it was asked on my blog which “one book” I would choose on the Historical Jesus and my answer was Schweitzer's Quest of the Historical Jesus but that certainly wouldn't be my answer here. Instead, I might choose an edition of the Apostolic Fathers because that, in addition to the Bible, has been influential on my thinking about the early Church and is often a good source of devotion. Otherwise I might choose BDAG so I can read my Greek new testament better. But I can't imagine being in such a situation and I certainly hope it never arises.
Michael: Great answer! Brandon, thanks again for taking the time to interview. I enjoyed the conversation immensely and hope that those reading got to know you a little better, just as I did!
Brandon: Thanks Michael, it's been fun chatting and I always enjoy the conversations we have. All the best!
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Again, if you get the chance, head over to Brandon's site and check out some of his work. You can go there directly by clicking the following link: SitzImLeben.com.
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Other Interviews in this Series
* A Conversation with James McGrath: Interview Series, Pt. 7
* A Conversation with Eric Sowell: Interview Series, Pt. 6
* A Conversation with Alan Knox: Interview Series, Pt. 5
* A Conversation with Chris Tilling: Interview Series, Pt. 4
* A Conversation with Scott Bailey: Interview Series, Pt. 3
* A Conversation with John the Methodist: Interview Series, Pt. 2
* A Conversation with Josh McManaway: Interview Series, Pt. 1
Michael: Brandon, thanks for agreeing to chat with me for a few minutes, I anticipate that this will be quite fun. I was wondering if, to begin, you could set the context for the rest of the conversation by sharing some of your personal background?
Brandon: Thank you, Michael. I appreciate the experience! Well, I'm originally from California and have spent most of my time there. I was not into academics very much during high school, mostly just skateboarding and basketball, but after graduating high school I started becoming more involved in church and started reading more books on the bible and related subjects in order to teach small groups, etc. Actually studying books on the bible really intrigued me and I started reading more technical books and decided that I should go to college and major in bible or theology. I ended up majoring in classics after reading F. F. Bruce's autobiography and that is sort of the very short version of how I became interested in academics.
Michael: For those who haven’t read Bruce’s autobiography or may not know exactly who he is, could you say a little bit about it and why you think it influenced you in the way that it did?
Brandon: F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) was a leading evangelical, biblical scholar. Since I participated in an evangelical church, his writings were well known to me. He's written a ton of commentaries on the New Testament and various books about the nature of the NT writings, its history and its theology. But what made him so popular, I think, is that he was very accessible to people just getting their feet wet in this field of study, like me. I rated his opinion very highly and so when he talked about his experience as a "classics" scholar, that made me consider majoring in it for myself. Of course, I had to make up for the lack of studying Judaism and theology when I came to seminary. Still, his book was very formative for me, in fact, you can read my thoughts about it here: 5 Influential Books.
Michael: I find it quite intriguing that it was someone’s autobiography that pointed you in the direction of what sort of school to attend in your pursuit of biblical academics. It seems clear to me (and others perhaps) that academic texts are still a major influence in your life. To see this, one needs look no further than your blog actually, which brims with information on books. So, can you say a little bit about your blog and why you started it?
Brandon: I had originally started a blog back in the summer 2005 called Novum Testamentum Blog. It was just me at the beginning, but some time later I opened it up to other authors. I enjoyed the blog immensely and it opened up many avenues of discussion and fostered many friendships. But as things became more and more busy as at seminary, it became increasingly difficult to maintain and eventually, it suffered a slow death. Nevertheless, I continued to follow many biblioblogs and continued to do the biblioblogs.com website with Jim West and John Hobbins. It had always been my intention to get back to blogging and so, I finally did this summer and already, I've found it very worthwhile. Since reading academic books is such a large part of my life now, it naturally becomes a focus of the site. Still, I hope that it remains only one aspect of the blog because if it were just about books, well I imagine that it will become quite boring.
Michael: The name of your new site is Sitz im Leben, is there a story behind that title?
Brandon: Broadly speaking, the German phrase Sitz im Leben refers to original context of a situation. It's a term that is widely used in biblical studies and it loosely describes what my blog is about: getting back to the first-century origins of Christianity. To be sure, it's not that my posts focus heavily on form criticism—they do not, though I do talk about those things here and there—but really I was just surprised that the domain name sitzimleben.com was still available.
Michael: Speaking of life settings and origins, so far, you have shared a few things about the origins of the faith & academic spheres of your life. What are your ultimate academic endeavors and where do you hope all this study leads?
Brandon: Originally I became interested in this field because I thought it would be wonderful to teach the bible, but I soon also became very interested in the research side of things as well. Because, ideally, I'd like to teach in a seminary environment in the future (although, I wouldn't mind teaching at a secular institution either), I decided to attend Candler School of Theology at Emory University. I am very grateful that I will be able to stay at Emory and finish my doctoral studies here as well. Without a doubt, I think that it is a great school for the academic side of New Testament studies, but also one that has a mind toward the church. So, when I will be finished in about five years, the plan is to be able to teach this material at a school that is a healthy environment for both teaching and research. As far as specifics, that's just too hard to know at this point.
Michael: Following up on your comments, let me ask: What advice would you give to budding scholars or those who have a desire to teach in biblical higher education some day?
Brandon: Well, I'm just starting off at the doctoral level, so, others will be able to make much better and more thoughtful / mature comments on the matter. There are a number of things that has helped me get to this point, although I still have much further to go. My wife has been very supportive of me during the highs and lows, without her, I don't know where I'd be. Second, I think I developed my desire to do doctoral work pretty early, so, things like a good GPA, fruitful relationships with professors, and familiarity with the field in-general just came natural. I usually planned most of my coursework around how I thought it would prepare me for graduate work, therefore I was able remain very focused. One thing I found very helpful was talking to professors who know the field well. Many of them have been able to give me sound advice about papers, resources, and the dreaded PhD application process. Nobody likes applying to PhD programs and the waiting period is the worst—it's a necessary evil filled with rejections. It's also good to have friends in similar places as you. (Michael and I actually talked quite a bit during the waiting period and it was nice to share good news with each other!)
Michael: A moment ago, you mentioned “specifics” about your future as a teacher being a little uncertain. Would it be appropriate to ask if you have any specific “research topics” that you are considering doing dissertation work on or is that a subject that is still being mulled over?
Brandon: I recently wrote my MTS thesis on the Eucharist in the Didache and I continue to be very fascinated by that document. I may or may not do more work on the Didache during my graduate career but I do plan to write more on it in the future. One of my main areas of interest has been Luke-Acts and Emory is one of the best places to study this. I've already taken a few courses on Luke-Acts during my master's degree but I plan on doing more work in this area. I have a few ideas on the table for dissertation topics but I haven't decided on anything concrete yet, or who my advisors will be. I think they give a little bit of time to figure those things out while in the program. So we'll see.
Michael: Your fascination with the Didache piques my own interest. Can you say a little more for my readers about what the Didache is and why you have such an interest in it?
Brandon: Thanks for asking. Actually, I'm going to be starting a short blog series on the Didache. Basically, the Didache (or, the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) was an early Christian church handbook. It probably dates to around 100 C.E. or earlier and reflects some segments of the early church that we do not find in the New Testament. Nevertheless, it has a very "biblical" feel to it. The first major section is an adaptation of a Jewish “Two Ways” tractate (also included at the end of the Epistle of Barnabas), which describes the way of life and the way of death. The Didache further talks about early Christian rituals such as fasting, prayer, baptism, church leadership and the Eucharist. Given all of this, one can easily see how this document is important.
Michael: Moving from the Didache to biblical scholarship in general, what would you say are the two most important discussions happening among biblical scholars today?
Brandon: Michael, that's a good question but a difficult one to answer. First, I would say that the role of the "theological" interpretation of scripture within the academy is fairly important since it seems that the academy and the church’s use of scripture have two separate, although, equally important agendas. This isn't a discussion that I've been involved in much myself but I am curious how this discussion will pan out and what ultimate role the "theological" approach will play in our field. Second, I would probably say that rhetorical criticism is an important discussion currently taking place. It seems like a lot of people are taking a stab at it but there aren't many set rules for doing rhetorical criticism, so, it often ends up looking a little like the Wild West. I think those participating in the Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity group at SBL are making some good progress but, again, the field is still very open-ended.
Michael: I know you said you weren't up to snuff on all the conversations taking place regarding the theological interpretation of scripture, but do you think you have any significant contributions to make to the dialogues surrounding rhetorical criticism? If so, would you mind sharing one or two?
Brandon: Like I said, there are a number of different ways of looking at a text through rhetorical criticism. Betz and Kennedy have paved much of the way but personally, I find the use of judicial, epideictic and deliberative species of rhetoric more applicable to the Greek citystate than the early Christian situation. Paul, after all, was probably not a trained rhetorician. I took a directed studies course on rhetorical criticism with Vernon Robbins and I like his approach of utilizing earlier Jewish discourse to inform the discussion of the six different types of Christian rhetorical dialects: prophetic, priestly, miracle, apocalyptic, pre-creation, and wisdom. So, I generally try to think in terms of those categories. Of course, that leaves the question open of how to utilize other forms of Greco-Roman rhetoric such as the progymnasmata, which I think are important, but still, I think we need to do more work in the field to know exactly how they relate to NT discourse.
Michael: Thanks for those insights; I think you make some great points there, points we could surely talk about for a while! However, we’ll start to bring this to a close now. Let me just inquire about one more thing, it’s a question that I ask everyone I interview: If you could own just one book (along with the Bible), what would it be and why?
Brandon: Another good, but difficult question, Michael. Recently it was asked on my blog which “one book” I would choose on the Historical Jesus and my answer was Schweitzer's Quest of the Historical Jesus but that certainly wouldn't be my answer here. Instead, I might choose an edition of the Apostolic Fathers because that, in addition to the Bible, has been influential on my thinking about the early Church and is often a good source of devotion. Otherwise I might choose BDAG so I can read my Greek new testament better. But I can't imagine being in such a situation and I certainly hope it never arises.
Michael: Great answer! Brandon, thanks again for taking the time to interview. I enjoyed the conversation immensely and hope that those reading got to know you a little better, just as I did!
Brandon: Thanks Michael, it's been fun chatting and I always enjoy the conversations we have. All the best!
Again, if you get the chance, head over to Brandon's site and check out some of his work. You can go there directly by clicking the following link: SitzImLeben.com.
* A Conversation with James McGrath: Interview Series, Pt. 7
* A Conversation with Eric Sowell: Interview Series, Pt. 6
* A Conversation with Alan Knox: Interview Series, Pt. 5
* A Conversation with Chris Tilling: Interview Series, Pt. 4
* A Conversation with Scott Bailey: Interview Series, Pt. 3
* A Conversation with John the Methodist: Interview Series, Pt. 2
* A Conversation with Josh McManaway: Interview Series, Pt. 1
7/18/08
A Conversation With Eric Sowell: Interview Series, Pt. 6
I recently had the privilege of chatting with Eric Sowell, a self-styled computer techie and lover of all things Greek. It was an interesting convo as we talked about things ranging from Greek to Aramaic, Computer Programming to "Q" and English Bible translations to "Match.com". I've posted the interview below. After reading, be sure to visit Eric's site, "Archaic Christianity". Enjoy.Michael: Eric, first let me say thanks for agreeing to take a few minutes to chat. Second, let me ask you to say a bit about yourself (e.g. family, education, vocation, profession, interests, etc.).
Eric: Well, my name is Eric Sowell. I'm 32 years old, have a chicka and three children, ages 5, 3, and 5 months old. I was a double major in college (Business and Religion). I hated that first part. Then I went to DTS and got a ThM. My interests are varied. I like programming, Greek, biblical studies, history, Greek, reading, Greek, and many other things. I taught myself how to program my last semester in seminary. Now I am a programmer full time, and have been for almost five years. Currently, I am a Senior Application Engineer for Match.com International. I help people find love. I am generally in the lead on the programming and architecture of their subscription services. My work is entirely C#, ASP.NET, and Sql Server. On side projects I will frequently get into Windows Presentation Foundation, a Windows programming API. But at this point we're just getting really geeky...My main research interests at the moment are a) Greek generally—as in outside of the NT—and b) the thoughts and formation of the early church.
Michael: Before we get to some of the things you just mentioned, let’s talk about the title of your blog, which is “Archaic Christianity”. Tell us the reason/impetus for giving your site this name.
Eric: At the time of when I started the blog, www.earlychristianity.com was taken. I wanted the blog for general purposes of biblical studies and Greek blogging. But, I knew that a large focus of my reading and thus my fodder for blogging, would ultimately end up being around early Christianity. Hence the title.
Michael: Now, you and I have had a number of conversations and at some point, the convo always comes around to talking about Greek. So, let’s go ahead and chat about that for a moment. Tell us about some of your current interests and studies in the field of the Greek language.
Eric: I suppose there are a number of different goals all mashed together in my head in these studies. First, given the number of years I have studied Greek, my "actual" knowledge does not measure up. I'm trying to study harder and differently to figure out why. Current Greek pedagogy is not very good, in my opinion. I'm not the only one who isn't good at Greek despite the time spent with it. Second, and related to the previous, I like teaching Greek. I am interested in figuring out ways of learning better so I can pass that on in my teaching. Third, and this is related to both, I am trying to learn Koine Greek more broadly. I think studying just biblical Greek, even if you only want to read the scriptures, is a terrible way to go. So I'm branching out more broadly to understand the language better and to prepare materials for others to learn as well. I guess that sums up most of it.
Michael: So, in the field of Greek / linguistic studies, where do you think the greatest need lies? Pedagogy? Research? Literary works? Etc.
Eric: Pedagogy, by a long shot. You will have more people working on the latter if you can fix the former. Linguistics and syntax related to Greek are both very important, but that's step two. That information is barely useful for those who can't read the language very well.
Michael: Can you suggest two or three tools for beginners in Greek? What has been most helpful for you?
Eric: The best first year NT Greek book I have used is Mounce, but since I think the pedagogy is all wrong, I can't really recommend it. Athenaze for classical Greek is a better starter, frankly. The differences between classical and Koine Greek are exaggerated to a degree, I think. Sure, classical can definitely be harder, but it is clearly the same language. If someone wanted to learn to read the Greek NT, it would be better for them to start with classical given the nature of the tools for learning biblical Greek (I don't think they are all that good!). The lexicon BDAG is very nice. It is a must have. Wallace's syntax is also great to study after the first year of Greek.
Michael: So, for my readers who may be unfamiliar with Athenaze, could you say a little about that?
Eric: Athenaze is a textbook for learning classical Greek. It uses a very different approach for learning Greek. The typical approach for biblical Greek strikes me as very analytical: Memorize the paradigms and be able to recognize the words you find. Athenaze is a more reading-centric approach. There are still paradigms, but the focus isn't the regurgitation of paradigms but rather the reading (and writing to some extent) of the language. I think that is a better learning model. You wouldn't learn French the former way or German. You could try, but you would be missing out on much that makes learning a language easier. NT Greek classes as a general rule, don’t include much of any speaking or composition. That is a terrible idea. And there isn’t enough reading either. The vocabulary requirements are anemic.
Michael: Okay, on a different but related note, what do you make of the suggestion that the Gospels may have been first written in Aramaic and then translated into Greek?
Eric: I think the idea that all of them were originally written in Aramaic is rather far-fetched. It's possible that one or more were, but I haven't seen much that is compelling. I've only read a little bit about it, though, so I can't be too dogmatic. Since the idea has completely failed to catch on in scholarship I am not taking it seriously at the moment. That's not because scholarship is rarely wrong; the opposite is the case. It's just a combination of a) time and b) there is absolutely no manuscript evidence as far as I know. This is getting a bit off topic, but I suppose it is relevant to this question, so I'll say it: When some topic comes up that would require quite a bit of work and has little to no footing in the scholarly community, I won't generally get into it. I'll wait for people more qualified and interested in the topic to examine it and see where things end up. There are only so many things I can research at a time. Of course there are other examples. That Talpiot tomb and the Gabriel's vision finding are two recent examples. I'm really not going to care at all until a scholarly consensus comes about. On the former it has come about and the consensus is against it, so, not wasting my time on that was a good plan. We'll wait and see on the latter. The Aramaic gospels thing is pretty interesting, but my Aramaic is not good enough at the moment for me to really approach it as intelligently as it should be approached. But if the scholarly world starts taking it more seriously, then I probably would at that point.
Michael: Just as a side note, scholars like Matthew Black and also Craig Evans have done some great work on the Aramaic Gospels. Anyway, sticking with the “Greek” theme from before, do you think that ministers and laypeople should have a working knowledge of Greek or do you think it should be left to scholars?
Eric: I do think they should. Can you imagine a person who bases their life's work off of the work of Homer not knowing Greek? Could you imagine someone basing their life on Poe not knowing English? I cannot. Let's say you are going into the ministry. You plan on spending the next, say, 50-years of your life reading a text, studying it and exegeting it. It is absolutely ludicrous to me that you would be willing to put in that much effort of study and not be willing, on the front end, to learn the actual language in which the documents are written. For the layman, I don't think it is a necessity, but I think it is a good idea if you have the time. You won't be living in the text like a minister would (or should), but you will be studying it for the rest of your life. I think it helps as a study tool. At the very least, it gives you a range of tools that just aren't accessible and critique-able without that kind of knowledge.
Michael: Given that you are a Greek guru who, like me, probably tends to carry around your NA27 (Nestle-Aland 27th edition of the Greek NT, for those who might not know) or something similar, what English translation of the Bible do you occasionally use and what would you recommend (and why)?
Eric: I carry around my NET Bible/NA 27 Diglot for the NT. I have my NET full Bible for my old. If I'm not reading in one of those, I'll either read in a NASB or a KJV. The NET is much more explanatory than the KJV, but the KJV says some things SO much better. If I want to understand the proverbs and psalms, I'll read my NET. If I want to feel them, I'll often read KJV or sometimes NASB. The attachment to the NASB mostly comes from my own history. It was my translation of choice from High School through college and into seminary. Or, if I'm reading out of Jeremiah 31, I'll pick anything other than the NET, because I can't stand their translation of Jer 31:31.
Michael: You’re right, the KJV and its language becomes rather fun at some points. Like when it talks about he who “pisseth on the wall”. Anyway…let’s change gears for a bit here, let’s talk a little about theology. Who, in your estimation, are the leading theologians of our time and why?
Eric: I have not done tons of reading in systematic theology since college. I did some in seminary because it was required, but I stayed away for the most part. The systematic tradition I am most familiar with is the reformed tradition, and I spent a lot of time in it in college. Since then I've moved away from their systematics simply because, in many ways, I feel they are still stuck in the 16th and 17th century. It's not that I don't think theology is important. I just think it needs to come after exegesis and study of history, and I'm not at all convinced they are keeping up with the former, and perhaps not the latter outside of the range of the protestant folks and Augustine.
Michael: Well, let's switch the label to "bible scholars" then. Who, in your estimation, are the leading bible scholars of our time and why?
Eric: One of the most influential books in my thought-life is Jesus and the Victory of God by N.T. Wright. He's not always right, but I think he is able to synthesize and explain better than anyone else out there. I do like Dunn and Bauckham quite a bit as well. Richard Hays rocks. Others have written great books, but I guess these are some of the guys I admire the most.
Michael: Other than Wright, are these scholars that have influenced you? If so, how? If not, who has and how?
Eric: Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul by Hays was very helpful for me. I was already going that direction with Paul, but his book really gave me some thinking points. So he didn't really transform my thinking, but his is the best work on Paul that I have read, I think. I have read some of Dunn and Bauckham. I respect them both greatly, but they have not had the impact on me that Wright has had. I haven't been able to read the gospels the same since I read JVG.
Michael: If those, in your view, are the leading biblical scholars, what would you say are the most important conversations in biblical scholarship that are currently taking place and why?
Eric: The “Historical Jesus” discussion will be very important for quite a while. The so-called "New Perspective on Paul" needs to be discussed quite a bit more as well. I also don't want people to drop “The Synoptic Problem”. That needs to be discussed ad infinitum until we can resolve this “Q” thing.
Michael: This is probably one of the areas where you and I would disagree. I am becoming increasingly convinced that when we understand Jesus as a social figure in His own context, theories like “Q” or even documents like “Q” are quite unimportant. But…let’s not go there right now. Instead, let’s switch gears once more. Other than working with the Greek language, you are also a computer guru and work with computer coding languages. What got you into that and what kinds of things are you currently working on?
Eric: I got into it because of a diagramming tutorial I did in Flash (Which they still sell at the DTS bookstore). As for what I'm working on, well, there is a morphology tutorial that has been in the works for too long. I'm also working on a new version of my manuscript digital image reader project I call "Graphe". I released that quite a while ago. In its currently released state it is not very user-friendly at all. I've got some fun things up my sleeve on this one. I also code my blog site. That's all done with ASP.NET, C#, and Sql Server. Some of the features I have planned should be useful to the world, but I won't say any more on that until I'm closer to getting it ready.
Michael: Okay, let me ask the question that I typically close interviews with: If you could only have access to one—and only one—book (other than the Bible) what would it be and why?
Eric: I would say a combined Hebrew/Greek Bible, but I'm not sure if that breaks your rule or not.
Michael: My goodness, you Greek geeks and your analytical minds! Well, let’s say the Bible, each portion in its respective language, is already there for access. Name one other book you’d like to have access to.
Eric: Okay, Holmes' recent edition of The Apostolic Fathers. After two minutes of very intense thought, definitely that work.
Michael: Eric, thanks again for taking the time to chat with me. I enjoyed our conversation.
Eric: Me too. Thanks for interviewing me.
Eric: Well, my name is Eric Sowell. I'm 32 years old, have a chicka and three children, ages 5, 3, and 5 months old. I was a double major in college (Business and Religion). I hated that first part. Then I went to DTS and got a ThM. My interests are varied. I like programming, Greek, biblical studies, history, Greek, reading, Greek, and many other things. I taught myself how to program my last semester in seminary. Now I am a programmer full time, and have been for almost five years. Currently, I am a Senior Application Engineer for Match.com International. I help people find love. I am generally in the lead on the programming and architecture of their subscription services. My work is entirely C#, ASP.NET, and Sql Server. On side projects I will frequently get into Windows Presentation Foundation, a Windows programming API. But at this point we're just getting really geeky...My main research interests at the moment are a) Greek generally—as in outside of the NT—and b) the thoughts and formation of the early church.
Michael: Before we get to some of the things you just mentioned, let’s talk about the title of your blog, which is “Archaic Christianity”. Tell us the reason/impetus for giving your site this name.
Eric: At the time of when I started the blog, www.earlychristianity.com was taken. I wanted the blog for general purposes of biblical studies and Greek blogging. But, I knew that a large focus of my reading and thus my fodder for blogging, would ultimately end up being around early Christianity. Hence the title.
Michael: Now, you and I have had a number of conversations and at some point, the convo always comes around to talking about Greek. So, let’s go ahead and chat about that for a moment. Tell us about some of your current interests and studies in the field of the Greek language.
Eric: I suppose there are a number of different goals all mashed together in my head in these studies. First, given the number of years I have studied Greek, my "actual" knowledge does not measure up. I'm trying to study harder and differently to figure out why. Current Greek pedagogy is not very good, in my opinion. I'm not the only one who isn't good at Greek despite the time spent with it. Second, and related to the previous, I like teaching Greek. I am interested in figuring out ways of learning better so I can pass that on in my teaching. Third, and this is related to both, I am trying to learn Koine Greek more broadly. I think studying just biblical Greek, even if you only want to read the scriptures, is a terrible way to go. So I'm branching out more broadly to understand the language better and to prepare materials for others to learn as well. I guess that sums up most of it.
Michael: So, in the field of Greek / linguistic studies, where do you think the greatest need lies? Pedagogy? Research? Literary works? Etc.
Eric: Pedagogy, by a long shot. You will have more people working on the latter if you can fix the former. Linguistics and syntax related to Greek are both very important, but that's step two. That information is barely useful for those who can't read the language very well.
Michael: Can you suggest two or three tools for beginners in Greek? What has been most helpful for you?
Eric: The best first year NT Greek book I have used is Mounce, but since I think the pedagogy is all wrong, I can't really recommend it. Athenaze for classical Greek is a better starter, frankly. The differences between classical and Koine Greek are exaggerated to a degree, I think. Sure, classical can definitely be harder, but it is clearly the same language. If someone wanted to learn to read the Greek NT, it would be better for them to start with classical given the nature of the tools for learning biblical Greek (I don't think they are all that good!). The lexicon BDAG is very nice. It is a must have. Wallace's syntax is also great to study after the first year of Greek.
Michael: So, for my readers who may be unfamiliar with Athenaze, could you say a little about that?
Eric: Athenaze is a textbook for learning classical Greek. It uses a very different approach for learning Greek. The typical approach for biblical Greek strikes me as very analytical: Memorize the paradigms and be able to recognize the words you find. Athenaze is a more reading-centric approach. There are still paradigms, but the focus isn't the regurgitation of paradigms but rather the reading (and writing to some extent) of the language. I think that is a better learning model. You wouldn't learn French the former way or German. You could try, but you would be missing out on much that makes learning a language easier. NT Greek classes as a general rule, don’t include much of any speaking or composition. That is a terrible idea. And there isn’t enough reading either. The vocabulary requirements are anemic.
Michael: Okay, on a different but related note, what do you make of the suggestion that the Gospels may have been first written in Aramaic and then translated into Greek?
Eric: I think the idea that all of them were originally written in Aramaic is rather far-fetched. It's possible that one or more were, but I haven't seen much that is compelling. I've only read a little bit about it, though, so I can't be too dogmatic. Since the idea has completely failed to catch on in scholarship I am not taking it seriously at the moment. That's not because scholarship is rarely wrong; the opposite is the case. It's just a combination of a) time and b) there is absolutely no manuscript evidence as far as I know. This is getting a bit off topic, but I suppose it is relevant to this question, so I'll say it: When some topic comes up that would require quite a bit of work and has little to no footing in the scholarly community, I won't generally get into it. I'll wait for people more qualified and interested in the topic to examine it and see where things end up. There are only so many things I can research at a time. Of course there are other examples. That Talpiot tomb and the Gabriel's vision finding are two recent examples. I'm really not going to care at all until a scholarly consensus comes about. On the former it has come about and the consensus is against it, so, not wasting my time on that was a good plan. We'll wait and see on the latter. The Aramaic gospels thing is pretty interesting, but my Aramaic is not good enough at the moment for me to really approach it as intelligently as it should be approached. But if the scholarly world starts taking it more seriously, then I probably would at that point.
Michael: Just as a side note, scholars like Matthew Black and also Craig Evans have done some great work on the Aramaic Gospels. Anyway, sticking with the “Greek” theme from before, do you think that ministers and laypeople should have a working knowledge of Greek or do you think it should be left to scholars?
Eric: I do think they should. Can you imagine a person who bases their life's work off of the work of Homer not knowing Greek? Could you imagine someone basing their life on Poe not knowing English? I cannot. Let's say you are going into the ministry. You plan on spending the next, say, 50-years of your life reading a text, studying it and exegeting it. It is absolutely ludicrous to me that you would be willing to put in that much effort of study and not be willing, on the front end, to learn the actual language in which the documents are written. For the layman, I don't think it is a necessity, but I think it is a good idea if you have the time. You won't be living in the text like a minister would (or should), but you will be studying it for the rest of your life. I think it helps as a study tool. At the very least, it gives you a range of tools that just aren't accessible and critique-able without that kind of knowledge.
Michael: Given that you are a Greek guru who, like me, probably tends to carry around your NA27 (Nestle-Aland 27th edition of the Greek NT, for those who might not know) or something similar, what English translation of the Bible do you occasionally use and what would you recommend (and why)?
Eric: I carry around my NET Bible/NA 27 Diglot for the NT. I have my NET full Bible for my old. If I'm not reading in one of those, I'll either read in a NASB or a KJV. The NET is much more explanatory than the KJV, but the KJV says some things SO much better. If I want to understand the proverbs and psalms, I'll read my NET. If I want to feel them, I'll often read KJV or sometimes NASB. The attachment to the NASB mostly comes from my own history. It was my translation of choice from High School through college and into seminary. Or, if I'm reading out of Jeremiah 31, I'll pick anything other than the NET, because I can't stand their translation of Jer 31:31.
Michael: You’re right, the KJV and its language becomes rather fun at some points. Like when it talks about he who “pisseth on the wall”. Anyway…let’s change gears for a bit here, let’s talk a little about theology. Who, in your estimation, are the leading theologians of our time and why?
Eric: I have not done tons of reading in systematic theology since college. I did some in seminary because it was required, but I stayed away for the most part. The systematic tradition I am most familiar with is the reformed tradition, and I spent a lot of time in it in college. Since then I've moved away from their systematics simply because, in many ways, I feel they are still stuck in the 16th and 17th century. It's not that I don't think theology is important. I just think it needs to come after exegesis and study of history, and I'm not at all convinced they are keeping up with the former, and perhaps not the latter outside of the range of the protestant folks and Augustine.
Michael: Well, let's switch the label to "bible scholars" then. Who, in your estimation, are the leading bible scholars of our time and why?
Eric: One of the most influential books in my thought-life is Jesus and the Victory of God by N.T. Wright. He's not always right, but I think he is able to synthesize and explain better than anyone else out there. I do like Dunn and Bauckham quite a bit as well. Richard Hays rocks. Others have written great books, but I guess these are some of the guys I admire the most.
Michael: Other than Wright, are these scholars that have influenced you? If so, how? If not, who has and how?
Eric: Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul by Hays was very helpful for me. I was already going that direction with Paul, but his book really gave me some thinking points. So he didn't really transform my thinking, but his is the best work on Paul that I have read, I think. I have read some of Dunn and Bauckham. I respect them both greatly, but they have not had the impact on me that Wright has had. I haven't been able to read the gospels the same since I read JVG.
Michael: If those, in your view, are the leading biblical scholars, what would you say are the most important conversations in biblical scholarship that are currently taking place and why?
Eric: The “Historical Jesus” discussion will be very important for quite a while. The so-called "New Perspective on Paul" needs to be discussed quite a bit more as well. I also don't want people to drop “The Synoptic Problem”. That needs to be discussed ad infinitum until we can resolve this “Q” thing.
Michael: This is probably one of the areas where you and I would disagree. I am becoming increasingly convinced that when we understand Jesus as a social figure in His own context, theories like “Q” or even documents like “Q” are quite unimportant. But…let’s not go there right now. Instead, let’s switch gears once more. Other than working with the Greek language, you are also a computer guru and work with computer coding languages. What got you into that and what kinds of things are you currently working on?
Eric: I got into it because of a diagramming tutorial I did in Flash (Which they still sell at the DTS bookstore). As for what I'm working on, well, there is a morphology tutorial that has been in the works for too long. I'm also working on a new version of my manuscript digital image reader project I call "Graphe". I released that quite a while ago. In its currently released state it is not very user-friendly at all. I've got some fun things up my sleeve on this one. I also code my blog site. That's all done with ASP.NET, C#, and Sql Server. Some of the features I have planned should be useful to the world, but I won't say any more on that until I'm closer to getting it ready.
Michael: Okay, let me ask the question that I typically close interviews with: If you could only have access to one—and only one—book (other than the Bible) what would it be and why?
Eric: I would say a combined Hebrew/Greek Bible, but I'm not sure if that breaks your rule or not.
Michael: My goodness, you Greek geeks and your analytical minds! Well, let’s say the Bible, each portion in its respective language, is already there for access. Name one other book you’d like to have access to.
Eric: Okay, Holmes' recent edition of The Apostolic Fathers. After two minutes of very intense thought, definitely that work.
Michael: Eric, thanks again for taking the time to chat with me. I enjoyed our conversation.
Eric: Me too. Thanks for interviewing me.
Again, be sure to visit Eric's site at "Archaic Christianity".
11/7/07
I Was Interviewed By Jacob P. Breeze
To read the interview, click the following link: Michael Halcomb Interview.
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