Christians often express the desire to learn Greek so they can better understand the Bible. This is a wonderful desire but is usually pursued only by those training to be full-time pastors, ministers, priests, or similar positions. Greek for the Rest of Us can make this a reality for Christians who are Sunday School Teachers, or, just people living out Christianity in their everyday life. It will help you learn some of the basics of Greek, but will not teach you enough to let you write your own Bible translation.

Greek for the Rest of Us provides a six week course in basic Greek. The first week’s lessons cover 4 chapters. You will learn the Greek alphabet and how to pronounce it. The author discusses translations of scripture and provides some basic information on them including their problems. During the second week, you’ll begin learning the building blocks of any language by studying English grammar. Yes, you need a thorough understanding of English language if you are to understand the Greek language. Are you old enough to remember diagramming sentences? If not, you will receive a brief review of this important skill in learning any language. Week three studies the way we modify ideas: conjunctions, adjectives, phrases and clauses.

Now it is week 4 and you are wondering if this book will ever get to the GREEK. Week four covers how you describe action (verbs in English). You will begin learning parts of speech that I have totally forgotten! The week concludes with a discussion of some tools available for studying Scripture. Week 5 continues with an in-depth study of Greek verbs and how they are used. Mounce concludes this week with a discussion about word studies in the Bible.

Week 6 concludes this short introduction to Greek. You learn about nominative, vocative, accusative, dative, and genitive words that are used to describe things. Mounce concludes this week with information on reading Bible commentaries, and a history of the Bible.

Personal Reaction to Book

Although the above summary of each of the six lessons seems easy, it can be daunting to begin reading through these lessons. This book takes a real commitment if the reader is to complete the course. You will learn a limited selection of Greek words and a fairly in-depth study of Greek grammar. Mounce compares the Greek to English which makes it easier to understand.

I feel the accompanying cd containing six weeks of lessons being taught by Mounce is almost mandatory for those of us who learn best by both reading and hearing. It helps you learn the Greek pronunciation of individual letters and some words. Mounce is an excellent teacher of Greek. Hearing his lessons being taught by him will reassure you that all of us are capable of pronouncing at least a few words properly in Greek.

Recommendation

Adult students and possibly advanced High School aged students will benefit from this short course in Greek providing they are strongly motivated. It isn’t a course to give to the baby Christian because it just might scare them away from trying to understand the Bible for themselves. Since it contains a cd featuring live lessons being taught by the author, I feel individuals will benefit greatly from studying this book.

I strongly suggest you think carefully about the people in your life this Christmas season. Do you have gifts to buy for those “impossible” people? Are they Christians? If so, why not challenge them to learn more about the English language as it is compared to the Greek language. They might even learn a few words of Greek. If they are attending high school of college, this course might provide the challenge that God uses to call them into preaching the Gospel or even lead some to become capable of teaching Greek to the rest of us.

I am so impressed by this book that I will be seeking out other books on learning Greek and understanding the Bible by William D. Mounce. Search for his name on amazon.com and you will be pleasantly surprised by what is available.

Copyrighted by Diana Pederson, 2005-2009