Author: Matt Capps

Last week my Pastor made a comment on the use of ‘mnemonic devices’ in the Greek text of the New Testament, since then ‘the topic’ has been in the back of my mind. I mentioned in a previous post that my Greek professor Dr. Black had been helpful in this process, he came through again when he emailed me this link earlier today.

This link is an article written by Dr. Black “On the Reading of Poetry”, in the International Standard Version of the Bible. In the ISV, the translators have attempted to retain the poetic nature of the Greek text in the parts of scripture where the majority of scholars acknowledge that poetic structure exists.

This musing is thought provoking!

I have been thinking about the use of mnemonic devices for the past few days, and how the beauty of ancient Greek (which often sings) is often lost in our English translations. My Greek professor from seminary gave me some guidance. Dr. Black serves on the ‘committee on translation’ for the International Standard Bible. The ISV is a project that is close to being finished. You might be thinking, ‘great…another Bible translation, thats all we need!’

Well, there are many reasons why I am excited about the ISV. In particular, while translating the Greek text these scholars have tried to retain the use of mnemonic devices in certain places. Let me give you a few examples;

Read this translation of Titus 1:12,  “Liars ever, men of Crete, savage brutes that live to eat”.

Do you see the difference? Even more interesting, check out how the translators have retained the hymn like nature of Philippians 2:6-11.

In God’s own form existed he,
And shared with God equality,
Deemed nothing needed grasping.
Instead, poured out in emptiness,
A servant’s form did he possess,
A mortal man becoming.
In human form he chose to be,
And lived in all humility,
Death on a cross obeying.
Now lifted up by God to heaven,
A name above all others given,
This matchless name possessing.
And so, when Jesus’ name is called, 
The knees of everyone will fall
Where’er they are residing.
Then every tongue in one accord,
Will say that Jesus Christ is Lord,
While God the Father praising.

Before seminary I often found myself wanting to study a certain book of the Bible, or an issue of theology and not knowing where to look for reliable resources. There are thousands of books out there on Christian thought, and it is often overwhelming when it comes time to choose.

Over the past few years I have bookmarked a few places where you can find references from reliable sources. Here are a few, if I come accross any others in the future I will update this page.

I was talking with Derek Radney about recommending theological books to others and he made a good point, sometimes it can be hard for others to pick up on the theological slant that a writer may be coming from. While in seminary I have learned about different positions, slants, and writers who hold those views. So, while each of these references may hold different views concerning particular aspects of theology, none of which jeopardize orthodoxy, I recommend the following.

a. Dr. Daniel Akin: “Building a Theological Library”.

b. Desiring God: References concerning Bible Commentaries.

c. Denver Seminary: An Annotated Bibliography of the Old Testament and New Testament.

When we study theology, we often study theology in a systematic way. This is where we look at certain truths, certain doctrines of the faith on their own as revealed in the scripture. It seems to me that we hear much less about the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit than we do of God the Father, or Christ His son.

Now, we as Christians beleive that the eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. It’s when we look at these distinct personal attributes that we tend to shy away from the Holy Spirit.

I was reading C.S. Lewis over the weekend for pleasure, I enjoy reading Lewis (though I do not agree with him all the time). While reading Mere Christianity I read this quote and thought it was poignant,

“Do not be worried or surprised if you find Him rather vague or more ‘shadowy’ in your mind than the Father or the Son. I think there is a reason for this. In the Christian life you are not usually looking at Him. He is always acting through you.” (175-176)

This truth is often referenced as we talk of the Holy Spirit as “Paraclete”, the helper, teacher, comforter, defender, the “one called alongside.” The title expresses the variety of ministries the Spirit performs by coming alongside us as Christians.

I often look back at instances and realize that God was somehow working through, around, in front, behind, and in me. The providence of God is a mysterious truth!

For more, read what Jesus teaches in John 14-16.

My pastor pointed something out to me in Matthew 7 earlier today. There are a couple words in the Greek text that are used very repetitively. I think he did this because he knew it would eat away at me until I studied it.

After he left I read it over a few times, and then a few more time out loud, and realized that the Greek text of Matthew 7 might provide an insight into the usage of mnemonic devices in teaching. The ancient Greek language often ‘sings’ much better than modern English, providing a good vehicle for transferable teaching. Imagine you hear the words of Jesus in the Greek text.

Greek

Μὴ κρίνετε, ἵνα μὴ κριθῆτε·, ἐν ᾧ γὰρ κρίματι κρίνετε κριθήσεσθε, καὶ ἐν ᾧ μέτρῳ μετρεῖτε μετρηθήσεται ὑμῖν.

Transliteration (How the Greek sounds in English)

Mh krinete, ina mh kriqhte:

en w gar krimati krinete kriqhsesqe,

kai en w metrw metreite metrhqhsetai,

umin!

Wooden Translation

Not judge, that (you) not be judged:

In what judgment you judge, you will be judged,

And in what measure you measure it will be measured,

to you!

Why does this matter? Well, I believe Jesus taught others in such a way that it could be put into practice. While Jesus might have spoken this in Aramaic, the (translated) Greek rendered here is very precise. In fact, one commentator argues that the didactic nature of Matthew’s writing style suggests that Matthew himself was an experienced teacher. In ancient teaching practices mnemonic devices were often used as a vehicle for ‘transferable teaching’. It’s one thing to learn an abstract idea, it’s another thing to put that idea into practice. When the teaching is easy to remember, its easier to recall in any given situation.

It’s possible that this passage was constructed this way for a reason. Read the transliteration again and try to place it into a tune, I know this sounds silly but make a song out of it. Now imagine that song becoming a ‘jingle’ that plays in your head every time you are about to pass a harsh unqualified condemnation on someone. Get the point? I am not saying that Jesus was singing the Sermon on the Mount. But there is something different about a teaching that ‘sings’! Have you ever noticed you capacity to remember songs?

Last night Laura and I were talking about a womens study that she is participating in with our Bible Fellowship class at church. The topic was Idols. The author wrote, “in biblical terms, it is something other than God that we set our heart on”, I thought this definition was alright, a little open ended. Then as we continued to read the author made an important distinction, between a functional god versus a professed god. A professed god is the “who or what we say our god is”, while the functional god is “who or what actually operates as our god”.

The thing is, for most Christians, our functional god’s are often things that are good within themselves, but become a distraction to the one true God. They are things we substitute in attempt to fulfill our deepest desires, which can only be met by Christ.

These Idols never satisfy, you would think we would catch some kind of clue that ‘these functional gods’ were not what we desired in the first place. Lewis once wrote that “the human soul was made to enjoy the object that is never fully given”. At least not in this life. It seems that these desires in themselves are nothing more than a pointer. Our earthly desires are never fulfilled. Yet we still place functional gods in that gap in attempt to appease the longings.

I wonder if we, Christians, will ever realize that the thing we have desired was that which we have been professing all along?