Sparks Commentary: Some thoughts about Biblical education

"And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked."

- The Hebrew Bible, "The First Book of the Kings," Chapter 18, Verses 25 through 27 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible)

When I was a student at Yavapai College (the little school in my hometown), I was fortunate to take a class about world religions, in which we learned about everything from Judaism to Islam to Buddhism. The class was called "comparative religions" at our school, and it was the only time that I took a class about religion from a secular college. (We covered some world religions stuff in high school history, but I didn't have an entire class in world religions until early college.)

The value of religion classes at secular schools

My church offers some fine world religions classes through its Institute program, which are well-recommended to those with access to them. But it was good to get some instruction about this from a secular school, where I could hear perspectives from people outside of my faith. The class was taught by a Jewish lady, incidentally - someone who brought an interesting perspective to the class. We also had a Hindu student in the class, who could read the Hindu holy language of Sanskrit. It all combined together to make an interesting class.

The value of religion classes at private religious schools

But the finest classes that I've taken in religion were not the comparative ones offered by secular schools, but the ones taught by my church about its own beliefs. I'm sure devotees of other religions can understand a bias toward one's own faith, and I am no exception to the rule - I am a great fan of my church's religion classes. I took some classes through my church's Seminary in high school, and then some classes through its Institute in college. (In our faith, Seminary classes are geared towards high school students, while Institute classes are geared towards college students.) The classes focused on topics like the Old Testament and the New Testament, as well as scriptures unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints such as the Book of Mormon and Doctrine & Covenants. Thus, I learned a lot from these classes. There are also many classes about church history as well, including one for church history since 1900. This was a little unusual, given the church's more typical focus on earlier history; but it was an excellent class, and I greatly enjoyed it.

Advanced Biblical studies at my church's main school

The church's Seminary and Institute programs teach the content wonderfully to students in their native language; with the Biblical languages considered optional, and not counted for credit in the Institute program. However, other departments at BYU (an official church school) offer classes in Ancient Scripture, in which one would read the Bible in the original Hebrew and Greek. I never participated in any such programs, but I did decide one day to prepare to read the New Testament in the original Greek. As you might imagine, this increased my interest in my church's scholarship in this area. This ancient scripture program at BYU goes by the name of "Ancient Near Eastern Studies," and they offer classes in Hebrew and Greek. The classes in the languages themselves are taught by other departments, but are required for the program, and must be taken as prerequisites to those classes studying the Bible in the original.

Greek New Testament

How I consulted this program at one point

I consulted this program at one point, in deciding what version of the Greek New Testament to get. I found out online what version they were using at BYU (see the full story here), and so got myself a copy of the version that they used. (The Nestle-Aland version, in case you're wondering.) This turned out to be a wonderful success; and I now have this copy of the Greek New Testament on my bookshelf. I'll start reading it at some future point when I feel fluent in the language. (Still working on that part now ... I look forward to the day that I can do it.)

History and archaeology of the Bible (and classes in these subjects)

The program also offers courses in the history and archaeology of the region; and some classes in Greek and Roman history can be counted toward its requirements. Greek and Roman history both interest me greatly, and I have studied them both; partly out of a desire to understand the cultures of the Bible. The Romans controlled much of the world when Christ walked the earth, and the language of the New Testament comes from the culture of Ancient Greece. Thus, my desire to understand these things is somewhat relevant to my Biblical studies.

My favorite painting of Jesus Christ

Not everyone needs to know the Biblical languages ...

One can be a great scriptorian (a Latter-Day Saint word there) without understanding a word of Hebrew or Greek; and I do not wish to downplay the knowledge of those of my faith who read in translation. There is a reason that the Institute program does not cover Biblical languages, and that they are only taught by the Ancient Scripture departments at BYU - not everyone needs to know them. Nonetheless, some special insights can result from reading the Bible in the original, and I have dedicated considerable time to trying to gain these insights. I've spent many a day doing Greek exercises in my car, my school library, and my own home; and I hope they will one day pay off for me. (Update, 2019: I've also spent some time reading the works of Plato in Greek, and I believe that this has helped to improve my fluency somewhat.)

Bruce R. McConkie

... and we must interpret the ancient word in harmony with "latter-day revelation"

But most people will never do these things; and one can be a perfectly good Christian without doing any of them. In the words of the Latter-Day Saint apostle Bruce R. McConkie: "None of us should be troubled or feel inferior if we do not have a working knowledge of the languages in which the Bible was first written. Our concern is to be guided by the Spirit and to interpret the ancient word in harmony with latter-day revelation." (Source: Talk given in 1984)

The things of God are known by the power of "the Spirit of God"

Later in that talk, he said: "The key to an understanding of Holy Writ lies not in the wisdom of men, not in cloistered halls, not in academic degrees, not in a knowledge of Greek and Hebrew - though special intellectual insights may result from all of these - but the things of God are known and understood only by the power of the Spirit of God. Thus saith the Lord: 'I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised' to do my work." (Source: Talk given in 1984)

My introductory textbook about Greek

The church's religion classes contain all you need to know ...

So if you want to learn about our church's doctrine, there's no need to order a book about learning Koine Greek, or study Biblical Hebrew or Aramaic. All that you need to know is found at the church's Institute program - or for that matter, in Sunday school classes throughout the world. One can learn from general conferences, from talks in church, and from the scriptures themselves. All that you need to know about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints can be obtained easily in your native language.

"Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God."

- The Hebrew Bible, "The First Book of the Kings," Chapter 18, Verses 38 through 39 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible)