Koine Greek and the Church Fathers, The Orthodox Understanding, Interview with James T. Dolemen #3

Phillip and James read a section on Koine Greek from their new book, The Orthodox Understanding, and discuss the topics the history of Greek, its significance for understanding the New Testament, the Church Fathers, St. Polycarp, and proper evangelization.
0:00 Introduction
1:10 Koine Greek Pronunciation, Papyri, Knowledge of Greek Language
6:18 What underlies our English Bibles, Brief Introduction to Greek
8:30 History of Greek and the Church Fathers, from the Book
20:15 St. Polycarp
37:29 What is Heresy. Strive for the Original Understanding through Greek and the Church Fathers
46:50 Make every element of the Gospel relevant to evangelized cultures. Don’t push modern understandings when evangelizing. Evil entities are defeated by the Cross.
The Orthodox Understanding book is readable for free here: heyzine.com/flip-book/33be7ac...
It is also available for purchase in print/ebook here: www.lulu.com/search?contribut...
Phillip teaches Biblical Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, among other ancient Church languages. Book a class with him here: www.fiverr.com/protagonistp?u...
Subscribe to James T. Dolemen (English Channel): / @premodernmind
Subscribe to James T. Dolemen (Chinese Channel): / @chineseorthodoxreading

[@jeremychambers]

I’ve got a lot on my plate, so I may not get through your whole book anytime soon, but one thought on page 59 when you mention the different words for love. I am wondering what you base your conclusions on. When I read through the LXX I was very surprised at how αγαπάω is used. There is a bigger semantic range than I expected and I believe the words for love overlap considerably (at least in the way biblical writers/translators use them). D.A. Carson has also argued for this. I would suggest backing up your claim or you may lose some people before you have gotten to your more crucial arguments for the meaning of other biblical words. God bless you guys.

[@PhillipOnWater]

Hi Jeremy, thanks for your comment. It’s based on years of studying Greek, and comparing multiple lexical resources. I've been working on putting together my own lexicon for a long time now. You’ve made a lot of claims yourself. What is your data that leads you to think they are synonyms besides "trust me bro" and DA Carson? The bigger problem is more of the philosophical assumptions brought to the text, rather than the data behind interpreting the text itself. DA Carson is often misunderstood, for one. CS Lewis holds to the same view of “love” we have in the book. So who’s better, Lewis or Carson? Our book is not aiming to prove per say, but is aiming to explain. Nevertheless, again, the understanding of “love” is based on comparing multiple lexical resources and checking references. If you’re interested in that, pm me. We will eventually post more on our lexical research. But the book wasn’t meant for all that data. It’s, again, explaining a mindset and different apporach, and the conclusions from that different approach. When I read through the LXX, I saw that it referred to reverential love. CS Lewis is actually spot on, when it comes to the "loves."

[@jeremychambers]

I understand, that’s fair enough. I’m not really trying to engage a debate, I was just giving some honest feedback from a reader. I look forward to reading more and especially when you release more of your research. I’m a guy who likes footnotes 😉

[@PhillipOnWater]

It's a good feedback. But the thing is, no matter how many lexical resources or "data" I give, if you don't start with the right assumptions, you'll end with the wrong conclusions. That's what the book is trying to help overcome. If you don't recognize things like the concept fallacy and Sapir-Worf hypothesis, you're not ready to accept that there is no such thing as "synonyms" in Ancient Greek. If you want to see more of the data though, pm me. I have a link to my facebook here.

[@IkeMann100]

Κοινός (Common). η,ι,οι,ει,υ all make the same sound similar to ee as in bee. ü sounds a bit German. Seen these Greek pronunciation issues all over the place for several years now.

[@PhillipOnWater]

You just described modern Greek pronunciation. But that is not the historical reconstructed pronunciation, as put forth by Cambridge scholar Ben Kantor. That’s what I’m using.

[@nikostheater]

Native Greek speakers exist and we famously are called Greeks. I don’t understand why English speakers refuse to ask or consult with a Greek person about how words ought to be spoken and pronounced. It’s disappointing and at times, insulting.