Greek Pedagogy in Crisis

The goal of every pastor, missionary, and lay leader in the evangelical church is to proclaim the word of God accurately. And, one of the key components of accurate biblical interpretation is the understanding of the Bible's original languages. While some Bible teachers forego learning Hebrew and Greek altogether, many men and women seek their language training by buying books to study on their own, others look for free online courses and videos to provide this instruction, while still others commit to formal theological training through higher education. Each of those language-learning formats (print, digital, and guided) are effective educational tools, but the problem is that each of those formats are primarily based on the same, antiquated teaching method. This book analyzes and assesses the current biblical language pedagogy from the vantage point of over thirty prominent professionals in the field of New Testament Greek. Their insight provides some of the first formal data on the usefulness and effectiveness of the Grammar-Translation Method for teaching biblical languages today. Additionally, this book will introduce a unique and cutting-edge approach to the process of teaching and learning the original languages of the word of God. ""If you really care about students and pastors competently reading the Greek New Testament, then you should read David Miller's insightful study. His observations and prescriptions will enable Greek teachers to be more deliberate and effective in their pedagogy."" --Robert L. Plummer, Professor of New Testament, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ""A careful assessment of the way New Testament Greek is taught in contemporary Christian colleges and seminaries is long overdue. The problem of the overwhelming neglect of biblical Greek--by those trained in the subject--for adding depth to sermon content in American pulpits is ubiquitous. David Miller understands the underlying causes and offers realistic pedagogical strategies aimed at giving students exegetical skills that will produce sound interpretive content for pulpit ministry."" --Michael S. Heiser, Executive Director, Celebration School of Ministry ""Possessing both experience as Greek teacher and a doctorate in education, David Miller is uniquely positioned to write this book. This book is not only full of valuable data, it also offers a positive way forward without abandoning those traditional elements that have proven helpful. If you teach Greek, you owe it to your students to read this book."" --Benjamin L. Merkle, Professor of New Testament and Greek, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary ""There are multitudes of former students of Greek who have lost any ability they may have had to read the Greek New Testament with comprehension. Knowing a language does not ensure the ability to teach that language effectively to others. David Miller has analyzed and applied standard principles of pedagogy to our discipline. He not only has shown how our teaching methods have often been ineffective, he has also shown how we can help to increase our students' acquisition and retention of Greek."" --William Varner, Professor of Biblical Studies, The Master's University David Miller earned three degrees in biblical studies before focusing his doctoral work on the educational process of language-learning. He has taught and mentored students at various levels since 2010. He lives with his wife Alayna and their two children in North Carolina.