restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

Hardly a Christian Nation

 David Alan Black 

During a lay-over at the Frankfurt Airport yesterday I noted, with amusement, an article in the Frankfurter Rundschau with the following title, “Nein zu Islam-Feiertag.” It seems that Green Party leader Hans-Christian Stroebele has been seeking to introduce an annual Islamic holiday in Germany – a day-off that would occur at the end of Ramadan. All well and good, you say? Hardly.

A firestorm of protest has ensued, with the opposition led by Otto Schily, Germany’s Ministry of the Interior. Schily argued, cogently in my opinion, that Germans need to work more, not fewer days. Then CDU leader Angela Merkel chimed in. “Germany is a country with Christian-Western roots,” she said.

It was this latter quote that had me shaking my head. Interesting, isn’t it, how German politicians can tout their “Christian” heritage when it suits their economic/political purposes. In all actually, Deutschland is no more a Christian nation than was the Holy Roman Empire (which, of course, was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire).

Nowhere is this situation of “expedient Christianity” more intense and urgent than right here in the United States. For it is here, more so than in Germany, that the churches are being drawn into a struggle with a government committed to the disenfranchisement and oppression of those who truly believe in their “Christian-Western roots” in the name of the politics of statism – and often in the name of a biblical insistence upon obedience to constituted authorities. A cacophony of ideological pragmatism has distorted our ability to see the situation clearly, however.

The general election on November 2 is a high-profile microcosm of this problem. As I see it, the burning question facing American evangelicals is whether they have fully faced the consequences of their call for Christian action against a state that has lost its moral legitimacy. For the past two years I have argued that not only must the existing order change, but also that any attempt by the church to defend the cult of Americanism is heresy.

Nevertheless, most of our churches have made no serious attempt to move beyond rhetoric. We have become so preoccupied with our own internal affairs that we have neglected our prophetic task in relation to the state. In such a situation the church needs prophets – men who will remind the church of its obligation to address the violation of biblical principles by our civil magistrates. It is part of the church’s office of guardianship that she shall call sin by its name and that she shall warn men against it, for “righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is perdition for the people” (Prov. 14:34). Our aim should not be that government pursues Christian policies, but that it should be true government in accordance with its own special task as defined by Scripture. The church must therefore always oppose this encroachment of the state precisely because of its better knowledge of the state and of the limitations of it actions. Indeed, to be silent in the face of tyranny is complicity in the tyranny.

We mock the Gospel of Jesus Christ when we forget that uncompromising obedience to God alone is the essence of true faith. The earliest Christians were quite unreasonable (by today’s standards) in refusing to conform to the demands of the civil authorities. They held to a higher law, a law that demanded, not compromise (as in the case of those who recently voted to reelect a man who believes Muslims and Christians pray to the same God), but obedience to the Triune God. In essence, what November 2 proved (in case anybody really doubted it) was that America, like modern-day Germany, is a country that cares little about its “Christian-Western roots.” Once again, in the age-old struggle between God and Mammon, Caesar has trumped Christ, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

That’s why, in the end, it makes little difference whether Germans, or Americans for that matter, have Islamic holidays. The truth of the matter is that neither Germany nor America is a Christian nation. But what is saddest of all is that those who have remained faithful to the prophetic tradition of the church – men like Michael Peroutka and Chuck Baldwin – have been dismissed as political extremists by those who have deviated from this tradition.

November 20, 2004

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Hannitized!

Bob Strodtbeck 

Conservative thought has seemingly been “Hannitized.” This label is taken from the rabidly partisan, pseudo-intellectual, talent-challenged, nauseatingly grandiloquent, and frighteningly dimwitted talk show host Sean Hannity.

The only requirement for receiving the blessing of “Hannitization” is to give unquestioning consent to the world view of Hannity, which is identical to the world views of all the pop-culture conservatives now saturating the mainstream media. That collective world view can be summed up by a simple slogan; “Democrats are bad – really, really, really bad – but Republicans aren’t.”

It is important to make a distinction between pop culture conservatives and all the other types of conservatives that have emerged since conservatism became fashionable. The most popular type of conservatism is economic conservatism, which lives by the credo, “Wealth means never having to say your sorry.” Social conservatives believe, “Durn the balance of powers, everything should be a federal issue!” Neo-conservatives stand by the principle that “Where McGovern went wrong is that he didn’t want to blow up anything.” Religious conservatives have been bickering with each other too much to create a slogan, so they have glommed onto the pop-culture conservative slogan except on the occasional exceptions that any Republicans are discovered to be engaging in unsavory and extramarital intimate behavior.

Pop-culture conservatives, on the other hand, conversant in all the various tenets of conservatism with the added ability to deflect any scrutiny of Republican positions by continually pointing out that “Democrats are bad – really, really, really bad.” Although this technique is rather obvious on talk radio, it has become increasingly noticeable among print commentators such as Ann Coulter. In her review of the opening of the Democrat National Convention, Coulter characterized the event as “the Spawn of Satan convention in Boston” and moved from that assault to ridiculing everything from the appearance of Democrat women to anyone who has run for the Democrat nomination over the past 28 years.

Former congressman and GOP vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp has taken the anti-intellectual tactics of his fellow pop culture conservatives to even assault non-Democrats who dissent with the conventional wisdom of the various schools of conservative conventional wisdom. “A struggle is under way for the soul of the Republican Party between a minority of protectionist xenophobes and those who are pro-trade and pro-immigration,” declared Kemp in Immigrant nation … trading freely and building wealth, published June 28. Throughout the piece he suggested that anyone who would question the virtues of free trade and open borders immigration was a danger to conservatism and Ronald Reagan’s vision of America as “the city on a shining hill.” They are probably a threat to what Reagan referred to as “a shining city on a hill,” as well.

Cal Thomas has been diligent in preserving his pop culture conservative credentials by focusing on the assertion that “Republicans aren’t really, really, really bad.” In a recent effort titled Rumsfeld and bad intelligence, Thomas pointed out that although “…there is ‘no question’ the declaration presented by the United States to the United Nations justifying war against Iraq ‘was flawed, was inaccurate, was false,’…” and that, “the Senate Intelligence Committee report, which concluded that Iraq possessed no weapons of mass destruction and that the CIA was wrong to cite their existence as justification for toppling Saddam Hussein,” he allowed Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to proclaim, “… nonetheless President Bush ‘made the right decision.’”

For good measure Thomas quoted Rumsfeld talking of visiting wounded soldiers at military hospitals and confessing, “It is heartbreaking to see someone whose life has changed that dramatically.”

Although these types of sentiments are certainly endearing pop culture conservatives to the powers that be in the nation’s capital, they are not enhancing the national debate on issues such as economy, limited government, or foreign entanglements that will shape America’s fate. There is no argument here that “Democrats are bad,” and Republicans holding such debates with them has become futile, mainly because their positions are, with few rhetorical exceptions, essentially mirror images.

If pop culture conservatives really wanted to serve the intellect of the nation, rather than devoting so much time to accosting Democrats, maybe they could accept the challenge of analyzing the thoughts of such luminaries as William Lind, Paul Craig Roberts, Kevin Phillips, or Charley Reese. The fact that these names are not well known outside of mainstream media circles is something of a commentary on the commentators who have condensed American political thought into such an easy formula.

August 11, 2004

Since 1993 Bob Strodtbeck has been writing commentaries for The Apopka Chief, a news weekly circulated in a community ten miles north of Orlando. His analyses investigate a wide range of topics from what he calls a “Christian pragmatic” view – that is to say, he considers that human interactions are largely driven by the human instinct toward self-service, which is traditionally known as sin. This perspective has given Bob great liberty to criticize governmental officials from both parties upon the standards of constitutional laws they swear to uphold and review cultural and economic phenomena from moral standards defined in the Bible. Bob currently lives in Orlando with his bride Pam and children Charlotte and Richard. He may be reached for comment here.

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Handicapped? Serve the Lord Anyway!

 David Alan Black  

All of us are heir to the common troubles and heartaches of life. Headaches, petty vexations, grievances – everyone has these. Some of us, however, wear visible scars. One of these is our Ethiopian son, Bereket (for his amazing story, go here).

Bereket’s eye problems are genuine. They have the potential of being debilitating. But when the Almighty calls us to a task, we waste our time (and His) bemoaning our weaknesses. We are servants of One who is the eternal Provider. But we must be willing to pray, “God, glorify Yourself through me.” If we mean it when we ask Him, He is eager to do it. Not only are we saved by grace from the sins of yesterday, but provision has been made for us to live for Him today.

One sure mark of genuine revival is the grace of serving. Life does not consist in the presence or absence of things. It is measured by what we give away. Bereket may have faulty eyesight but his spiritual vision is 20/20. Being a servant is certainly one of Bereket’s greatest gifts. He asked to go with us to Alaba, and while there we witnessed the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians in action. God was granting us little glimpses of a servant’s heart. Carrying luggage, running errands, talking to strangers about Christ – nothing was too big or small for Bereket. A soft, lamb-like spirit accompanied his every move. His infectious smile brought joy to every person he met.

I clearly remember the time in Alaba when Bereket came up to me, his face beaming, and asked if he could wash my clothes that day. How could I say no? I scraped together a few items, and off he went to find some water. I could easily multiply such examples of Christ-like meekness.

We read in Hebrews of those “who out of their weakness were made strong” (Heb. 11:34). Salvation means wholeness, soundness, health, vitality. If a partly blind boy can be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, how much more should we who can see perfectly? If a 16-year old can witness in his hospital ward and lead others to Christ, why can’t we? If a handicapped youth can volunteer to answer a seeker’s questions about the Bible, why shouldn’t we? Would that all Christians knew such devotion to their Lord! (I write about this with repentance because I fail so often to practice what I preach.)

Here is the lesson I have learned from watching Bereket on our trip: Christ can use us despite our handicaps. I saw this truth daily fleshed out in the life of a precious young believer. I hope that using his life as an example in this essay will show him my deep gratitude to God for the gift he is to me and for all God’s gifts of grace to me through him. May our glorious Lord alone get all the praise and honor.

July 11, 2007

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Gordon Guggisberg

 David Alan Black  

In Sherwood Eddy’s magnificent book A Portrait of Jesus (p. 33), a beautiful story is told about Sir Gordon Guggisberg, a Canadian of Swiss descent. During the First World War Guggisberg served Great Britain as a brigadier general with supreme dedication and loyalty. On his mirror he had placed a placard bearing the motto, “For God, for King, for Country.” He said, “God meant nothing to me, the King meant a little, but Country everything.”

When the war ended Guggisberg became the governor of the African Gold Coast. One day a Christian friend of his said to him, “You love your country because you have served it all your life; you have taken every opportunity of seeing the king; but you have never sought or even wished to know God.”When Guggisberg asked his friend how one could know God, the latter replied: “Some of us believe that Jesus of Nazareth knew more of God than any other man, so we put aside some time each morning to study his thought of God, and to let his Father speak to us, which he will do if Jesus told the truth about him.” Guggisberg replied, “D**m it! I’ll try. It’s worth it if it’s true.” Six months later he became a Christian, and in his final years he gave his life serving the Africans, whom he had grown to love. He died a pauper because he had given his all to help his people.

I have long since arrived at the point in my life where I feel that I have reached the top of my career. I have largely attained the goals I set for myself academically. Forgive me if I sound egocentric, but I am sharing the honest truth. At the same time, I have come to the point of accepting responsibility for my failures and mistakes in life. Quite literally, I have set out to write a new chapter in my life. I have discovered just how great a debtor to my gracious God I am. Jesus, I’ve discovered, is worth it. If we dare to follow Him, the road will be a rugged one. But if we put the emphasis in our life in the proper place, He will never disappoint us.

The Gospels insist repeatedly that if, like General Guggisberg, we are willing to know the truth, the Truth will not be far from us. However, we can no longer treat life like a hobby. We must put trifles in their place. And we must realize that our purpose in life is not to serve king or country but the King whose rule is over all. Now and then a man like Guggisberg or Schweitzer emerges to show us the way, men whose lives are shot through with a sense of meaning, of connectedness to the will of God and the love of Jesus.

Will we follow their example?

Dear Father,

You are forever trying to catch our eyes to lure us beyond our littleness to your greatness, beyond our selfishness to your generosity, beyond our fears to your peace. Oh help us to unwrap our gifts and use them for the kingdom’s sake!

I pray this in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

May 8, 2009

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Growing the Body of Christ through Evangelism and Education

 David Alan Black 

The human body grows in two ways: through the addition of new cells, and through the nourishing of existing cells. This is God’s plan for physical growth.

Likewise, the Body of Christ grows in two ways: through the addition of new believers to the church, and through the nourishing of existing members. Each method of growth is vital to a healthy assembly of believers. Sadly, many churches are sorely imbalanced. Some of these churches lack any sort of systematic, sound biblical teaching, while others do nothing but evangelism in their pulpits Sunday after Sunday. Each extreme is to be avoided.

Note the balance between evangelism and edification in our Lord’s Great Commission as found in Matthew 28:19 (my translation):

Having gone [as you go], make disciples of all the nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit [and] by teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

Here the command to “make disciples” (which is the only explicit imperative in the Greek text) is explicated by the two modal participles that follow: “baptizing” and “teaching.”

What does Jesus mean by baptizing? In the New Testament, baptism was the “public profession of faith” of a new believer in Christ. In other words, a person who got saved got wet. Not that baptism saves. Baptism is simply the outward symbol of an inward reality. It is like my wedding ring. Wearing it does not make me “married.” It is only a symbol – though a very important one – that tells everyone that I am wedded.

Similarly, new believers were immediately baptized in the New Testament as a sign that they were now followers of Jesus Christ. At their baptism they confessed, “Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor. 12:3), and this exclusive allegiance to Jesus would now mark their lives and everything they did. So at Pentecost, the 3,000 who got saved were baptized.

Can one be genuinely saved and not be baptized? Yes, but remember that the expression “unbaptized believer” would have been an oxymoron in New Testament times. The reason is simple. At my conversion I was baptized into the universal Body of Christ. First Corinthians 12:13 says as much: “For by one Spirit we all were baptized into one body.” In other words, at my conversion I entered into Christ, and Christ entered into me. This is sometimes called the “reciprocal indwelling of the believer and Christ.” And all this took place without any physical water being present.

However, as a sign that this spiritual baptism is indeed a reality, I obeyed Christ by following His commandment to be baptized in water. And, by being water baptized, I willingly identified myself with Christ’s local “Body,” the church. Thus Paul can refer to “one Lord, faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5), and no one would think of asking, “Which baptism is he referring to – Spirit or water?” Paul is referring to both, for they are but different sides of the same coin. And so believers in the book of Acts were baptized in water, and this was their “profession of faith” in Christ.

Jesus goes on to state in Matthew 28:19 that baptized believers are to be taught to observe His commands. This command to observe the teachings of Jesus is what some call “The Great Omission in the Great Commission” – and for good reason. I hardly need point out the dearth of regular, systematic Bible teaching in so many of our churches. As I noted earlier, many sermons on Sunday morning are more dedicated to evangelism than edification. But the New Testament clearly states that the purpose of the gathered meeting of believers is not for evangelism, but edification (see 1 Cor. 14:26: “Let all things be done for edification”). 

Note how Ephesians 4:11 reinforces this teaching of Jesus. Here Paul writes that the risen Christ “gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastor-teachers.” If we compare this verse with Ephesians 2:20 – the church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” – it seems clear that the New Testament apostles and prophets were foundational ministries of the church. This would also imply that the two continuing ministries of the church are evangelism (“evangelists”) and edification (“pastor-teachers”). The evangelists are Gospel preachers who help add “new cells” to the Body by presenting God’s free offer of salvation by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). The pastors (lit., “shepherds”) do everything a literal shepherd does for his flock. He feeds them, cares for them, finds them when they go astray, and protects them from their enemies. As teachers, these same pastors see to it that their flocks are fed a healthy diet of the Word of God.

In Ephesians 4:12-13, Paul shows what happens when the pastor-teachers fulfill their God-appointed tasks. The saints are equipped; these well-equipped saints do the work of the ministry; and the result is that the Body of Christ is built up. And when the Body is built up, the final goals of unity, maturity, and mutual love are realized.

This is God’s plan for building His church. Through evangelism, new members are added to the Body; and through edification, believers are built up in such a way that they observe the “all things” the risen Jesus commanded them to obey. Within this process, every believer is essential for full growth. In union with Christ, “the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself” (Eph. 4:16).

In light of this truth, I would like to ask a question: “How’s Your Hekastology?” And if you have not yet trusted in Christ as your Savior and Lord and become a part of His Body, I invite you to consider what He has done for you and to respond in faith.

January 16, 2005

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. He is the author of Why I Stopped Listening to Rush and numerous other books.

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Groaning for Freedom

 David Alan Black 

I am the most blessed man on earth. I know this because God has given me the privilege of knowing the most wonderful people on earth.

These include the beautiful people at the Murdoch Center, a North Carolina residential facility located in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill Area. The Center’s approximately 1,620 staff positions provide comprehensive residential care for 700 profoundly mentally retarded and physically handicapped residents from 16 counties in the North Central Region of the state. The primary function of the Center is to provide effective training for the residents in a variety of skill areas, including self-help, leisure, work, communication, and social interactions. From time to time my family is privileged to lead worship in their chapel services. During such times my thoughts inevitably go to the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, a wonderful New Testament teaching. 

In 1 Corinthians 15:43 Paul contrasts the believer’s present mode of existence and his future, resurrection life. He states that the condition of our transitory life on earth in characterized by “weakness,” but our resurrection existence will be a life of “power” in perfect harmony with God’s own being. The apostle is addressing the questions that many of the Corinthians had been asking: By what power and in what manner is the resurrection of a sinful, mortal body to be accomplished? His answer is a masterpiece of skillful reasoning. After establishing that God is able to take similar matter and organize it differently to accomplish His purposes (vv. 36-41), he refers by analogy to the existence of the resurrected man (vv. 42-44). By a series of four contrasts between the body that is “sown” and the body that is “raised,” he illustrates the different order and functions the earthly body has from the spiritual body:

• Perishable/imperishable

• Dishonor/glory

• Weakness/power

• A physical body/a spiritual body

Note that Paul uses the adjective “spiritual” to express the quality of the body in the resurrection state without implying any sense of immaterialness or etherealness. This spiritual body stands over against the earthly body, which in characterized by perishableness, dishonor, and weakness.

This truth is a great encouragement to me, both as I witness the physical frailties of others and as I come to terms with my own. For the present, Christians still continue to die and the body continues to be liable to disease. Only the inward man is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). While the Holy Spirit is already active in the bodies of Christians in one sense, He must wait until the Parousia (the Second Coming of Christ) to change our carnal bodies into spiritual ones.

In the meantime, even men who are relatively strong remain subject to illness, disappointment, failure, and eventually death. Cultivate the present body as we might, it is but a weak instrument subject to change, decay, and ultimately physical decomposition. The older I get, the more solace I find in this truth. In the future, the divine power that is now concealed in the weakness and mortality of my flesh will be triumphantly and gloriously manifested when it finally asserts itself in the resurrection.

Meanwhile, in my present bodily existence I groan for freedom from my physical afflictions and limitations, as does everyone who looks forward to a better kingdom whose builder and maker is God.

October 27, 2003

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. He is currently finishing his latest book, Why I Stopped Listening to Rush: Confessions of a Recovering Neocon.

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Greener-Pasture Pastors

 David Alan Black 

I live in rural Southside Virginia, where small churches may be found in abundance. These churches are hurting in many ways, not least because of frequent pastor turnover. The pastorate has become, for many, just another career path.

Some pastors say they are changing jobs because God is leading them to another church. I do not doubt that this may be true in certain cases. However, I’m afraid the “grass-is-greener” mentality is at work as well. Some men I’ve known aren’t so much pastoring as “pasturing” – moving from pasture to pasture whenever the grass appears greener.

Let’s not think this is healthy for our churches.

In the New Testament, elders were never imposed on their communities from the outside. When Paul revisited the churches of Galatia, he appointed elders who were home-grown. They knew the culture. They enjoyed the respect of the community. They had jobs and were not a financial burden on the congregation. But the main point is this: they were not parachuted into the congregation from the outside.

We who are Bible-believing Christians say: “We are not conformed to this world in our church polity!” But let us go on. Have many of our pastors have the mentality described above? How many of them will stick it out – thick or thin – in the places to which God has called them? Or does the “pastor as career” mentality make it easy for them to move on when it is “advantageous”?

We have a serious cancer in our churches. And the real battle is in our thought life. Whether we have conformed externally will always depend on whether we have or have not conformed internally to the spirit of this world. The truth is that by doing the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way we will accomplish more, not less. You need not fear that if you wait on the Lord you will not be as effective as if you were to charge ahead in the flesh.

I encourage my students not only to affirm the authority of the Scriptures but also to live by biblical principles. It is especially easy to become contaminated by Mammon in the ministry. The solution? My son once put it this way: “Today’s pastors need to sink their roots into a community, and then ministry opportunities will come as the Lord opens doors.” To do this will require the same kind of determination to do the will of God that Jesus had.

One thing is certain. We who live in the heartland do not need any more greener-pasture pastors.

October 25, 2005

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Greek Student: Quo Vadis?

 David Alan Black  

In one week the semester will end. Exams will be over, but questions will remain. How will you fare, Greek student? It all depends on your “maturity.”

The Greek term for maturity is teleios. It can refer to physical maturity, spiritual maturity, and even mental maturity. Pythagoras, the ancient Greek mathematician, said he had two kinds of disciples: those whom he called “babies” (nepioi), and those whom he called “mature” (teleioi). The mature students not only had a mastery of the rudimentary elements of the subject; unlike the babies, they also went on to put their knowledge to good use. May I ask, “What kind of a student are you?”

The baby Greek student rejoices that the semester is over and a good grade has been earned; he is pleased as pudding to have two semesters of Greek on his transcript; but he has forgotten the vocabulary he once memorized for quiz purposes; and he has neglected his paradigms and principal parts. The mature student is not content to remain at the elementary stage of instruction. He not only reviews what he has already learned, he applies it to the reading and study of his Greek New Testament. Knowledge is important to him; but even more important is the application of that knowledge.

I have students who have received “A”s in elementary Greek but who never open their Greek New Testaments. They fail to receive the real riches of their studies. Their unflagging effort to get a good grade has dissipated, and all is soon lost and forgotten. A year or two later, when I ask them how their Greek is doing, they admit to still being babies and no nearer to maturity than when they began their studies.

It is one of the great tragedies of the church that so few pastors who have taken Greek in seminary are able to apply that knowledge in any significant way. It often happens that we defeat ourselves by starting out well on milk but never going on to meat. Arrested development is no less a disaster in one’s intellectual life as in one’s spiritual life. Five years from now will we still be using our knowledge of Greek properly? Two years from now? I am not implying that we will reach complete knowledge or complete maturity. But if we fail to “leave the elementary teachings” behind and allow the Holy Spirit to “carry us on to maturity” (Heb. 6:1), I cannot see how God can be very pleased with us.

What to do then? Read a few verses of Greek every day. Do your devotions in the language. Take your Greek New Testament with you to church and chapel. Take a course in intermediate grammar. Acquire and maintain a good working vocabulary. It is true that all these tasks are difficult. It is true that our lethargy and laziness will often get in the way. But as a Greek teacher I must tell you that one of the saddest sights is that of a solid foundation wasted because the student has refused to build a superstructure on it.

Will that happen to you? The choice is yours.

May 14, 2007

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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Greek Resources Online

Resources for MY Learn to Read New Testament Greek:

A program where you create Powerpoint flash cards from Bibleworks vocabulary lists. My vocab is ready for download as .pdf or .ppt files:http://code.google.com/p/bw2ppt/downloads/list

Digital flash cards, with printing options, of vocabulary for each chapter of my grammar: http://studysebts.com/search/label/Dr.-Black

And here’s a great vocabulary app for your iPhone, iPad, and iPod: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/greek-vocabulary-for-david/id391076378?mt=8&ls=1

Jacob Cerone has produced a set of fantastic vocabulary flash cards for my beginning grammar. (You will need to find the section that says “Sets (92)” then scroll down.) You can find them here:http://quizlet.com/user/jacobncerone/

Finished with the basics and ready for further studies in Greek? Here’s my top ten next purchases: http://www.daveblackonline.com/ten_best_books_for_studying_new.htm

Helpful blogs, articles, & links to resources for Greek Studies:

Participate in groups, forums and projects, collaborate on translations, discuss the texts, or converse with other members entirely in Greek. An online community devoted to the study of the Greek language, as well as the translation and interpretation of the Greek New Testament. Tons of resources, links to free resources, and even a bookstore: http://www.greekingout.com/

The Biblical Greek Forum has a wealth of resources for students and teachers of Koine Greek: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/forum/

The Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics Section of the Society of Biblical Literature is designed to promote, discuss, and disseminate ongoing research into biblical Greek language and linguistics, particularly the Septuagint and the New Testament: http://greeklanguageandlinguistics.wordpress.com/

Studies in Greek Language & linguistics by one of the B-Greek Forum moderators: http://evepheso.wordpress.com/

William Mounce is the President of BiblicalTraining.org, long-time Greek professor, New Testament chair of the ESV, on the NIV committee, and of course author of the bestselling Greek textbook, Basics of Biblical Greek: http://www.billmounce.com/blog

Rodney J. Decker, Th.D., is Professor of New Testament and Greek at Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, USA:http://ntresources.com/blog/

Steve Runge serves as a Scholar-in-Residence at Logos Bible Software. His tagline is “Removing the mystery from discourse grammar”: http://www.ntdiscourse.org/

Paul Heim is working on his PhD under me at SEBTS. His father John also contributes to the site. John has been serving in Japan for 30 years and is currently translating the GNT into Japanese. Paul writes, ” It is hoped that this blog will simultaneously provide food-for-thought to the reader while pointing him or her in the direction of valuable resources, both in print and on the internet, that will further help his or her studies in the Word”: http://paroikosmissionarykid.blogspot.com/

Mark Goodacre is an Associate Professor in New Testament at Duke University. The New Testament Gateway is the award winning web directory of internet resources on the New Testament: http://www.ntgateway.com/

This site has a wealth of resources on inductive Bible study, commentaries, dictionaries, maps, biographies, and of course original language tools: http://www.preceptaustin.org/Greek_to_Me.htm

Ryan Richie, a missionary to South America, publishes a very helpful online guide called “NT Greek Studies.” Especially check out its “NT Greek Resources Page”:http://ntgreekstudies.weebly.com/index.html

Greek Text Resources:

The NET Bible Study Environment is based around the New English Translation but this tool provides a wonderful look at the translators’ notes, comparison with English parallels, articles, and original language tools: http://net.bible.org/

Greek New Testament resources, the GNT, and parsing: http://www.greekbible.com/

Multiple Greek texts, search capabilities, and audio: http://www.laparola.net/greco/

The GNT text with parsing: http://www.kimmitt.co.uk/gnt/gnt.html

Logos Bible Software and the Society of Biblical Literature have released a new critical edition of the GNT, which is edited by Michael W. Holmes, who utilized a wide range of printed editions, all the major critical apparatuses, and the latest technical resources and manuscript discoveries as he established the text. The result is a critically edited text that differs from the NA/UBS text in more than 540 variation units: http://sblgnt.com

Texts annotated at distinct linguistic levels: http://opentext.org/about/overview.html

Dan Wallace’s NT manuscript studies: http://www.csntm.org/

Septuagint studies, including the New English Translation of the LXX: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/

Electronic resources for LXX studies: http://www.kalvesmaki.com/lxx/

LXX text with parsing, and Latin helps: http://www.septuagint.org/LXX/

Center for LXX Studies and Textual Criticism: http://www.theo.kuleuven.be/lxxtc/en/

Free Access to the German Bible Society’s Greek and Hebrew texts: http://www.academic-bible.com/

Greek Language Learning Tools:

NT vocabulary lists, keyed to Trenchard: http://www.biblicalgreek.org/grammar/vocabulary.php

NT vocabulary flash cards, keyed to Metzger: http://www.flashcardexchange.com/tag/wermuth?t=1&q=metzger&search=Search

Comparative list of beginning Greek grammars: http://www.biblicalgreek.org/books/Primers.php

The goal of this page is to encourage children of God to learn to read the New Testament in the original Greek with expression and understanding in order to enrich their spiritual lives: http://www.donpotter.net/greek_2/

A large library of over 180 of free Greek and Latin textbooks: http://www.textkit.com/

Randall Buth’s immersion approach: http://www.biblicallanguagecenter.com/

The National Biblical Greek Exam provides detailed analysis and educational benefits for students and instructors of Biblical Greek. The dynamic nature of the exam enables students to take the exam whenever they wish, and it allows instructors to customize their own course and practice exams: http://www.greekexam.com/

Free brief summaries of Mounce’s lectures: http://www.biblicaltraining.org/biblical-greek/william-mounce

Comparing Translations & Translation Studies:

The Better Bibles Blog focuses on how to improve translations of the Bible. Includes lot of links and recommended reads: http://betterbibles.com

Multilingual searchable Bibles: http://www.biblegateway.com/

Multilingual searchable Bibles: http://unbound.biola.edu/

Multilingual searchable Bibles: http://biblos.com/

The United Bible Societies site is a resource to the global Bible translation community. They are committed to developing and providing tools and resources that contribute to and improve the quality of Bible translation: http://www.ubs-translations.org/

A project to make gospel-centered books and articles freely accessible in as many languages as possible: http://gospeltranslations.org/

The “Living Koine” Approach:

Some professors are trying to teach the biblical languages by using techniques commonly appropriated when learning modern (living) languages. This “living language” approach goes by various names so we’ll try to highlight some of the more notable ones here:

 Randall Buth has popularized a living language approach to learning the biblical languages:http://www.biblicallanguagecenter.com/ Christophe Rico has a PhD in Greek Linguistics and teaches at the Hebrew University in Israel. His living language approach is called “The Polis Method:” http://poliskoine.com/site/ Daniel Street teaches at Criswell College and uses the Living Koine approach: http://danielstreett.wordpress.com/ Finally, the B-Greek Forum has a running post on current instructors of the Living Koine approach:http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=772&sid=dbba84ffdb2f0fb9c43773b88d787eeb

   restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

Greek Exegesis of Mark: More Than Mere Theory

 David Alan Black 

In 1950 Oscar Cullmann published his now famous Christ and Time in which he argued that the New Testament is primarily interested in “functional Christology” rather than mere abstract ideas. I can recall discussing this perspective with Professor Cullmann many times in his apartment in Basel in the early 1980s. He was then in retirement but always seemed to find time to open his home to fledgling scholars. I came away from these discussions with the firm conviction that New Testament theology must be done from a starting point that is biblical-historical in orientation. For all the diversity in the New Testament writings, there remains a genuine unity about the person and work of Christ. Jesus’ mission of salvation involves His incarnation, humiliation, and death. He is the grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies … and bears much fruit” (John 12:24).

Jesus was fully conscious of this mission, too. He knew Himself to be the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, and His earthly career focused dramatically on His fateful “hour.” Good shepherds don’t merely lead sheep. They die for them. Thus, in According to Mark, suffering is the normal experience for Christians because for them the world is an utterly alien place. But with the suffering comes blessing, particularly the blessing of bearing up under suffering with patience and steadfastness. If I might make a practical application for today, Christian living is not so much the condemning of the world as it is living lives of goodness and kindness in contrast to pagan sinfulness. It is our “good works” (the Greek can also be rendered “attractive works”) that are a witness to unbelievers of Christ’s love for them. Such love toward the enemies of God frustrates their hostility and even possibly wins them to the Savior.

Hence we find in According to Mark an explication of the theology of discipleship. The point is that Jesus’ followers have a duty to display to an evil world the value of the kingdom of God. Many scholars see in Mark an excellent example of a primitive Christian theology, recognizing strict parallels between According to Mark and Peter’s sermons in Acts. Thus Peter, like Jesus, desires his readers to face persecution and suffering not with stoic pessimism but rather with rejoicing — a response that proves the validity and reality of the Christian faith.

Folks, Greek exegesis has everything to do with discipleship, because the kind of student of the Scripture that I am determines the kind of person that I am, the kind of father that I am, the kind of missionary that I am, etc. So my work in this Mark class is so much more than Greek. My work is to present my students to Jesus as single-minded disciples who are fully committed to living out their mission. My job is to send my students into this world as disciples who will contend for God’s glory because they understand what their mission is.

How exciting is that?

August 5, 2015

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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