Book Review: The Handy Guide to New Testament Greek

The Handy Guide to New Testament Greek: Grammar, Syntax, and Diagramming. By Douglas S. Huffman. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications. pp. 112. 2012. ($16.99 Paperback)

---

4.5 Stars

I took two back-to-back semesters of New Testament Greek in 2012 and have found that keeping up with it is not as easy as I had hoped. The books are big and thick, and remembering all those tenses, irregular verbs, and grammar is a little daunting at times.

I recently had a chance to read and use The Handy Guide to New Testament Greek by Douglas S. Huffman, which turned out to live up to its name: I found it very handy. It covers pretty much everything that was covered in my two semesters of Greek, from grammar and syntax to diagramming, which turned out to cover more methods than I studied in class.

The book is definitely aimed at people who are into their second semester of Greek and beyond. Personally, I would have liked to have had it with me while I was studying for my tests and preparing for translation. The small size and easy-to-understand notes make refreshing my memory a lot easier than trying to browse through my couple-hundred page grammar textbook.

Although it seems somewhat paradoxical to state it, the little book is very thorough. Huffman outlines many of the uses of the various tenses, which comes in “handy” when trying to determine the way a given word or phrase should be rendered that uses the genitive or dative case.

My lone criticism of the book is its color scheme (see picture to the right). The book uses an orange theme for all of its charts, but the background and font colors do not always contrast well enough for easy viewing. I have nothing against using an orange color theme, but it would have been more beneficial to this reader to have more contrast in the charts. Despite this flaw, I would highly recommend this book for anyone studying New Testament Greek or brushing up on the language.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Is "Illegal Immigrant" Offensive

Is the term “illegal immigrant” offensive? That may just depend on who you ask. Two columns appeared on CNN within the last couple of days, one by Charles Garcia and another by Ruben Navarrette. The first believes “illegal immigrant” is not only a misnomer, but also biased and racially offensive. Navarrette, on the other hand, says the term reflects the reality of the situation, a sad reality that some find hard to accept.

I’m glad that CNN is showcasing these two articles because it includes others in the dialogue and shows that even those who want to see a pathway towards a legal status can disagree. I believe that each man has some good points to bring out, and those who lean more towards Navarrette’s perspective on the term “illegal immigrant,” if not his views about resolving the issue, should stop and read what Garcia has to say because what he has to say about people is often true.

I’ve heard many people compare illegal immigration to murder, as though both actions should be swiftly and harshly punished, lumping in young teenagers, poor families struggling to get by, drug dealers, and child molesters all in one basket. This is both unfair and unrealistic. Crossing the border illegally (or more commonly, overstaying a visa), is not the same as killing another human being or violating a child’s innocence.

Although there may be some illegal activities that are similar in nature to illegal immigration, capital offenses are not. Comparing illegal immigration, which is a civil offense, to murder, a criminal offense, is hyperbolic and dehumanizes people created in the image of God.

Thus, Garcia has some important things to point out, but saying someone is an “undocumented immigrant” instead of an “illegal immigrant” isn’t going to fix the harsh rhetoric and uncompassionate attitudes out there. If anything, it will stoke the fires of those who believe any path to a legal status is a descent into lawlessness.

Navarrette, who supports the DREAM Act and advocates for a solution to the illegal immigration problem that results in the granting of a legal status, believes “illegal” is an accurate description of what has been done (though, he points out, it is not a noun). Those who didn’t go through the right channels in order to live and work in this country have “engaged in unlawful activity.”

He goes on to say,

With the exception of DREAM Act kids involuntarily brought here by their parents, these people did something wrong. Illegal immigrants either overstayed a visa or crossed a border without authorization. That was wrong. Then many of them doubled down on the misdeed by using fake documents to procure employment or not paying income taxes on money earned, even though the federal government has set up an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number that allows illegal immigrants to pay taxes.

That may sound pretty harsh, but the sad truth is no non-citizen has a right to live and work in the U.S. penalty free. To deny the illegality of the action would be to embrace lawlessness. But let’s not use terms like “illegal immigrant” to cast our aspersions on others. We must encourage everyone to be subject to our governing authorities. Lawlessness cannot be condoned, but we shouldn’t confuse the advocacy of a different penalty (like a fine and probationary status) as lawlessness.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

(Rom. 13:1-7, ESV)

Learning Chinese

With China’s president visiting the U.S. this week, news sources are looking for stories that fit with the theme of China. The first test flight of a next generation stealth aircraft and a visit by Department of Defense Secretary Robert Gates to the country have provided the most recent fodder for news reports. Today I came across a news story from a different angle.

Apparently the Chinese government is providing some funding to American schools with a Chinese language program. Teachers, some of whom are actually coming from China, lead students in language acquisition and cultural appreciation.

Some school districts have had to say no to a Chinese program not because of a lack of interest, but because of the question of where the money is coming from. In short, some people don’t want their child’s education, even a part of it, to come from the treasury of a communist nation.

That is the scary thing for many Americans. “Better dead than red!” could become another popular slogan in the future, especially given the strong ties (or perceived strong ties) between China and North Korea. Naturally, China feels it has something to gain from sponsoring these programs, and after years of The Manchurian Candidate, Jason Bourne, and other thrillers, some people may suspect it includes twisting our children to become sympathetic to China and its goals.

On the other hand, a Chinese language program is beneficial for bilateral relations in the future between the U.S. and China. I know enough people who can’t tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, much less the other ethnic groups that make up each nation, to believe that my fellow Americans and I could benefit from some kind of cultural program.

China (and India for that matter) will certainly be influential on world economics and politics in this century, so American ignorance of Chinese culture and language could harm our nation in the long run, especially since our military prowess may not be sufficient to make successful political maneuvers in the future.

But on a more spiritual side, Chinese programs like this offer American Christians an opportunity to make an influence on China better than ever before. Short- and long-term missionaries could have easier access with the gospel to Chinese Christians. Teachers on loan to the U.S. may be exposed to the gospel for the first time in their lives.

One thing I’ve heard mentioned about China is the need for more educated Christian leadership. Many of the small house churches do not have trained leaders. This can allow for false teachers to infiltrate the church and lead spiritually immature believers astray. Through cultural programs, American Christians can connect with the better educated and social elite without as many dangers faced by Chinese nationals doing the same thing.

Theological Famine Relief

I subscribe to the Desiring God (DG) blog feed and regularly read up on the happenings within that ministry. They have so many Christian resources that I regularly check out the site for access to online books, conference messages, and the like.

One specific outreach of Desiring God is called, “Theological Famine Relief for the Global Church.” In addition to the plethora of digital resources on the website, DG also works to provide print materials and other helps to Christians overseas who have little or no access to good, quality, Christian literature.

One conference speaker I try to listen to often is D.A. Carson, and he frequently mentions how blessed we are as English speakers in the West. No other language has anything close to the sheer volume of Christian literature as ours.

Since I work with Hispanics, I can say that holds true for Spanish as well. There are so few resources. Yet compared to other languages, even Spanish has a large amount of resources available.

On the DG blog today was an article about the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR). This Sub-Saharan African country has been torn apart by rebel violence, civil war, and unrest. At the request of local pastors, a DG staff member went to the DCR to help put on a pastor’s conference.

Though their English skills were basic, the pastors there received with joy the book, 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Based in part on the need in DCR, Rwanda, Kenya, and other places, Desiring God worked to translate the book into Swahili.

If you don’t support a missionary, international outreach, or translation group, please consider praying and putting aside some money on a regular basis to fund one of these groups. Just a few dollars can purchase a book that will bring joy to a pastor and enable him to better lead Christ’s congregation where he serves.