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"According to statistics collected by Robert Morgenthaler, the Greek New Testament makes use of 5,436 different Greek words. More than one half of these (namely, 3,246) occur only once, twice, or thrice in the entire New Testament ... The beginner of any foreign language always finds it easier to acquire a working knowledge of the vocabulary if he is shown parallels between it and his own language. It need scarcely be mentioned that not every Greek [or Hebrew or Latin] word has an English derivative. Nevertheless, a surprisingly large proportion of words can be supplied with more or less well-known English derivatives. The derivative is often italicized or enclosed within parentheses. The definition is to be memorized; the derivative is intended to be of assistance in remembering the definition." (Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek, Bruce M. Metzger, 1983, Princeton Theological Seminary) Christian theology has many technical vocabulary words developed over centuries of Bible study. Most (if not all) of them are derived from the original languages of Scripture. Now and then, I come across a person who thinks he is being smart (Paul calls them 'morons') by suggesting a word is not valid if it can't be found in the King James Version of the Bible. For instance, I have heard, "Rapture is not a word in the Bible, therefore it can't be true." Such a statement is ludicrous. The theological term "rapture" came from the Latin "raptus" which means a snatching away or abduction. The word was in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible centuries before King James was even born. In my field of business, Finance and Computer Science, new technical vocabulary is being developed on a daily basis. In many cases, we have even developed acronyms for a new concept because a single word could not be coined that would adequately communicate the myriad of thoughts behind our new business concept. The creation of new words is going on at an incredible rate in many educational disciplines. Theology is not exempt from the creation of new technical vocabulary. Even the Apostle Paul created new vocabulary words for the purpose of explaining biblical concepts, i.e., hapax legomena. Particularly in the field of theology that is called "experiential sanctification," a pastor-teacher in Houston, Texas, has the knack (genius) for creating technical vocabulary and training aids to assist the believer in learning doctrine. I have found his (Robert B. Thieme, Jr.) innovative terminology and doctrinal outlines in this area of theology of immense help to me in both studying and teaching the Word of God. If it is your desire to cease learning new vocabulary words, that is your prerogative. If you work in the computer industry like I do, you will eventually be fired for this willfully ignorant attitude. The same principle applies to theology. You have the option of remaining theologically stagnant if you prefer. Every field of study I have ever embarked upon has had a lengthy vocabulary list, and until I became familiar with its terminology, most of what I was reading escaped me. The same is true of theology. It is slowly, but constantly, developing like every other field of study. I have spent years in several theological seminaries, and to this day, I have not found a systematic study of experiential sanctification that even remotely approaches that which is taught by Robert B. Thieme, Jr. When I come across concepts in the Word of God that I believe can be better explained by the use of his innovative vocabulary, I'm going to utilize them as any scholar would. Many of them are briefly defined in the list below. I have also followed former Greek and Hebrew scholars in using brackets [ ] in my translation of a verse, a practice used extensively by Dr. Kenneth Wuest, former Greek professor at Moody Bible Institute. Inside those brackets or parentheses I place theological terms or contextual comments which are intended to be of assistance in understanding the verse. If they make a verse more perspicuous, then I have accomplished my goal. |
