Light: Recovering an Ancient Perspective

The Greek and Hebrew catechetical devotions are intended for all students of the Greek and Hebrew Bibles who wish to embed their practice of reading the Bible from the original languages within a devotional format. Not only will they practice reading the Bible in the original languages, but they will also recite the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer in the biblical languages. It is fitting and proper to review the ABCs of the Christian faith as one engages with the Scriptures. The grammar of faith as expressed in the Catechism is an indispensable guide for navigating the theology of the Scriptures, which informs our interpretive decisions. To recite the Catechism in the biblical languages helps to further take God’s Word to heart so that interpreting the Scriptures in their original languages may be more than just a cognitive exercise but truly an exercise of faith and worship. As we read the Scriptures and become immersed in them, we can find our anchor in the Catechism which guides our reading. Now, we may ask, “Why have the Catechism in the biblical languages? Why not keep them in English?” The aspect of immersion is key. As we read the Bible in its original languages, we are engaging in the worlds in which those languages were spoken. Rather than imposing our English version of the Catechism into the Greek or Hebrew world of the Bible, we can engage the text on its own cultural terms while still keeping the transcultural truth of the Catechism. We can interact with the Greek and Hebrew worlds of the Bible in a respectful way while still being firmly grounded in the Christian faith which has been given to us. The Greek and Hebrew languages as well as the Catechism have been instrumental for passing on the Gospel of Jesus Christ from generation to generation, and these catechetical devotions are intended to keep doing that