Monday
night was the first session of our “Biblical Theology” class. Nine Albanian church leaders attended (this
is one of five classes based on language—total attendance for the five groups
was 65-70). We began our one-week
investigation of the Bible’s grand plot of God’s glory and grace. Each student received a 250-page workbook
with the outline and main information of the biblical theology curriculum so
that they can follow along and take notes.
The
atmosphere was very cordial and informal, and there was a good bit of Q&A
interchange. Our discussions did wander
down a few rabbit trails, and when everyone got talking to each other in
Albanian my interpreter was rather at a loss to help me understand the whole
conversation. I found the process of
teaching via an interpreter—as well as receiving questions and providing
responses via interpreter—to be a real challenge. Not only are the subject matter and
theological vocabulary a bit technical, but languages can “work” differently and
thus there isn’t always an easy one-for-one exchange of words or ideas.
Case in
point: when Genesis 2:15 speaks of
Adam’s duty to “till and keep” the garden God provided, the Albanian rendering
of the second verb in that sequence was more like “protect.” So they asked: which is it, keep or protect? (How would you answer that?) My response was that to keep or care for the
garden includes various key tasks, such as protecting it—protecting the holy
place God has provided and in which he personally meets with his people (Eden
is not unlike a temple in that regard).
Of course, when we come to Genesis 3, the need to protect the purity of Eden
Thanks
again for praying. Please pray that God
would grant me stamina for the hours of nighttime teaching and for mental focus
and communication dexterity as I seek to convey God’s Word and the theological themes
that bring all his truth together.
.
