People I have met - Dr. David Barnhart, my college Greek teacher

In a previous post, I mentioned that we are influenced greatly by the people we meet and the books we read. So, here is installment one along those lines.

In college I took Greek for five semesters (It was my minor). For each of the five, I learned Greek from Dr. Barnhart. He was one of the best teachers I have had in any course of study, period. What made him such a great teacher? Among other things...

1. His knowledge and love for the subject.
2. His constant attempts to make Greek understandable.
3. His sense of humor.
4. His tough exams which made me make sure I knew the subject, not just memorized facts.
5. He made sure to show us how we could use Greek in future study and ministry.
6. He made an old school textbook work in a contemporary setting.
7. He taught us how to think, not just what to think.
   

Dr. Barnhart would probably not approve of my use of computer Greek resources like this one. He wanted us to know it so well that we wouldn't be "slowed down" by such tools.

My college Greek textbooks (in case you wanted to know. I am sure you are on the edge of your seat):

• New Testament Greek for Beginners by J. Gresham Machen (very old school)
• Syntax of New Testament Greek by Brooks and Winbery
• A Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament by Rogers and Rogers.
• Lexical Aids to the Greek New Testament by Bruce Metzger

So thank you, God, for the ministry of Dr. Barnhart! What a difference it has made in my love for Your Word! I study harder (and hopefully better) because of the godly respect he instilled in me for the Bible.