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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

What Crazy Idiot Would Ever Want to Learn Greek?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

What can you expect from this book on Greek Word Study? Well, simple analogies, easy to understand definitions, and the stories behind words--that's what! via @chautonahavig

“Is Chautona ever going to go to college?”

My cousin and I are the same age.  While she was at Fresno State getting her degree, I was home raising babies.  Three of them at the time she asked my mom that question.  Mom said, “No… she’s just learning what she wants to when she wants to.”

Said cousin didn’t get it.  “Like what?  What’s she learning?”

“Right now,” Mom said, “she’s learning Greek.”

Okay, so my cousin didn’t say, “What crazy idiot would ever want to learn Greek?” but I can almost hear the words in her tone as she asked, “Why?”

Fast-forward about twenty-five years.  I had a new friend.  From Greece.  When she found out that my father read the Bible in Greek as much as possible–compared it with English–she asked the same question with a totally different perspective.  “Why?”

I pointed out that the original manuscripts were written in Greek, so we like to understand it as originally… well, written.  As I spoke, a big smile formed.  “You read Greek?”

Although I don’t actually remember what I did there, I suspect I laughed.  After explaining that I try to learn Greek words for things in the Bible but do not know Greek, I was pleased to tell her I could remember the Greek alphabet.  Only then did I realize that maybe I don’t know it.  I mean, is the alphabet the same today as it was in Koine Greek?  I don’t know!

Seriously, the highlight of my year last year?  When she came to our Bible study and read to us from a Greek Bible we had here in the store.  Extra special.

With that background, are you surprised that I requested a review copy of a book called Greek Word Study?

Greek Word Study

Note: links

What Crazy Idiot Would Ever Want to Learn Greek?

This one.  And I was eager to see what I’d learn from this book.

Greek Word Study offers an interesting look into the meanings of not only specific Greek words in the New Testament but also the words that those words were derived from.

In a casual, conversational style, the author offers a simple introduction to many of the words we think we’re familiar with and shows the origins of those words.

First off, this book isn’t really what I expected from the title or synopsis, but it really is exactly what he said it is.  Inside, you find an easy to read and simple look at some of the Greek words that pack a punch and will enrich your understanding of the Bible.

Some of the things he said didn’t make sense to me.  Ip front he says that commentaries are difficult to read. I always go to commentaries to make sense of some otherwise unclear Bible passage to make it clear!  So, I started off not quite understanding what he was talking about.  Still, that’s probably just my weirdness showing through.  I wouldn’t be surprised.

I do have one strong objection to parts of the book. 

An overall feeling that the author was trying to make the Greek of the Bible “relevant” to today instead of trying to remind us that we need to make our lives relevant to the Word permeated most of the examples.

For instance:  Meme.  That was what he used to show what the word for “Be imitators of God” means.  He went into a lot of explanation for where “meme” came from and then tried to apply it to the lesson. In that same section, he talked about actors and Hollywood, and actually, that analogy clicked more and felt less frivolous to me.  That feels really weird to write.

Then there was the “Whole armor of God” bit.  Hockey helmets.  The history of their use and when they weren’t–same for soccer and some sort of padding.  The whole time I thought, “Because we don’t know what a sword or shield is?  No one has seen Captain America or Gladiator?  What?

Several of the word analogies and explanations really stuck with me, though.

The one for “unsearchable” was probably my favorite, but then I think of “parresia” (diacritic over the E).  Seriously, the way he described that combined with prayer made it all just come alive.  THAT I loved.

As a whole, I’m liking the book.  It is taking much longer to read through it than I expected. I keep rereading and rereading, trying to really get out of it what is in there. That plus readjusting my expectation of what he means by a “Greek Word Study” (we don’t agree on that) is what bumped this book to a 4-star rating.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 231: A Chat with RomCom author, Shannon Sue Dunlap
byChautona Havig

Shannon Sue Dunlap isn’t new to rom-coms, and her first book in the Sweetheart Series promises to be a literary riot, and it lives up to that promise. I’m only halfway through it and am thinking mean, ugly thoughts of everything keeping me from being able to escape into the crazy small-town politics and quirky characters. So far the com far outweighs the rom, which makes me thrilled to bits. Listen in to discover what makes Lone Star Sweetheart so much fun.

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Why Did This Author Write a Rom-Com about a Loveable Shrew?

Well, I think we can safely blame Shakespeare for that. Shannon Sue Dunlap has taken inspiration from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew in her Katherine, but unlike Katerina, Dunlap’s character is actually trying to learn to tame the tongue. Maybe someone should send her over to the book of James. There’s that whole bit about not being able to tame it, being an “unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

Kate’s isn’t that bad, but not for lack of trying. Or something.

Shannon Sue Dunlap isn’t joking when she says that her Katherine is a “loveable” shrew. Seriously, I love this character. She’s forthright, no-nonsense, and “what you see is what you get” in her approach to life. I respect that. Add to that her boss who has shaken up the town of Sweetheart, Texas, and you’ve got the makings of a great story. I’m loving Lone Star Sweetheart.

But this isn’t all Dunlap has written.

Under the pseudonym, Shannon Kent, you can find her sweet and clean romances (including one Christian romance) inspired by Korean dramas. If you said I’d be not only chomping to read a sweet and clean romance about Korean tour guides and all that entails but also ready to watch a Korean drama on Netflix… Okay, I might not have laughed in your face, but I’d’ve been laughing on the inside.

Best part… one of them ties into her Sweetheart Series

Lone Star Sweetheart by Shannon Sue Dunlap

Katherine Bruno’s passionate, unfiltered temper makes her the shrew of small-town Sweetheart, Texas. When she’s drafted to help the mayor’s wife run against her own husband, Katherine meets opposing big city political consultant Ryan Park. The good-looking, flirtatious campaign manager gets under her skin, but fraternizing with the enemy is off-limits.

Katherine must battle her lack of experience, campaign sabotage, and her growing feelings for Ryan as she strives to succeed. His unprejudiced acceptance of her strong-willed character beckons her heart, but his jaded rejection of God is an insurmountable barrier. Will Ryan return to his faith and stay with her in Sweetheart or leave when the election ends?

You can find out more about Shannon Sue Dunlap AND get that first novella in the Korean Crush series free on her WEBSITE.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

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Episode 231: A Chat with RomCom author, Shannon Sue Dunlap
Episode 231: A Chat with RomCom author, Shannon Sue Dunlap
May 26, 2023
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Episode 228: A Chat with Author Emilie Haney
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Episode 227: A Chat about the New Jewels of Kalispell Series
May 5, 2023
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Episode 226: A Chat with Archaeological Thriller Author, Doug Powell
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