You wrote:
>With the crumbs I have of B-Greek, I'm just trying to figure out what
>John 1:1 says---exactly.
>When he uses ARCHE (I hope I spelled it right) does he mean literaly "in
>the beginning [of Aeons]", or does he mean, (which seems logical) "in
>the beginning [of Order]"? (Ex. In highest rank is the Word...[and
>then...to 1:2] he was next to God in the beginning...[a way to clarify
>two points]).
Greek is not a magical language with all sorts of mysterious treasures that
no one has discovered before. If standard English translations agree on
the sense of a passage, you can accept that as an accurate rendering of the
text.
By a standard English translation, I mean one that has a broad group of
translators from various denominations. Here are a few New Testaments that
I would recommend:
The American Standard Version (1901) very accurate, not as readable
The New American Standard Version (1965) accurate, not as readable
The New International Version (1973) readable
The Revised Standard Version (1956) is both very readable and very
accurate.
I am not saying that there is no benefit to reading the Greek New
Testament. On the contrary, my habit is to read at least a chapter a day.
I am still trying to learn the language after over thirty years. It is one
of the most enjoyable and enriching things that I do. I am simply saying
that most teams of translators are made up of people of integrity, who
honestly and knowledgeably render the meaning of the text, some with a
concern to reflect more literally the words from Greek, some with a concern
to reflect more accurately the meaning of the words in good, readable,
modern English.
Bob Vincent