My mother in NY once asked me, "What type of job will you be able to
get with a classics degree?" Well, I wasn't able to give my mother a reply
just then, but I am happy that I pursued my interest in classics anyway.
When I was an undergraduate, I wasn't quite sure why I was pursuing
a degree in classics. All I knew was that I loved the New Testament, and
the milieu which the NT came out of was the Greco-Roman one in Palestine.
This was all the more reason why I subtly continued in classics.
As I began reading the church fathers, individuals like Ignatius,
Polycarp, Justyn Martyr, Eusebius and countless others couldn't be throughly
understood unless one understood the world in which these figure lived.
Somehow Justin Martyr brought together many aspects of the hellenistic world
and the Christian faith. And while I have some reservations about Justin's
analysis between the two, I appreciate the deep sensitivity that he has of
both Christianity and the hellenistic religions.
While I read the latest commentaries on the NT, it seemed to me that
the individuals who were asking the more pertinent questions about the
social, political, religious, and economic milieu of the NT were the
classicist and not the NT scholars themselves! There were some exceptions:
NT scholars who had been trained in classics could read the Greek NT with a
better understanding of the complicities of Koine. They could also give
better explanations of the hellenistic world than most NT scholars I've
known. (Perhaps, I should pursue a degree in classics and not NT history!)
It for this and countless other reasons why I love the classics and
continue to read the literature. Though there are aspects of classical
culture and tradition I deplore, the writings --Canon?-- of Western
civilization, along with the Bible, serve as a starting point for spiritual
relfection that I undergo everyday of my life, as a CHRISTIAN FOR THAT MATTER!!!
Anyone interested in what I have to say even more about my journey
into the classics and religious studies should read my statement of purpose
for graduate, http://members.gnn.com/MDick39708/statepurp.htm I am sure
many of you will enjoy it.
Peace and Love,
Tim Dickens
Smyrna, GA
http://members.gnn.com/mdick39708/timspge.htm
PS: If anyone know of any good Ph.D programs that incorporate classics and
NT scholarship, please write me back and let me know.
Thanks