Is not Learning Latin poor Theology?

[davejonescue]

I have been toying with the idea of joining Latinum for some time, and wondered if it is poor theology to not learn it? With aids now days like Biblingo and the fore-mentioned, learning these languages are becoming more and more accessible. But the reason I had the question about Latin is, it kind of shocks me how I am so content of not being able to read 1,500 years of Church History. I could see if cost or location is an issue, but things like Latinum are only $9 a month and you can access them online. Biblingo is like $18 a month for each language.

I was watching a Youtube video and it showed this guy going to Scotland and practicing Gaelic. Then a priest walks up to him, and not only knows Gaelic, but Cornish, Latin (and presumably other languages.) If I am to be serious about the study of theology, it seems pertinent to know at least Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The more I go, the harder it seems for me to ignore this. I think, if they can do it, why cant I?

 

[cthorn14]

It's not poor theology, but perhaps poor stewardship if it's an important part of your vocation.

 

[erickinho1bra]

I have been toying with the idea of joining Latinum for some time, and wondered if it is poor theology to not learn it? With aids now days like Biblingo and the fore-mentioned, learning these languages are becoming more and more accessible. But the reason I had the question about Latin is, it kind of shocks me how I am so content of not being able to read 1,500 years of Church History. I could see if cost or location is an issue, but things like Latinum are only $9 a month and you can access them online. Biblingo is like $18 a month for each language.

I was watching a Youtube video and it showed this guy going to Scotland and practicing Gaelic. Then a priest walks up to him, and not only knows Gaelic, but Cornish, Latin (and presumably other languages.) If I am to be serious about the study of theology, it seems pertinent to know at least Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The more I go, the harder it seems for me to ignore this. I think, if they can do it, why cant I?

I think about this in relation to Greek and Hebrew but then again, I think to demand that one learn those languages, if they are laity, is to undermine the trustworthiness of our English translations. Pastors and scholars should definitely learn them since they will be held to a stricter judgment (James 3:1) but I don't think it should be a requirement for lay people.

That being said, Latin is helpful for so much of life. Even knowing technical biological, scientific, and theological terms comes easier when you know their Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes. And as you said, reading so much of church history's writings becomes a possibility if you can read Latin. If you can, definitely go for it! I started learning Latin and fell off but I want to pick it up and have a good grasp of the language before my 10 month old twins start learning it (Lord willing).

 

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

I have been toying with the idea of joining Latinum for some time, and wondered if it is poor theology to not learn it? With aids now days like Biblingo and the fore-mentioned, learning these languages are becoming more and more accessible. But the reason I had the question about Latin is, it kind of shocks me how I am so content of not being able to read 1,500 years of Church History. I could see if cost or location is an issue, but things like Latinum are only $9 a month and you can access them online. Biblingo is like $18 a month for each language.

I was watching a Youtube video and it showed this guy going to Scotland and practicing Gaelic. Then a priest walks up to him, and not only knows Gaelic, but Cornish, Latin (and presumably other languages.) If I am to be serious about the study of theology, it seems pertinent to know at least Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The more I go, the harder it seems for me to ignore this. I think, if they can do it, why cant I?

If you have the opportunity to learn it, great. I don't think it's the kind of thing one needs to make a requirement for anyone except scholars studying theologians who wrote in Latin. While it is true that learning Latin makes a lot of writings more accessible, we are indeed blessed with an abundance of English translations from throughout church history, so it is not as if one actually can't study those centuries. Most people would probably do well to even read the translations we have.

 

[davejonescue]

If you have the opportunity to learn it, great. I don't think it's the kind of thing one needs to make a requirement for anyone except scholars studying theologians who wrote in Latin. While it is true that learning Latin makes a lot of writings more accessible, we are indeed blessed with an abundance of English translations from throughout church history, so it is not as if one actually can't study those centuries. Most people would probably do well to even read the translations we have.

See, that is the position I now hold. But for instance, if you go to PRDL (Post Reformation Digital Library) and look up all the Latin authors, you will come back with 3,980 authors who have either a single, or multiple documents in Latin. And per their site info, they only cover from 1400-1700. If you deduct the Papist authors, that still leaves 2/3rds or 2,955 authors, just in those 300 years who wrote in Latin!. This is not to mention from 400AD (when Latin became the official language of "the Church.") to 1399. How many of those works do we think have actually been translated?

Kind of see what I am getting at? It looks like Latin, in all honesty, opens up an entirely new theological library of not only Reformers, but of the Early Church, that is simply off-limits from those who dont take the time to learn. Again, I can see if were a matter of cost and location; but resources like Latinum bring it right into your home for such a low fee.

The more I think about it, the more it seems I am selling myself short not to give at least 30 minutes to it a day to Latin. Seeing so many of the Puritan era writers quote so freely in it, along with Greek and Hebrew, gives me confidence that it isnt impossible to learn. Or even all 3. It would just take persistence, and have to be deemed by me as important enough of that persistence. I can picture the time constraints of those who have already entered ministry, and have that and a family. But I am not in that position.

 

[cthorn14]

The more I think about it, the more it seems I am selling myself short not to give at least 30 minutes to it a day.

Some of it will come down to whether you enjoy language learning and are ok with making gradual progress.

If you're only thinking of it in binary terms, either being able to comfortably read long theological works or not, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment. It takes quite a while for the average person to get there in any language.

 

[John Bunion's Big Toe]

I took two semesters of Latin in college. Both the curriculum and the professor were horrible and I learned almost nothing. It's very regrettable as I was and still am interested in the topic.
That said, for the average person who isn't in ministry I can't see how it's poor theology to not learn Latin. Not everyone has time and/or resources to do so. Even for ordained ministers it seems a gratuitous requirement since the Bible was written mostly on Greek and Hebrew. That said, it certainly wouldn't hurt to know.

 

[davejonescue]

I took two semesters of Latin in college. Both the curriculum and the professor were horrible and I learned almost nothing. It's very regrettable as I was and still am interested in the topic.
That said, for the average person who isn't in ministry I can't see how it's poor theology to not learn Latin. Not everyone has time and/or resources to do so. Even for ordained ministers it seems a gratuitous requirement since the Bible was written mostly on Greek and Hebrew. That said, it certainly wouldn't hurt to know.

But wouldnt that be more of a contemporary way of thinking as opposed to historical? At least in my research, most, if not all ministers were fluent in Latin prior to 1800, but it seems somewhere along the line it dwindled. But that is one of my points. Maybe in the past, resources would have been an issue, but with things like Latinum and Biblingo, the learning of these languages can be brought into your home. There are even free Youtube channels, where people have made movies, commercials, daily news updates, etc. entirely in Latin, so not to know it as only a reading language, but a speaking language as well. I agree with you, not everyone has the time. But for me personally, I just feel as if I am being locked out of so much. Think about it, I just watched a video from Dr. Beeke explaining the history and purpose of RHB. He mentioned that, for instance, Burgess has a Systematic Theology that has never been translated. And this is 2024, a work like that has remained hidden for so many years except to the educated few. The thing with it for me, is almost 1200-1500 years of church books were written almost exclusively in Latin. I just dont see how you can be serious about theology, and get around that. Sure, there are many translations of wonderful works; but also, there will be many left undone because Latin translation is so expensive. I was looking into traditional routes of Latin translation, and the standard price seems about $0.25 a word. So say you have a simple 500-600 page book (or about 300,000 words.) To us, that is just an average book. But to translate that from Latin, at the standard cost, would be around $75,000! Now think how many books of that size are siting in the recesses waiting to be read?

I dont know, I have several avenues I could pursue it. I have already linked videos of 4 years of Latin from a Catholic school, that I could start with. Or I could go with the Latinum route. But one is free, and the other $8 a month. Not a big difference. The only determinator now is not the avialability of resources, but the effort to do so.

 

[John Bunion's Big Toe]

But wouldnt that be more of a contemporary way of thinking as opposed to historical? At least in my research, most, if not all ministers were fluent in Latin prior to 1800, but it seems somewhere along the line it dwindled. But that is one of my points. Maybe in the past, resources would have been an issue, but with things like Latinum and Biblingo, the learning of these languages can be brought into your home. There are even free Youtube channels, where people have made movies, commercials, daily news updates, etc. entirely in Latin, so not to know it as only a reading language, but a speaking language as well. I agree with you, not everyone has the time. But for me personally, I just feel as if I am being locked out of so much. Think about it, I just watched a video from Dr. Beeke explaining the history and purpose of RHB. He mentioned that, for instance, Burgess has a Systematic Theology that has never been translated. And this is 2024, a work like that has remained hidden for so many years except to the educated few. The thing with it for me, is almost 1200-1500 years of church books were written almost exclusively in Latin. I just dont see how you can be serious about theology, and get around that. Sure, there are many translations of wonderful works; but also, there will be many left undone because Latin translation is so expensive. I was looking into traditional routes of Latin translation, and the standard price seems about $0.25 a word. So say you have a simple 500-600 page book (or about 300,000 words.) To us, that is just an average book. But to translate that from Latin, at the standard cost, would be around $75,000! Now think how many books of that size are siting in the recesses waiting to be read?

I dont know, I have several avenues I could pursue it. I have already linked videos of 4 years of Latin from a Catholic school, that I could start with. Or I could go with the Latinum route. But one is free, and the other $8 a month. Not a big difference. The only determinator now is not the avialability of resources, but the effort to do so.

If you believe that the Lord is calling you to do this and you don't do it then yes- I would agree that it's sinful not to do it. Latin is an incredibly useful language and it will be of absolutely no harm to you or anyone else to learn it. I would go further than you and say that prior to oh, maybe 1800, most educated people learned Latin. That wasn't restricted to the clergy. "Well educated" used to mean multilingual and well traveled.