Studying Latin may be good for SAT scores . . . but it is good for the soul too? Today on Home School Heartbeat, host Mike Farris talks with Barbara Beers, author of The Latin Road to English Grammar, about some of the spiritual benefits of learning Latin.
Mike Farris:
Barbara, we’ve been talking a lot about academics in our previous programs, but let’s step away from that for just a moment and ask you about the spiritual life of the Christian. Is Latin valuable there? Or should we focus on New Testament Greek instead? How has Latin benefited you in this area?
Barbara Beers:
Because much of Latin vocabulary and structure developed from Greek, they are both extremely helpful into giving us insight into the scriptures that sometimes is missing from a straight English reading. For example, in one of our word studies we look at John 21, where Christ asks Peter, “Peter, do you love me?” and Peter answers, “Lord, You know that I love You.” Christ says to him, “Feed my lambs.”
To those reading only in English, one might wonder why Christ asks the same question three times and Peter answered the same way each time he asked. Without going into the details of the study here, the Latin in those verses shows that Christ and Peter were using two different words for love, and we get a depth of understanding of the relationship between the two of them that one just doesn’t get from the English reading.
Mike:
Barbara, thanks so much for encouraging your students to focus on the scripture, and ultimately, the Lord. It’s not all just about academics. I’m Mike Farris.
