Highlights
Scott completed Freed-Hardeman graduate courses in Greek Exegesis, Hebrew II, and Intertestamental Period.
Scott taught classes on Ruth, Hannah, Ezra, 2 Corinthians, and Jude (India).
2024-2025 Homeschool year has begun. Scottie is starting High School, Samantha, 6th grade, and Garrison, Kindergarten!
Thanking God that Garrison had a successful outpatient surgery on complications from his birth.
Logos Answers Statistics for April—July:
Lessons Published | Visits / Views | Watch Time (min.) | Interactions | |
English | 5 | 1,230 | 832 | 97 |
Tagalog | 1 | 102 | 23 | 3 |
Arabic | 2 | 119 | 55 | 2 |
Mongolian | - | 1 | - | - |
Khmer | 1 | 51 | 18 | 1 |
Ukrainian | 3 | 197 | 118 | 4 |
Telugu | 5 | 16 | 1 | 1 |
Wissam Al-Aethawi and preaching the Gospel in Arabic
Our work very much depends on collaboration with other faithful ministers throughout the world. Whenever we translate content into another language, we want a preacher in the church of Christ, who is fluent in both languages, to ensure that everything was translated faithfully and that any adjustments to cultural subtleties are appropriately considered. The brother who has been assisting as Editor of our Arabic site is Wissam Al-Aethawi. He has been a reliable source of feedback, and he has been a strong advocate of the website.
I first heard Wissam speak in 2019 at Polishing the Pulpit. He has an interesting story. He grew up as a Muslim in Baghdad, Iraq. As a young man, he rejected Islam and became an atheist. But by God’s grace he found a Bible, studied it, and believed. He finally was able to find someone to baptize him in May 2010. He consequently moved to the US, where he studied the Bible at Sunset International Bible Institute. Now he lives outside Dearborn, MI where he started his mission work, Arab Christian Ministry (arabchristianministry.org). He has travelled throughout the country to speak at other congregations, with the purpose of training Christians to reach out to their Muslim friends and neighbors in an informed and respectful way. I have been following Wissam’s work for nearly a year now, and I’m always encouraged by his newsletters and the work he is doing to reach Muslims with the Gospel. I found his work and attitude inspiring, and hope that it reflects in the content we make available on our Logos Answers Arabic site. Currently, I am making his evangelistic book that is geared toward Muslims, The Road to your Happinessinto an Arabic audio book. One chapter at a time will be published on our Arabic site. After that, I hope to continue developing evangelistic lessons geared toward Muslims who are searching for something different.
Teaching with the Biblical Languages
Earlier this summer, I reached a personal goal of mine when I completed graduate courses in Greek Exegesis and Hebrew II at FHU. One of my goals when starting in the Masters of Divinity program was to get to the point in my Bible study where I could read passages in the original language before preparing for a sermon or Bible class. I have learned that preparing Bible lessons come much easier and are more accurate when the Holy Scripture is first consulted in the language it was written. After three years of Greek study and one year of Hebrew study, I feel much more confident to do so. Studying the Biblical languages is a lifelong commitment (I especially have much more to learn in Hebrew), but I can at least read, notice translation challenges, and more easily understand the main points of a passage.
More than making teaching the Bible easier, this has another important advantage as well. When translating Bible lessons into another language, it helps to know subtle meaning differences in the original language AND in the target language. I came across a challenge recently in preparing a message on temptation. First, I realized that Greek and Hebrew both primarily use one word for “temptation” and “test”, where we use two, depending on if it is good or bad. (God tests us, but the Devil tempts us). However, in some other modern languages, four different words are used where we use two and the original languages of the Bible use one! Confusing, right? In another case, I was able to have a conversation with a viewer in Ukrainian. He was asking me about the choice of words for a particular passage in his Ukrainian Bible. While I didn’t know Ukrainian (I used ChatGPT to translate), I was able to look in my Greek Bible and validate his concern. Knowing the Biblical languages has allowed me to have much more confidence teaching in English and in other languages.
Note from the wife.
These past few months have been filled with blessings. The kids and I wrapped up our 4th full year of homeschool and started our 5th year with Kinder, 7th and 9th grader. Summer was filled with fun in the sun, relaxation, and Bible camps. As the kids return to extracurricular activities, I’m getting ready to start another quarter organizing teachers and teaching the ladies class on Wednesdays evenings. It’s a blessing to have so many women at Woodstock that are excited to learn more about God’s word and are willing to rotate the experience of teaching. I’m active with a few different studies at Woodstock, organized by amazing Godly women. We have also had the opportunity to help host a baby shower, welcome beautiful babies into Christian homes, be working hands for a friend’s garden, visit with those that are recovering from procedures, and attend a weekend of Polishing The Pulpit (PTP).
I know that our summer echoes like so many others, but Scott and I wanted to share our activities. We’re so grateful that we can focus our lives learning and teaching God’s word. Thanks to those that support the mission work through prayer and financial support. – Alexis
Love,
-The Ihle Crew
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