Jim, I think you got to the answer I was looking for in spite of my rather dense question. I personally don't think EKKLHSIA had a specifically religious tone in the NT but was wondering if it might have developed one toward the end of the first century. Thanks for your responses. Lynn Trapp > -----Original Message----- > From: Jim West [mailto:jwest@highland.net] > Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2000 1:14 PM > To: Lynn Trapp > Cc: b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu > Subject: RE: [b-greek] Translation of EKKLHSIA > > > At 12:57 PM 8/22/00 -0500, you wrote: > > >Let me try to rephrase it. It appears to me that in > Classical Greek EKKLHSIA > >was predominantly, if not altogether, a secular > word--referring to political > >and, otherwise, secular assemblies. Did the use of the word > with reference > >to a religious "assembly" have any effect on the way the > word was used > >following the time of the New Testament? > > What makes you think it had a specifically "religious" tone > when used by the > writers of the NT? Isnt it possible that the NT writers > merely used the > word they had at hand for "assembly" with nothing denoted > thereby other than > the fact that folk gathered together? To be sure, the word > later became > loaded as an ecclesiastical one - meaning "church assembly". > But I dont > think this happened as early as the NT itself and im not > anything near a > patristics scholar- so the exact date of that transformation > is unknown to me. > > > > >I hope that's clearer. If not, I may have to give up. > > its not you- its me. im extraordinarily dense. > thanks for clarifying. > > > Jim > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > "going around stirring up apathy " > > Jim West, ThD > http://web.infoave.net/~jwest > --- B-Greek home page: http://metalab.unc.edu/bgreek You are currently subscribed to b-greek as: [jwrobie@mindspring.com] To unsubscribe, forward this message to leave-b-greek-327Q@franklin.oit.unc.edu To subscribe, send a message to subscribe-b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu