The Greek Perfect Tense In The Gospel Of Mark And The Epistle To The Romans

The Greek Perfect Tense in the Gospel of Mark and the Epistle to the Romans is designed to resolve the confusion that has resulted from Stanley Porter's understanding of the use of Greek perfect tense. For Porter, the perfect tense functions as a third level of "frontground" which denotes the highest prominence on a discourse. Porter has argued that the perfect tense is chosen to deliver a present state, disregarding anterior activity. This book supports the validity of a traditional understanding of the Greek perfect tense, which is rooted in a dual feature. The author argues that the perfect tense is chosen to indicate a present state that results from anterior activity and functions as background for main events or themes. The author formulates three rules to discuss the function of the Greek perfect tense in Mark and Romans. Through the discussion of the perfect tense using these rules, the author finds it appropriate to interpret all the Greek perfects in Mark and Romans in light of the perfect's inherent dual feature. This book should prove useful for seminary students, pastors, or scholars who are struggling with how to interpret the Greek perfect tense in the New Testament.

This volume examines and outlines a Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) model of discourse analysis and its relationship to New Testament Greek. The book reflects upon how SFL has grown as a field since it was first introduced to New Testament Greek studies by Stanley E. Porter in the 1980s. Porter and Matthew Brook O'Donnell first introduce basic concepts regarding discourse analysis and the major approaches towards it within New Testament studies. They then provide a detailed exploration of discourse analysis in terms of the textual metafunction, beginning with an introduction to the architecture of language within SFL, before exploring several individual elements within it. By focusing upon these individual components – in particular, theme and information structure, markedness and prominence, and coherence and cohesive harmony – Porter and O'Donnell introduce and exemplify the major resources of the textual metafunction.

"Is the wide range of indications in the Gospel of Mark for the influence of Pauline theology the fruit of chance or rather of the will of the Evangelist to unify his work with the thought of the Apostle Paul? In this study, Mar Pérez i Días argues that Mark, rather than being a disciple of Peter who puts in writing what he remembers from his preaching, is a theological disciple of Paul." --

This commentary is primarily based on the original Greek but uses several English translations as aids to understanding. I have attempted to write in such a style as to promote discussion, debate, questions, and personal study.