ST may or may not require Latin — it depends upon your area of specialization. If you focus on Karl Barth, for example, German would be much more important.

Eventually, whether you do NT or ST, you’ll have to pass exams in reading knowledge of both French and German. Please note that this is different from conversational French and German. “Reading knowledge” refers to the ability to translate scholarly texts written in those languages.

And you might want to speak to your current professors about your plans. Even MA programs in New Testament studies will require a good deal of previous study of Greek. (M.Div. programs will not, though.)

If you have to choose just one, study Greek. That way you can read the New Testament in the original. Greek will also allow you to read many of the Church Fathers and will also allow you to read many of the philosophers that influenced early Christianity.

On the other hand, many of the most influential Church Fathers wrote in Latin as well. For example, you will almost certainly want to read Augustine. If you are interested in medieval theologians (e.g. Aquinas) you’ll need Latin. Also, if you are planning on studying Roman Catholic theology, Latin is a must.

Just to add to your work, if you’re really serious about doing your readings in the original, you may want to consider adding Hebrew to the list as well 🙂

I can’t speak to the value of French vs. German in theological studies; I would suspect that German would be more valuable if you are planning on studying Protestant theology. If your area of study is Roman Catholic, you’ll probably want both 🙂

The good news is that your first second language is the hardest. After that, learning extra languages becomes progressively easier.

Also, Latin and Greek have similar grammars (they’re both quite different from modern English thought). Thus learning one will definitely help you pick up the other more quickly. Most people start with Latin, but I find reading Greek to be easier in general. Unfortunately, sometimes the similarities can lead to some confusion between the two because there are some more subtle differences.