Author Archives: Arlan

Original Tongue Seduction

The Christian scholar today is expected to know Greek and Hebrew. Commentators quibble on the language as a matter of course, and even the consumer-level cheerleaders will refer to nuances of the language to make a point. It is not imagined that you could have a serious scholarly interest in the Bible and not know at least one of its Read More


Why believe the Bible?

I rely on the Bible. Often I do not think of it as “the Bible,” but as a part of myself or of the universe. It is. It has no distinct, quantifiable nature than can be analyzed. But like other things that simply exist in my life, such as my right hand, the Bible actually can be considered as a Read More


What’s Wrong with “Dead Poets”

The 1989 film starring Robin Williams won a fair raft of awards (as a jot of Google research shows), and I presume it was recieved as an evocative defense of poetry. It is perhaps more properly a defense of acting. The film well excoriated the driest and stodgiest scholars of poetry, and not as an invented nemisis but a real Read More


Or take your pick

I should add to my previous post that I will probably be remembered at that site for a different quote altogether. Aforementioned kindly old manager began a piece of his own advice by saying, “Life is like a cotton field… ,” whereupon I chimed in: “The question is: are you the cotton-picker, the cotton ball, or the boll-weevil?” Rachel, ate Read More