I’m happy to say that James L. Siebach, a colleage in BYU’s philosophy department, is our new guest blogger. James is a specialist in the philosophy of late antiquity and in medieval philosophy. And, like others among us, he served a mission in Korea. He is also a formidable opponent in an argument, so be forewarned.
This should be great fun.
Now that James is here, we can once and for all get an answer to the question, “what exactly were the evil doctrines of man imported into Christianity during the Great Apostasy?”
And if we don’t see a post about Bach we’ll know it’s just someone posing as James Siebach.
Hey, Jim S., long time no see. Congratulations on your elevation to the exalted post of guest blogger. I look forward to your contributions to this portion of the Bloggerverse.
One semester when I was taking a class from Prof. Siebach, I saw him walking out of the Twilight Zone and I came over to say hi. He was busy talking to some other people, but he showed his true colors by pausing for a moment… not to return my casual greeting, but to make me memorize a latin phrase.
Sic transit gloria mundi.
Back at you, big guy.
YIKES! I’ve not even posted a letter, and already I’m under fire. I’m in the middle of typing a meditation, for post, but until then: did I really coerce someone into memorizing a latin phrase, in some non-academic setting? How unglorious! I mean, if the advancements of the world pass quickly, is that reason to be vulgar? Surely not. Or is that some deep secret: the vulgaries of the world never transit? . . . . Back to work.
Hey, no hard feelings. I loved the class, and the phrase stuck with me (obviously). Plus, it makes for a great story.
Guys – for us, new converts in the “mission field” as some in our Ward put it, you will have to explain what the “Twilight Zone” at BYU is!!! having never been to UTAh, and BYU, some of those references have me bamboozled.
The Twilight Zone is a little shop just off the bookstore where you can buy bagels, umbrellas, various non-caffeinated drinks, NyQuil, the New York Times, gum, and I think even lipstick.
Thanks, Kingsley!!!
I think they sell NoDoz there too. Buy a box, crush a tablet up and stir it into your caffeine-free Coke, and walla! Super Coke!
Even though I was a LOUSY student in his classes, I did manage to learn this:
Siebach is dangerously smart.
By dangeously, I mean that you are likely to drown in the depth and breadth of his answer to a question or his explanation of a topic/idea/whatever.
Plus, he’s funny. Wicked funny.
I’ve sent a longish post, I think, to the blog. I haven’t a clue if I’ve done everything correctly. We shall see. My post consists of an enquiry, not an argument. It is an interpretation of a very small portion of Mosiah 4. I’m interested in pushing the interpretation, so to speak, to the theological level. That is, I’ve made an observation on King Benjamin’s ambulatory rhetoric–words like walking, running, standing, succorring (running to aid), and racing. I should like everyone’s views as to what the verbs signify. I’ll try and respond to the comments.
To begin, I should say to Frank that the most evil doctrine imported during the great apostasy was Keynesian Economics and that entire miasmatic infection. The second worst idea was the printing press, which has encouraged so many people, who should be plowing fields, to write.
And I’ve wondered why someone could get the impression that academics are haughty.
I have never taken to Mr. Siebach. I think he is an unsatisfactory teacher and a failure as a music conisseur. He should diversify his scope when it comes to listening and judging music, because the preponderance of it was generated after Bach’s demise. He also is fond of contradicting himself in most of his dissertations.