When I was a student at Millsaps College, the Chairman of the English Department was Dr. Milton Christian White. He had been there forever, it seemed, and I thought he was ancient. He must have been in his 60’s! He was a volunteer tennis coach, so I spent a lot of time with him. He was somewhat crippled with arthritis so that he walked with a kind of shuffle. He was balding and brilliant. (I have always thought those two go together.) He knew everything there was to know about English literature. I have vivid memories of the day I was sitting in his class, waiting for him to arrive. He shuffled in the door, walked to the front, ran a hand across his bald head, and said, “O, I just know so much, I don’t know what to tell you!”

The Apostle Paul could have said that. He, too, was brilliant. …