Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4110 )

• Predestined?

  

  This particular doctrine struck me as evil. It violated every experience and thought I’d ever had, even raised as an unquestioning Christian as I was. Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Spinning Wheels

  

  That warm, secure feeling of being home for the holidays never goes away. Admittedly Thanksgiving takes on a different cast for those of us who are vegetarians... Read more

  Posted on 23 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Autumnal Ashes

  

  I once told someone that a book I was reading was a “good autumn book.” The friend looked at me quizzically and asked what I meant. Seasons have a feel to... Read more

  Posted on 22 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Ordinary Sacraments

  

  It’s like they knew we were coming. The towns that host AAR/SBL must remember the event after we leave. We make quite an impact around the convention center, an... Read more

  Posted on 21 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Pace of Progress

  

  Scientists tell us the earth is slowing down. It’s only by a fraction of a fraction of a second, but like a top set spinning these endless revolutions can’t go... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Sacred Sartorialism

  

  Proselytizing comes in many forms. It can be what you say to people, or how you treat them. It can even come down to what you wear. Every year I’m struck at... Read more

  Posted on 19 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Sacred Places

  

  Boston Brahmins, lock up your doctrines—AAR/SBL’s come to town. Boston always has special associations for me. My first home away from home. Where I met my wife... Read more

  Posted on 18 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Some Bible Lovers

  

  I’m on a train heading to Boston. If you notice a dearth of religion scholars in your neighborhood this weekend, it’s because it’s time for the American... Read more

  Posted on 17 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Horror Divine

  

  There’s a validation about finding something you figured out written in a book. For me that happened just about this season, some years back. Read more

  Posted on 16 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• De-programming

  

  I’m no foodie. That’s not a trendy thing to admit, I know. I’ve never been a good consumer. I think it’s because I don’t like being programmed. One area of... Read more

  Posted on 15 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Persecution Myth

  

  The myth of persecution is a great cover. Christians, we are accustomed to think, are timid and loving individuals eager to turn the other cheek. Read more

  Posted on 14 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Bible Practice

  

  In a strange kind of oneupmanship, the horrendous murders in Sutherland Springs overshadowed the story of Scott Ostrem’s multiple shooting at a Walmart in... Read more

  Posted on 13 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Clean Living

  

  One of the fun things about the Oxford Dictionaries blog is that you learn unexpected things about words. In fact, you can often find something profound in a... Read more

  Posted on 12 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Christian Story

  

  The problem with the Bible is anybody can “interpret” it. As a book of unrivaled status in the American imagination, it can be tapped for anything from... Read more

  Posted on 11 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Imagine Devils

  

  One of the more encouraging events of recent times took place on Tuesday. In elections across the country many public offices were won by women. Read more

  Posted on 10 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Creating Annabelle

  

  You might go crazy trying to piece it all together. The buzz for The Conjuring had a spinoff prequel, Annabelle, in the making even as the movie hit theaters.... Read more

  Posted on 09 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Guns and Ghosts

  

  The irony of a nation that has gun laws made by those with body guards is especially cruel in the shadow of Sutherland Springs. Read more

  Posted on 08 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Keystones

  

  It was one of the very few parties to which I’d been invited in Edinburgh. “When a Scotsman asks you where you’re from,” one of the guests said to me, “he... Read more

  Posted on 07 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Joshua Fit

  

  “Horrible things are going to happen!” shouts Grandpa Simpson. He ends his epiphany in church with the strange words “Epa, epa! Read more

  Posted on 06 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Stranger Things

  

  Albert Camus preferred the label “absurdist” to “existentialist” to describe himself. The problem with labels is that we don’t always get to pick our own. Read more

  Posted on 05 November 2017 RELIGION, SOCIETY