Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4571 )

• Augustine’s Secret Sin

  

  I’m curious: what do you think of Augustine? Augustine of Hippo was an odd blend of saint and sinner. I don’t mean “saint” in the sense of being so designated b... Read more

  Posted on 24 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Noah’s Phone

  

  The world-wide flood is a great story. We find it in many cultures, so the idea obviously captured the attention of ancients as well as moderns. Read more

  Posted on 23 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Devil of the Time

  

  There can be little doubt that evil prospers. We’ve suffered through a year of an evil administration and we’ve seen the government increase the suffering of it... Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• March On

  

  The day after the government shutdown, Women’s Marches were held across the country. Unlike the shutdown, these marches had been planned and anticipated in... Read more

  Posted on 21 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Recognition

  

  I was reading the account of the Transfiguration the other day, the way that you do, when a thought occurred to me. How did Pete, Jim, and John know that Moses... Read more

  Posted on 20 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Maelstrom

  

  Some monsters can’t be destroyed. Today is Edgar Allan Poe’s birthday. Poe had his demons, for sure, but the twentieth century took personal fear and made it... Read more

  Posted on 19 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Peter and the Red Giant

  

  Now that my book has been sent off to the publisher, I’m working on the next project. This one has me delving back into the Greek of the New Testament. It may... Read more

  Posted on 18 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Playing Piano

  

  It must be very difficult to write books that make the future believable. With the speed of technological change, it’s getting more difficult all the time. Read more

  Posted on 17 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Moon Base

  

  Late last year scientists announced that a tunnel they’d found on the moon (remotely, of course) would make an ideal location for a human colony. Read more

  Posted on 16 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Kings and Fiends

  

  Martin Luther King Jr. was, and is, a symbol of hope. This day, as we’re encouraged to think of progress, we’re mired under leadership that less than a week... Read more

  Posted on 15 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Street Clearing

  

  Not driving to work definitely has its advantages. Although studies suggest commuting takes a great toll on hapless riders, the stress of driving in traffic—mor... Read more

  Posted on 14 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Plain Speaking

  

  When the president of the United States utters words too vulgar to print here, I think of the old They Might Be Giants’ song “Your Racist Friend.” The song is... Read more

  Posted on 13 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• How Did We Get Here?

  

  Where do we come from? Leaving aside the puerile snickers of our younger selves, we eventually learn “the facts of life” and get on with it. Read more

  Posted on 12 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Addicted to Heaven

  

  I once wrote a scene—please don’t look for it; it’s never been published—in which a character awakes after attending a concert the night before. In my own life... Read more

  Posted on 11 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Jedi Bible

  

  A long time ago in a galaxy far away there was no paper. This is something I didn’t realize until I read a book of essays by Ryan Britt a couple years back. Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Middle Age Demons

  

  One of the consequences of watching horror movies is the interest in the origins of various monsters. Since many such films feature demons, their backgrounds an... Read more

  Posted on 09 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Setting Terms

  

  I never met Jonathan Z. Smith, although he was hard to miss at conferences. By the time I was a doctoral student his writings were deemed essential reading in... Read more

  Posted on 08 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Big Shill

  

  Once in a while I have to shill. As an erstwhile academic I’m aware of the cachet my employer bears for colleagues and the elite among the general public. Still... Read more

  Posted on 07 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• What Year?

  

  Dave Barry’s end of year review is part of our annual ritual for changing over the calendars. For those unfamiliar with Barry’s work, he was a columnist with th... Read more

  Posted on 06 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Sticky Labels

  

  Who gets to decide on their own label? We all generally know how we’d like people to think of us, but labels are limiting and divisive. Read more

  Posted on 05 January 2018 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY