Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4121 )

• Only October

  

  Comfort may be a strange word to describe Halloween, but it is accurate. I’m no specialist on the holiday, although I’ve read a few books on it—most recently... Read more

  Posted on 11 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Love, American Style

  

  If you’re going to thump the Bible, at least try to read it once in a while! Donald Trump, showing his true colors yet again, degrades women in the crudest term... Read more

  Posted on 10 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• October Weekend

  

  Bright orange pumpkins under a cloudy gray sky. October is surely here. But this is an urban area of the kind in which northeast New Jersey specializes. As I... Read more

  Posted on 09 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Thousand Words

  

  I could easily spill a thousand words, but I have no picture. You see, as a tuition-paying parent I seldom carry cash—pin money is a luxury I just can’t... Read more

  Posted on 08 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Twist of Lime

  

  October enters as a liminal month. A few remaining hours of lingering summer but more shortening days of winter’s encroaching wolf. A time of harvest and... Read more

  Posted on 07 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Majority Report

  

  In your mind’s eye, picture American 500 years ago. What do you see? Even those of us who’ve studied history have trouble envisioning the past with so... Read more

  Posted on 06 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Science of Being Human

  

  Not so long ago, when I was still a professor, a colleague told me he had no interest in science. We studied religion, he reasoned, and science had little to... Read more

  Posted on 05 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Silverbacks

  

  It’s been decades since I’ve seen the original King Kong. A none-too-subtle racist and sexist flick it may be, but it stands as one of the original “horror”... Read more

  Posted on 04 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Buying Faith

  

  Can belief be quantified? Apparently yes. I’ve spent my life trying to avoid the dismal science, yet it seems that everyone else is pretty much agreed that mone... Read more

  Posted on 03 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Dead Sea, Live See

  

  Nothing fascinates quite like the Dead Sea Scrolls. That is, unless you’re a disgruntled Ugaritologist. Mention the Dead Sea Scrolls and the journalists will... Read more

  Posted on 02 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Two Thoughts

  

  I recently read that efforts are underway, by some parties, to teach Arabic to Israelis. My limited experience of Israel led me to believe that most people... Read more

  Posted on 01 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Bad Theology

  

  Perhaps the most overused simile for a real mess is that it’s “like a train wreck.” No doubt this is because train wrecks are messy, and deadly. Read more

  Posted on 30 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• What Did You Say?

  

  This driver and this passenger had interacted before. Unpleasantly. You could feel the tension mount when the passenger watched carefully to see who the driver... Read more

  Posted on 29 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Godnapped

  

  “Has anybody seen my god?” So we might imagine an ancient victim of godnapping wailing after a hostile takeover raid. We might smirk to ourselves, knowing that... Read more

  Posted on 28 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Colorful States

  

  Kevin Smith is one of New Jersey’s own. I’ve always considered it one of life’s great ironies that Loki and Bartleby, the fallen angels in Dogma, move from... Read more

  Posted on 27 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Banned Books

  

  I feel short-changed. Cheated, if you will. This is Banned Book Week, and a story in Publishers Weekly over the summer touted the benefits of the local... Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• A Dusty Return

  

  The fiction author who had the most influence over my formative years was Ray Bradbury. Wait—let me qualify that a bit. I read of number of series aimed at... Read more

  Posted on 25 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Thinking About Feeling

  

  There’s a scene in Shrek where Lord Farquaad tells Princess Fiona “You don’t have to waste good manners on the ogre. It’s not like it has feelings. Read more

  Posted on 24 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Finding Your Way

  

  Once while visiting the house of a friend, we took a walk in the woods. It was an area I didn’t know and after a few minutes it became clear that we were lost. Read more

  Posted on 23 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• On Practicalities

  

  In a world where a metaphorical ton of money may be made by corralling electrons into specific shapes on an LCD screen, it may be easy to think of learning... Read more

  Posted on 22 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY