Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4659 )

• After Dark

  

  So many spooky things happen at night. If you’ve read much on this blog you’ll know I blushingly confess to a horror movie addiction. So much so that I wrote a... Read more

  Posted on 03 December 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Home of Cthulhu

  

  Travel by train seems to be so much more civilized than flying. You don’t need to arrive at the airport two hours in advance for the privilege of standing in... Read more

  Posted on 02 December 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Museum Piece

  

  So the Museum of the Bible is now open in Washington, DC. It actually opened while a quorum or more of biblical scholars were busy making their way to Boston fo... Read more

  Posted on 01 December 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Popularity for Purchase

  

  I only watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with one eye. Since my office is just two blocks from the store, it’s a little too much like work. Still, I can’... Read more

  Posted on 30 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• More Than Baptism

  

  Few things distinguish American Christianity as much as its divisions. These aren’t precise, however, and often the borders are fuzzy and held more by cultural... Read more

  Posted on 29 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Holiday Season

  

  It was just after dark and the red and blue lights were shredding the night in Wallkill, New York. We’d driven past this mall just over an hour ago to take our... Read more

  Posted on 28 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Inventing Breaks

  

  Breaks are good for many things. Time with family and friends. Hours of non-bus time for reading. Watching movies. So it was that we went to see The Man Who... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Devolving Apes

  

  It would be difficult to overestimate the effect the movie Planet of the Apes had on me as a child. Raised a biblical literalist, evolution was, naturally... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Astronomers and Pirates

  

  In an effort not to travel, the internet offers a great resource while it’s still free. If you don’t want to wander from home, it brings movies you might’ve... Read more

  Posted on 25 November 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• 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