Steveawiggins
MY BLOGS
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Sects and Violence in the Ancient World
http://sawiggins.wordpress.com/
A blog that tries to find intelligent things to say about religion and related subjects.
LATEST ARTICLES ( 4139 )
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The Bald Truth
The book of Judges is one of the most fascinating in the Bible. The “judges” are colorful characters, often rule-breakers, who ultimately seem to deliver the... Read more
Posted on 15 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
True Natives
I have long been fascinated by American Indian folklore. In fact, the first book I read this year was a set of Indian tales. Just this week I finished a most... Read more
Posted on 14 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Latter-Day Battlestars
Science fiction, when I was a child, constituted my fantasy life. I read such science fiction books as were available to a kid in a small town with no actual... Read more
Posted on 13 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Nature of Religion
Autumn is a moody time of year. Dolorous gray skies hang low one day, and the next a sky of such incredible blue stretches unbroken out into space itself. Read more
Posted on 12 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Nothing But the Truth
Blurbs are the way of the future. It is so much easier to read something brief than to have to wade through an entire article. Is that the way the future’s... Read more
Posted on 11 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Scholarly Synchronicity
Simon ParkerSTH ProfessorApril 2, 1999PORTRAITOne of the great ironies in my life is having been basically ignored while I was employed in higher education... Read more
Posted on 10 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Living Undead
Now that autumn is in the air, my thoughts turn to zombies. I’ve read a few monster books lately, and as I pondered the attraction of zombies to the... Read more
Posted on 09 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Camping Out
Garsh-darn-it, I’ve missed the end of the world again! I’ve been so busy lately that I hadn’t bothered to pay attention to that which really matters. Read more
Posted on 08 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
What’s a Bible?
What is the Bible? This might seem a strange question coming from someone who holds a doctorate in what has sometimes been characterized as biblical studies.... Read more
Posted on 07 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Eleventh Commandment
Those who know me are sometimes surprised to learn that one of my favorite quick meals is grits and black-eyed peas. For a northerner that’s a bit strange,... Read more
Posted on 06 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Ghost Rider
Of all frightening creatures, ghosts are by far the most ubiquitous. Believed in by every civilization ever recorded and throughout the world, not even science... Read more
Posted on 05 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Secular Family Values
Fear of social disruption runs deep. Things may not be perfect, but people would rather keep things the way they’re used to them being rather than to face... Read more
Posted on 04 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Hurricane Joaquin
The name Herostratus is deservedly obscure. In fact, I shouldn’t even be mentioning him here. His use as an object lesson, however, seems apt in a country... Read more
Posted on 03 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Monster Smash
It’s the time of year when young men’s minds turn to monsters. Well, at least this middle-aged man’s does. Seeing a book by Karl P. N. Shuker entitled A... Read more
Posted on 02 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Apostolic Succession
I try, normally, to limit blog posts to one per movie (per viewing), but I’m still thinking about The Apostle, so I thought I’d share a bit more. I can’t get... Read more
Posted on 01 October 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Meet the Neighbors
I was called “moon boy” and was otherwise taunted in ways I care not to share. As a child I openly spoke about my fascination of life in space and was... Read more
Posted on 30 September 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Forbidden Love
Banned Book Week is upon us. In that time of year when we begin to think of spooky, scary things, the prohibition of literature naturally comes to mind. Every... Read more
Posted on 29 September 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Powerful Movies
Our friends were shocked. I don’t even remember the title of the movie, but they couldn’t believe we had gone to see it. Not because of the content of the... Read more
Posted on 28 September 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Rutgers Presbyterian
It is indeed an honor to be invited to address a church group on topics that matter. While I didn’t directly address global warming in my book, it was in my min... Read more
Posted on 27 September 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Pontificating
I’ve been in a few New York crowds, but this one seemed on its best behavior. I was in the city later than usual since I’m giving a talk today at a friend’s... Read more
Posted on 26 September 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY