Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4573 )

• So Long, Marianne

  

  “It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.” Leonard Cohen has died. But can you blame him? This seems to be a week for losses. I came to appreciate Cohen’s... Read more

  Posted on 12 November 2016 MUSIC

• At the Crossroads

  

  Back before there was iTunes—before Napster was even a thing—I heard a song on the radio. It was by a relatively new band, They Might Be Giants. Read more

  Posted on 11 November 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Final Frontiers

  

  Is there such a thing as an existential illness? Answer that if you want to, but it’s rhetorical. I’ve been voting since 1980 and I’ve taken my fair share of... Read more

  Posted on 10 November 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• United Hates of America

  

  Horror comes in many forms. Some people may wonder why I watch horror movies and read scary stories. The election results tell the story. Read more

  Posted on 09 November 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Frozen Over

  

  For reasons that may eventually become clear, I was watching The Blob. It seems that each generation’s fears are unique to its time—let the reader understand. Read more

  Posted on 08 November 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• For the People

  

  The complex of holidays that make up the transition from light to darkness represents a different mix, depending where you are. Read more

  Posted on 07 November 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Giving Trees

  

  They’re not exactly worshipping the tree, but the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church is holding a memorial service for the old oak tree. I’ve written about the... Read more

  Posted on 06 November 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Daily Bread Plus

  

  I have a confession to make. I’m not a foodie. These days such an admission is tantamount to a venial sin, but the fact is I’m one of those who eats to live, no... Read more

  Posted on 05 November 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Before and After

  

  Fresh from seminary with a head full of historical-critical theory competing against my immortal soul, I was lost in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Read more

  Posted on 04 November 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Rule Book

  

  Mirrors can be such deceptive things. In my head I’m a much younger man than the one I see staring at me. And I have to remind myself that other people see... Read more

  Posted on 03 November 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Least of These

  

  Despite criticisms to the contrary, the pre-Reformation church did have concerns about the average person. About the poor. In those days church offices commande... Read more

  Posted on 02 November 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Tis a Season

  

  I always seem to be running late. Still, I wanted to be reading a book about Halloween on Halloween. If I might be pardoned for bleeding over into All Saints’... Read more

  Posted on 01 November 2016 POLITICS

• Hallow’s Eve

  

  Halloween is finally here, and I’m on my way to work. Over the weekend I noticed youngsters about in costume, heading to a local business that was holding,... Read more

  Posted on 31 October 2016 SOCIETY

• Reveries of the Fall

  

  Just a quarter of an hour, studies show, of time in the woods can reduce stress. I suspect that if those fifteen minutes are spent running from a bear the... Read more

  Posted on 30 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Paying off College

  

  “Want College to Pay off?” the headline asks. It depresses me. I’m an unapologetic idealist. Cost-benefit analysis has its place, but that’s not all there is... Read more

  Posted on 29 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• House of Unsure

  

  It’s that spooky time of year when nights have surpassed days and the chill in the air suggests an oncoming period of bleakness. Leaves are raining down off... Read more

  Posted on 28 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Frightening Faith

  

  Back when I first started this blog, I regretted that I had read Douglas E. Cowan’s Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen so long ago. Read more

  Posted on 27 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Ritual Rent

  

  Rituals frequently outlive their purposes. Some skeptics may claim that rituals—particularly of the religious sort—really don’t mean anything at all, but in fac... Read more

  Posted on 26 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Colorful Leaves

  

  Weekends, it seems, are incomplete without being among books. You might think that someone who works in publishing might want to get away from books in the off... Read more

  Posted on 25 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Sects These Days

  

  New Religious Movements (NRMs) have long fascinated me. As a natural historian, looking back over where we’ve been has been my usual source of orientation. Read more

  Posted on 24 October 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY