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 ( 4116 )
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Skewed Perspective
Mysterium tremendum is the term often applied to numinous experiences. The sense of being in the presence of something both terrifying and compelling. Read more
Posted on 25 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Monster Impulse
Some people are impulse buyers. In fact, retailers count on it. All those last-minute items next to the cash register while you wait your turn to consume—they... Read more
Posted on 24 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Preacher’s Best Friend
Perhaps it’s because I was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania, or perhaps it’s because everything I’ve ever read about him suggests he was delightfully unorthodox,... Read more
Posted on 23 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Social Media and Persia
A story appeared on the BBC recently about “sin free Facebook.” The website, which started in Brazil, is based on the idea that users don’t like having swear... Read more
Posted on 22 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
All Relative
Among the most compelling questions raised by consciousness is “where am I from?” Humans are a species of widely traveled individuals and despite the fiction... Read more
Posted on 21 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
One Flew Over Cthulhu’s Nest
Pluto is a metaphor for the ultimate of outer limits. Just one of many largish objects in the Kuiper Belt, Pluto for a while held the status of the final... Read more
Posted on 20 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
God’s Wormhole
Can God and science mix? I suppose that the third season of Through the Wormhole would be the place to look. The entire season has a distinctly metaphysical fee... Read more
Posted on 19 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
For the Sake of Fighting
Different opinions can be used for discussion or destruction. In the formal context of government, the declaration of war is—or should be—an option of last... Read more
Posted on 18 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Night Terrors
Nightmares are the stuff dreams are made of. Or maybe I’ve got that the wrong way around. Having grown up subject to frequent nightmares, I still occasionally... Read more
Posted on 17 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Detoxing God
There’s some pretty weird stuff in the Bible. Those who are only familiar with all the “thou shalt not”s are missing a great deal. Read more
Posted on 16 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
The Last First
Pluto used to be a planet. Humans, in our unfaltering confidence, have downgraded it to a sub-planet, a dwarf planet, as if we know how big a planet ought to be. Read more
Posted on 15 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Tales of Wonder
I knew of fairy tales as a child, but I recall them mostly being mediated through the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights, just before bath time. Read more
Posted on 14 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Ever on a Monday
No matter how early you go to bed on Sunday night, Monday morning comes too early. The only thing that makes my long, penitential commute survivable is the boo... Read more
Posted on 13 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Headliners
I sometimes wish I was a journalist. Just this past week a couple of people questioned my journalistic skills for an opinion piece I wrote for Religion... Read more
Posted on 12 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Law of Rule
Anyone who believes in the rule of law has never been on a broken down NYC commuter bus. There’s a rare kind of tension among the early morning commuter crowd.... Read more
Posted on 11 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
A Hollow Man
Quirky ideas stimulate the intellect. I’ve always had a fondness for the outré, those ideas slightly beyond the pale of normalcy. Sometimes taken dead... Read more
Posted on 10 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Forbidden Words
In keeping with the spirit of freedom, just before July 4 the BBC broke the story of Iceland’s blasphemy laws having been struck down. Read more
Posted on 09 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Contacting Faith
Sometime after the movie Contact came out, I saw it while on a flight to somewhere here or there. As with most movies on airplanes, it didn’t receive my full... Read more
Posted on 08 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
God, As a Hobby
Just as I was awaking from a night of loud fireworks and multicultural bonhomie, my wife showed me a full-page ad in the New Jersey Star-Ledger. Read more
Posted on 07 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Magic Faith
We all like to believe we don’t believe in magic. In this day of sophisticated materialism, the idea that unseen forces might work upon the world seems... Read more
Posted on 06 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY