Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4109 )

• Receive History

  

  Sacred texts, without readers, are mere artifacts. While so evident as to be trite, this truth lies behind the area of biblical studies called reception history. Read more

  Posted on 29 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Post Script to Art

  

  At work Christian Century is a magazine that sometimes lands on my desk. I suspect the book reviews are the main reason for this, but I like to skim the... Read more

  Posted on 28 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Plainly Ghosts

  

  Sometimes I’ll buy a book and secret it aside to read later as a kind of reward for making it through some heavier material. Research monographs don’t always... Read more

  Posted on 27 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Bus Fare

  

  The two things most likely to kill you on the streets of Midtown Manhattan are taxi cabs and city buses. Crossing the Fifth Avenue can be a dangerous game of... Read more

  Posted on 26 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Saving Face

  

  Although it has been commented upon in Rate My Professor, my beard is not intended to be impressive. In fact, it’s not really. Since I was quite young I... Read more

  Posted on 25 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• I’m No Legend

  

  First there was The Last Man on Earth with that rare, disappointing performance by Vincent Price. Then there was The Omega Man, putting Charlton Heston into... Read more

  Posted on 24 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Lure of Lore

  

  One of my doctoral advisers, Nick Wyatt, has become a friend over the years. I’m sure he would agree that he is often called a maverick, but in the best possibl... Read more

  Posted on 23 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Worth Saving

  

  Once we speed past Easter/Passover, holidays start to fall by the wayside as we try to get back to the serious business of either finishing up school for the... Read more

  Posted on 22 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Wireless

  Routine.  That’s how many of us make it through the day.  If it weren’t for routine, I’m sure I couldn’t force myself out of bed each day at 3:30 without an... Read more

  Posted on 21 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Washington Irving

  Less known now than he was in his own lifetime, Washington Irving is an odd literary character. Many writers, at least of tomes we now have our children read... Read more

  Posted on 20 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Pacific Rim

  

  is a movie that once again brings monsters and religion together in the cinema. Since I’m generally late seeing movies, I won’t worry too much about spoilers... Read more

  Posted on 19 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• States Right

  

  Can you name your state insect? State bird? State dinosaur? The concept of united states, perhaps more obvious in Europe where languages differ, is a complex... Read more

  Posted on 18 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Friar’s Tale

  

  Being a fan of Gothic fiction, I recently read an anonymous story from 1792 entitled, “The Friar’s Tale.” Those who linger among Gothic conventions know that th... Read more

  Posted on 17 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Honest to Good

  

  The oldest standing building in Oxford is the Saxon era church tower of St. Michael at the North Gate. Dating from around 1040, it still stands, providing... Read more

  Posted on 16 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Almost Purgatory

  

  Although it is difficult to tell from 32,000 feet, I think I might have flown over Purgatory on my way home from the UK. The two days I was in Oxford were... Read more

  Posted on 15 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Strange Days

  

  The flight from London to New York is eight hours. Although I always travel with books, sometimes the selection made before the actual reality of time on a plan... Read more

  Posted on 14 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Colorful Gods

  

  On my last day in Oxford I had enough free time to visit the Ashmolean Museum. The Ashmolean is the earliest public museum in the country, and, although it isn’... Read more

  Posted on 13 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Dis-Connected

  

  One of the more bemusing academic exercises is the analysis of the working class. Sometimes sociologists or scholars of religion take it upon themselves to... Read more

  Posted on 12 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Oxford Haunts

  

  When I travel, when I have time to plan, I like to visit the haunts of literary figures. It would be difficult to think of two more influential (or... Read more

  Posted on 11 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Paper Oxford

  

  It looks like a brilliant blue morning here in Oxford, yet my body is telling me that it’s the middle of the night. And that’s saying something, since I normall... Read more

  Posted on 10 April 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY