Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4522 )

• Life as We Know It

  

  A friend asked me for a book. Since my life has mostly been about books, I’m generally happy to supply what I can. This friend is a cancer survivor and wanted t... Read more

  Posted on 01 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Secular Seminary

  

  The Nones have it. A recent article by Alana Massey from the Washington Post puts it well. We are cultural Christians living in a secular world. Read more

  Posted on 31 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Book Ideas

  

  Call it sour grapes. When I was a young scholar, I used to wonder how to develop book ideas. You see, at a young age—twenties or thirties—even a doctorate... Read more

  Posted on 30 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Fresh Thinking

  

  Creativity receives an immense amount of lip service. Too bad that doesn’t correlate to actual appreciation. I’ve been working since I was 14. Read more

  Posted on 29 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Christian Cookie

  

  During my childhood and adolescence, we didn’t eat out. Of course, food didn’t cost nearly as much then, and it was cheaper to cook raw ingredients at home... Read more

  Posted on 28 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• O My Stars

  

  I know many conservative religious believers. I also know a lot of nones and atheists. One thing they all have in common is that they want to believe the... Read more

  Posted on 27 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Scientific Voices

  

  Science requires translation. Even very intelligent people in other fields of study have trouble understanding what scientists have been saying. That’s why... Read more

  Posted on 26 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Land of Who?

  

  “Parochial” is a name we small-town types dread. Growing up with television, which gave us a magical view into New York and California, as well as other... Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Peak Oil

  

  Having no control over where we’re born, people nevertheless often feel a connection with their native region. My family had no roots in western Pennsylvania,... Read more

  Posted on 24 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Finding a Vein

  

  Travel broadens the mind. I always find that it’s a form of education. Sometimes what I learn is disturbing. While driving across Pennsylvania on I-80... Read more

  Posted on 23 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Chain Gang

  

  When I first joined LinkedIn, the notes about adding connections you didn’t actually know were pretty dire.  People could trash you behind your back, ruining... Read more

  Posted on 22 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Too Much Stuff

  

  The informal name for economics, rightly, is “the dismal science.” When I recently learned about The Story of Stuff (storyofstuff.org), I found myself again... Read more

  Posted on 21 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Reveal

  

  The end of the world as we know it is far more common than reason might suggest. As I’ve been researching the way the apocalypse is represented in popular... Read more

  Posted on 20 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Truly Educated

  

  Binghamton University looms large in my consciousness, for rather obvious reasons. Although it sits in a small corner of upstate New York not particularly near... Read more

  Posted on 19 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Watchers and the Holy One

  

  I’m not really a fan of Dean R. Koontz’s thrillers, but I do find myself turning to them from time to time. Like Stephen King’s, Koontz’s books are easily... Read more

  Posted on 18 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Cheesy History

  

  It has been a few years since I’ve taken any courses on ancient history, but I took quite a number of them while preparing for my doctorate. Read more

  Posted on 17 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Driving the Point

  

  “I drive my car, it is a witness. My license plate, it states my business.” The words are from a song by one of the most creative Christian Rock groups ever,... Read more

  Posted on 16 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Different Bites

  

  The South Pacific brings to mind light-hearted musicals, uncomplicated lifestyles, and Gilligan’s Island. For those of us born in the eastern parts of North... Read more

  Posted on 15 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Recycle This

  

  Like nearly all unfortunate white collar workers, the computer provided for me at my job is a PC. I don’t know the brand—that’s not important. Read more

  Posted on 14 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Pillars of Science

  

  I sometimes wonder if science would have the appeal that it does, if it didn’t have religion to shock and awe. I’m thinking of not only the fact that The... Read more

  Posted on 13 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY