Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4576 )

• Only Takes a Spark

  

  Fireworks have been the main event for Independence Day celebrations ever since I was a child. The fourth of July is a day for playing with fire. Read more

  Posted on 05 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• High Places, NJ

  

  The “high place,” in the Hebrew Bible, was a source of constant vexation to the “orthodox.” Scholars have long puzzled over what was meant by the term, the... Read more

  Posted on 04 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Ethics for Rent

  

  Ironically, the Bible is the basis for the western preoccupation with land ownership. What with commandments against stealing and coveting, the Israelites had... Read more

  Posted on 03 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Burning Times

  

  One of the most disturbing images from my childhood years is the self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức in Saigon. Of course, I didn’t see this image as a child. Read more

  Posted on 02 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Theological Cemeteries

  

  There is a plague upon this nation.  When in one week, let alone one day, I hear about two colleagues being let go from their academic posts for not meeting... Read more

  Posted on 01 July 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Permian Record

  

  It looked like an arm bone to me. Then again, I have no formal training in either anatomy or geology. The strata of Pennsylvania shale was littered with shell... Read more

  Posted on 30 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Seeing the Trees

  

  I first learned of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods while liking in the woods of Wisconsin. I was teaching a summer term course of mature students,... Read more

  Posted on 29 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Ethics of Deception

  

  In New Jersey you can’t pump your own gas. If you pull into a station with a line, you have to wait your turn. Once, on my way to an adjunct job, I pulled up... Read more

  Posted on 28 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• More Rainbows

  

  There’s been a lot of rain this June. In between there have been some glimpses of sunshine. When the rain and sun combine, I always look for rainbows.... Read more

  Posted on 27 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Magic Tricks

  

  To a scholar who has spent many years studying ancient religions, new religions hold a strange appeal. After all, we are trained to look at obscure texts from... Read more

  Posted on 26 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Drumheller Drama

  

  Those who’ve participated in the great drive out west—if you’ve done it you know what I mean—have passed through the range of dinosaurs. Read more

  Posted on 25 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Old Curiosity Shop

  

  I’m not sure how I’ve managed to live in New Jersey eight years without discovering the Old Book Shop in Morristown. Used books represent the opportunity to fin... Read more

  Posted on 24 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Don’t Answer Me

  

  Non-directed reading sometimes follows its own track and a reader might become kind of an accidental expert. I wouldn’t claim that for myself, but I have notice... Read more

  Posted on 23 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Power of Gods

  

  Once a biblical scholar, always a biblical scholar. This stuff just can’t be unlearned. Suspension of belief, however, is a necessary component of enjoying... Read more

  Posted on 22 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Father’s Day

  

  I’m not completely stupid. I know that the Father’s Day ads with which I’ve been peppered all month are nothing personal. They’re intended to tug at the... Read more

  Posted on 21 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Shepherds and Sheep

  

  Photo credit: Spencer Means, Wikimedia CommonsThe murders in Charleston this week are part of an epidemic. The members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal... Read more

  Posted on 20 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Pope of Deliverance

  

  As I was out jogging just now, a large gasoline truck pulled across the road, stalling my attempt at healthy living. As I waited for the driver to move, I... Read more

  Posted on 19 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Doubt No Alleles

  DNA. Is there anything it can't do? For many decades anthropologists have built painstaking methods to trace developments in human culture. Those of us who've... Read more

  Posted on 18 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• American Bible

  

  Any book that sets itself the task of addressing American culture has, it seems, a built-in obsolescence. Culture shifts are radical and swift, and it would see... Read more

  Posted on 17 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Vox Humana

  

  You know how it is when you get a song stuck in your head? This is one of the few scenarios that will actually lead me to buy music. I have very specific (some... Read more

  Posted on 16 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY