Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4649 )

• 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

• Human Race

  

  For reasons no one fully understands, Planet of the Apes touched a deep level of responsiveness in American society. I have to admit to having fallen behind a... Read more

  Posted on 15 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Work Weekend

  

  It’s a Saturday and my wife’s at work. She’s worked five days already and will still be at work tomorrow. I’m lazing in bed until 5 a.m. when I hear the... Read more

  Posted on 14 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Christian Horrorshow

  

  Books Culture is the review organ of Christianity Today. Christianity Today is the evangelical answer to the more liberal Christian Century. Read more

  Posted on 13 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Becoming an Icon

  

  A kid among the Monster Boomers can’t let the death of Christopher Lee go by without comment. How many hours of my childhood were spent watching movies on... Read more

  Posted on 12 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Once and Future Bible

  

  While I may not share Timothy Beal’s view that print culture is on its way out (I harbor hopes every time I see vinyl records making appearances in stores), he... Read more

  Posted on 11 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Forest of the Subconscious

  

  The mind is not the brain. This isn’t mystical mumbo-jumbo (although there’s nothing wrong with mystical mumbo-jumbo either). We’ve been bombarded with the... Read more

  Posted on 10 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• God on the Brain

  

  Those of us with scientifically oriented minds, but with affinity for the less quantifiable aspects of life, tend toward academic study of the humanities. Read more

  Posted on 09 June 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY