Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4576 )

• The Cost of Being Human

  

  In last week’s Time magazine Joel Stein’s “The Awesome Column,” a humorous endnote for somber weekly news, spoke to me. Although Stein writes as light relief,... Read more

  Posted on 08 September 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Disco Duck

  

  From the Roman Empire, Holy or otherwise, to the British Empire upon which the sun once never set, human endeavors are inevitably temporary. We like to think... Read more

  Posted on 07 September 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Our Pigeons, Ourselves

  

  You don’t have to be in New York City long to begin to see yourself as an expert on pigeons. The ubiquitous avians are ruthlessly castigated as “flying rats” an... Read more

  Posted on 06 September 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Exceptionalism

  

  Some years ago I was invited to a famous person’s house along with some intellectuals—we’re all mature here, so names aren’t necessary. Read more

  Posted on 05 September 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Waking Up in Galilee

  

  One voice can’t be heard. Unless, of course, it has a publicist. For years, it seems, I have been suggesting in my obscure corner of the internet that we’re... Read more

  Posted on 04 September 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Quantum Uncertainty

  

  Physics has moved beyond the point of comprehension for the average citizen, if I might be permitted to class myself as that. I got the concept of the atom,... Read more

  Posted on 03 September 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Religion, Technically

  

  One of the truths of history is that technology has always been with us. Reading Steampunk stories always boosts my historical sense of the interaction of... Read more

  Posted on 02 September 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Sentence

  

  Labor Day marks the end of summer. Originally a day to commemorate all that the common laborer has contributed to society, it is now always a slightly melanchol... Read more

  Posted on 01 September 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Water Flowing Underground

  

  One of the most compelling characters of the Bible is John the Baptist. Unconventional and non-conformist, he speaks with unquestioned authority based on pure... Read more

  Posted on 31 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Retro Progress

  

  In these days of high technology, remembering childhood might be seen as cowardly nostalgia. When driving my daughter back to college, however, sometimes I... Read more

  Posted on 30 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Stamp Act

  

  Reality seems more and more intangible all the time. Perhaps this is because I can remember a time, not so long ago, when sitting in front of a computer all... Read more

  Posted on 29 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Esau and Jacob

  

  “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated,” at least according to the recollection of Paul in Romans. One of the most poignant scenes in the Hebrew Bible is th... Read more

  Posted on 28 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Watchers and (Un)holy Ones

  

  Angels, demons, djinn, watchers, giants, and a healthy dose of fantasy pervade Nancy Madore’s novel, The Hidden Ones. In this present world where, I’m told,... Read more

  Posted on 27 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Founding Principles

  

  That feeling is in the air. Autumn began to stretch its melancholy fingers into August this year. Even before the month was half over the mornings had that chil... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Future of an Illusion

  

  If anyone’s premature death has been announced more than Mark Twain’s, it is that of higher education. September’s The Atlantic arrived in my mailbox proclaimin... Read more

  Posted on 25 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Whether the Psalms

  

  How about that weather? Changeable, isn’t it? I have spent a large part of the last few days going over the proofs for Weathering the Psalms, the book I wrote... Read more

  Posted on 24 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Who Do You Say?

  

  DMZ. What acronym inspires more terror? Or did I mean DMV? I can’t keep my acronyms straight. Nothing reveals the layers of bureaucracy in clearer... Read more

  Posted on 23 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Secret Religion

  

  Recently I read an article about a religion called Sabbateanism. I’d never heard of it before, so I turned to the collective wisdom of the human race—the... Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Beyond Redemption?

  

  The Roman emperor Gaius, it is said, was insane. He perpetrated such antics as declaring war on the North Sea, making his horse a senator, and appearing in... Read more

  Posted on 21 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• True Literalism

  

  Biblical literalists make strong claims for selectively obeying the Bible. It isn’t so hard to do in the short term, as numerous books on people “living... Read more

  Posted on 20 August 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY