Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4522 )

• Genizah Bible

  

  Overproduction is a survival strategy among many animal and plant populations. Just consider the number of acorns under one oak tree, or “propellers” under a... Read more

  Posted on 17 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Real Life

  

  The brain, it seems to me, holds all of the cards. After all, what we call “reality” is actually a perception of what’s “really” there mediated by our brains. Read more

  Posted on 16 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Sacred Education

  

  A recent story in the New Jersey Star-Ledger describes the dynastic culture of some of the newer evangelical colleges. Presidents of such “universities” as Bob... Read more

  Posted on 15 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Underwater Zombies

  

  One of the (many) benefits of blogging about zombies from time to time, is being sent books to read on the subject. Just as I cracked open The Zombie Bible... Read more

  Posted on 14 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Nothing to Do with Pigs

  

  Pseudepigrapha is not a word that flows mellifluously off the tongue, and the first time reader stops to give pause over its awkward beginning and several... Read more

  Posted on 13 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Witches in History

  

  In a rationalistic society, the concept of witches has no place. If only we knew what witches were. Sadly fascinated by the unfortunate—evil would be the more... Read more

  Posted on 12 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Rosemary by Any Other Name

  

  With NBC’s remake of Rosemary’s Baby into a mini-series in the news, I sat down to watch the original again. I’ve blogged about it before, but with most... Read more

  Posted on 11 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Myth of Infinity

  

  There are only five major trade publishing houses left. Despite the bewildering number of publishers around, five corporate giants own most of the industry... Read more

  Posted on 10 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Atheist Deities

  

  An atheist who created gods. That’s the basic skinny on H. P. Lovecraft. Perhaps all gods are thus created. I can’t know; I wasn’t there at the beginning. Read more

  Posted on 09 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Hotel Nowhere

  

  1977. I was in junior high school and I wore my hair long. I hadn’t yet donned the cross that I carried through my high school years with a constant fear of Hel... Read more

  Posted on 08 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Not Child’s Play

  

  Games reveal quite a bit about a culture. That’s a little takeaway from my undergraduate anthropology class. Different societies favor different types of... Read more

  Posted on 07 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• East of Nowhere

  

  There was a time when you could assume a lot about your readers. Although it was only a little more than a half century ago, John Steinbeck could assume a... Read more

  Posted on 06 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Cow Jumped

  

  While digging through the attic for some reference material for a colleague this weekend, I came upon a box of Bibles. I actually have many Bibles around the... Read more

  Posted on 05 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Firer Bearer

  

  Part prequel and part religious odyssey, Prometheus both treads familiar ground and explores new territory. In keeping with my invariable sense of timing (I... Read more

  Posted on 04 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Take Twice Daily

  

  Once in a way, when I feel a dusty archaism settling over me, and I realize my eyes don’t focus as well as they once did and that sedentary life in front of a... Read more

  Posted on 03 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Lord Have Mercer

  

  Samuel Alfred Browne Mercer was an Assyriologist who failed to establish an academic legacy.  I quickly learned, when consulting his The Tell El-Amarna Tablets... Read more

  Posted on 02 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Science Fiction Double Feature

  

  Two news stories last week—one from the Associated Press and one from the Chronicle of Higher Education—hit upon a common theme: scientific illiteracy. Read more

  Posted on 01 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Education for Hire

  

  Capitalism takes no survivors. Ironically, the very concept of capitalism was the result of deep, intellectual reflection. Not that trade hadn’t existed before... Read more

  Posted on 30 April 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Irrational Reform State

  

  Since 1954, after the cut-off date for new religions (see yesterday’s post), American children have been making a pledge to an inanimate object with the words,... Read more

  Posted on 29 April 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Irrational Revelation System

  

  In an article on Obamacare in last week’s paper, Kathleen O’Brien pointed out an interesting dilemma. Some religions, such as the Anabaptist traditions (Amish,... Read more

  Posted on 28 April 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY