Steveawiggins
MY BLOGS
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Sects and Violence in the Ancient World
http://sawiggins.wordpress.com/
A blog that tries to find intelligent things to say about religion and related subjects.
LATEST ARTICLES ( 4648 )
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Call It Civilization
While brushing up on Hinduism by reading the book of that title by Cybelle Shattuck, it once again occurred to me how the concept of religion distorts itself. Read more
Posted on 03 July 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
It’s My Body
Those who believe mythology is dead have to look no further than the Supreme Court. Amid pictures of women protesting religious freedom to be told what to do... Read more
Posted on 02 July 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Tongues of Fire
“Do you want to see?” she asked me, fraught with all the emotions of a teen far from home. I’ve often questioned the wisdom of church groups sending large... Read more
Posted on 01 July 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Kingdom Come
Popular media tells us the Bible is irrelevant. As someone who has struggled for years to find a non-sacerdotal job in that area of specialization, it’s not... Read more
Posted on 30 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
War in Heaven
Van Helsing, about which I’ve posted before, is not a great film, but it is perhaps the closest that modern cinema has to offer for my childhood Saturday... Read more
Posted on 29 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Born Identity
Richard Dawkins, most famously in The God Delusion, made the claim that children are born without religion. Faith is something we’re taught in the growing up... Read more
Posted on 28 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
June Bugs
On my way to work yesterday, I came upon an overturned June bug clawing at the air, trying to regain its feet. I’m always in a hurry getting to or from work,... Read more
Posted on 27 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Trans-Human
“Rapture of the Nerds,” an article in this week’s Time magazine by Jessica Roy, has me scratching my head. Or it would if I had a head. That is, if I were an... Read more
Posted on 26 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Mores the Merrier
The Presbyterian Church (USA) and I go back a long way now. Not that I’ve ever been a member, but one of their institutions gladly accepted four years of my... Read more
Posted on 25 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Elmer Gantry
In recent years a renewed interest has arisen concerning how powerful entities are perceived by others. Academics are asking how the United States is seen by... Read more
Posted on 24 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
What You Pay for
Over four to one. It’s a sad statistic. A friend sent me a story in Slate exposing, once again, the (some would say) criminal inequality of university... Read more
Posted on 23 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
The Truth About Elves
We are nothing if not certain. We know that there are no such things as intelligent non-human entities anywhere in the natural realm. Read more
Posted on 22 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Psalm 151b
I can’t claim to know much about Sinéad O’Connor. When she did her Saturday Night Live act a few years back, I remember the outrage among several Nashotah... Read more
Posted on 21 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
The Call of Madness
Picture this: the wind is howling outside your tent, violently snapping the fabric. The temperature outside is well below freezing, and you are camping at the... Read more
Posted on 20 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Veni Creator Spiritus
Over 100 billion have been made. Not McDonald’s hamburgers, this time, but Crayola crayons. For many of us, Crayola is one of the distinct scents of childhood,... Read more
Posted on 19 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
International Panic Day
Holidays have diverse origins. Some appear to have been made up in a fit of madness, bearing no particular relevance to anything. Read more
Posted on 18 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Medjugorje Matrix
“Expect a miracle,” Oral Roberts used to sign off, “and a miracle is yours today.” Physicists tend to be a bit more hard-nosed about the issue. In a... Read more
Posted on 17 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Inspired. Absolute. Final.
Recently I spent some time in my native Pennsylvania. Doing so sometimes makes me believe in a bizarre kind of predestination. Read more
Posted on 16 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Private Religion
Some things are best left private. I don’t know what possessed me to request a car maintenance visit first thing in the morning on a Saturday. Read more
Posted on 15 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Global Warning
“Sticks and stones,” the childhood wisdom goes, “may break my bones, but words will never harm me.” We were taught that little mantra as a response to being... Read more
Posted on 14 June 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
