Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4648 )

• Double Blind

  

  When I read Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics as a child, I assumed that I’d not live to worry about them in real life. What we don’t know can indeed hurt... Read more

  Posted on 23 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Greece Lightning Rod

  

  Eds and op-eds are popping over the Supreme Court decision to allow sectarian prayer at Greece, New York town council meetings. Some citizens complained that th... Read more

  Posted on 22 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Akedah

  

  Violence, in its most basic form, is to be blamed on evolution. Not the theory of evolution, but the fact of it. More precisely, violence is a reflex of the... Read more

  Posted on 21 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Future Shock

  

  The Jehovah’s Witnesses are nothing if not persistent. Unemployed and huddling fearfully at home during the day a few years back, I answered the door and had a... Read more

  Posted on 20 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Gorilla Whale

  

  Monster Boomers grew up with Godzilla. Among the many monsters on offer on a Saturday afternoon, Godzilla was one of the most obvious fakes, but also among the... Read more

  Posted on 19 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• In Our Own Backyard

  

  That monk walking towards me looks a little suspicious. Perhaps it’s that guy with a top hat and weird gun strolling next to him with a waxed mustache and... Read more

  Posted on 18 May 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• 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