Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4648 )

• Apes and Atheists

  

  Frans de Waal is among the sanest of popular science writers. I’ve been following his non-technical work since Our Inner Ape through The Age of Empathy to The... Read more

  Posted on 24 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• 42 Shots

  

  Many of us were raised with the figure of a divine father who is ready to whip off the belt for any infraction we may make, intended or not. Read more

  Posted on 23 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• For Love Or Money

  

  The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities is seeking a Christian way out of a contract. It seems, according to a recent Chronicle of Higher Education... Read more

  Posted on 22 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Holy Cows

  

  Back in the days when a book was a luxury item, great care was taken in its production and protection. Having your investment lying around with flimsy paper... Read more

  Posted on 21 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Flood of Fancy

  

  Years ago I was approached to write a book about Noah. There was still some hope at that time that I might find a university job and that my words would have... Read more

  Posted on 20 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Flatland

  

  The world is flat—not. Harm de Blij’s The Power of Place: Geography, Destiny, and Globalization’s Rough Landscape is, despite the author’s hope of improvement, ... Read more

  Posted on 19 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Frozen Few

  

  It’s that time of year, neither winter nor spring, when ambivalence is in the air. Gray skies with just the first damp aromas of a change in the season, followe... Read more

  Posted on 18 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Wee People

  

  Whence we come influences our outlook. Sometimes invisibly, at other time quite consciously. I remember as a child, wanting to be honest about the wearing of th... Read more

  Posted on 17 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Today’s Truth

  

  I spend a lot of time on Amazon. My job is one of those where it is a legitimate form of research—finding authors, seeing what’s already available on any given... Read more

  Posted on 16 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Credo Universitas

  

  “I am a Christian gentleman and I teach my course as a Christian gentleman.” The quote was made to me by a colleague at a state university, regarding a former... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Backyard Archaeology

  

  Among safe topics for discussion among strangers and casual acquaintances, the weather tops the list. It affects each and every one of us continually, and... Read more

  Posted on 14 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• High School All Over

  

  “Jungle calls around the corner!”  This shout was followed by hoots, grunts, and squeals as the bus turned, intended to madden the driver of infamous bus 18. Read more

  Posted on 13 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Any Witch Way

  

  It’s easy to feel smug over the past. At every moment of human civilization we deem ourselves higher than those who came before. Read more

  Posted on 12 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Weathering Qohelet

  

  Over the weekend I finished the initial formatting of Weathering the Psalms, my long-suffering book on the weather terminology in the Psalter. Read more

  Posted on 11 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Royal Reading

  

  Post-Christian America still reads its Bible. One of the perks, such as it is, of working with Bibles is getting such vital news early. Read more

  Posted on 10 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Star Tracks

  

  Long ago in a galaxy far away—1979 in rural western Pennsylvania, to be precise—the local inhabitants were surprised to learn that James T. Kirk was now an... Read more

  Posted on 09 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Varieties of Biblical Experience

  

  Working with Bibles can be a heady experience. I mean, the sheer numbers are staggering. A whole herd of cattle must be slain annually just to manufacture the... Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Cthulhu You Knew

  

  The word “fan,” an apocopated form of “fanatic,” is a word borrowed from the realm of religion. Most often associated with sports, it can refer to any overly... Read more

  Posted on 07 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Baptizing Virgil

  

  Dante Alighieri was curious as to Heaven and Hell. Like most mortals, he wasn’t sure of his way around and so he needed a guide. Descending to the nether... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Bread Line

  

  “Her smoke rises up forever,” apart from describing the fall of Babylon the Great, can also describe our toaster. The thing has been with us for many years now... Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY