Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4577 )

• Explained Away

  

  The premise seems sound. Although science tends to indicate that God is not necessary to explain anything, religion itself may still be useful. In a nutshell,... Read more

  Posted on 03 December 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Schrödinger’s Luggage

  

  I recently had the misfortune of flying on Delta Airlines. In all honesty I suppose my antipathy to Delta began with a flight on which I was not actually a... Read more

  Posted on 02 December 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Blown Away

  

  With the weather that has dropped down over much of the US this past week, I can’t help but think of the religious implications of the weather once again. Read more

  Posted on 01 December 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Word of God in Bulk

  

  The Salem witch trials were still half a century in the future. The Puritans, hoping for religious freedom, had come to Massachusetts. Read more

  Posted on 30 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Bleak Friday

  

  Among the high holy days of capitalism, Black Friday stands as a beacon for those in the service of Mammon. It seems that we’ve taken the basic process of fair... Read more

  Posted on 29 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Unusual Thanksgiving

  

  Believe it or not, preaching was once part of my job description. At Nashotah House all faculty were called to the pulpit, ordained or not. Read more

  Posted on 28 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Reach Out and

  

  Carl Sagan, one of the great proponents of the idea that earthlings have never been visited by aliens, wrote a novel entitled Contact. Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Imagine Images

  

  “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Some Baltimore Lessons

  

  As someone who hovers around the edges, perhaps I’m preoccupied with perceptions. I have been attending the American Academy of Religion and Society of... Read more

  Posted on 25 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Write Place

  

  In my mind, Baltimore is inextricably bound to Edgar Allan Poe. From the accounts of Poe’s life, it is clear that he sensed nowhere as a welcoming home. Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Away as a Stranger

  

  I’ll admit it. One of the things many scholars secretly enjoy about the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature annual meeting is... Read more

  Posted on 23 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Nothing Unusual

  

  “Is this a world?” Ranger Tom asks seriously, “And if it is, am I in it?” On the lips—or fingertips—of some, this set of questions appears profound. Read more

  Posted on 22 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Meaningless Words

  

  I’m glad to be back in New York City. It’s a funny place. A walk down the street can be an education. When I saw this shirt the other day, I had a thought—what... Read more

  Posted on 21 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Fateful Dreams

  

  Popular historians love a good coincidence. I suppose it is a way of reading order into a chaotic world where many events, in the final analysis, just don’t mak... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Rites and Wrongs

  

  One thing about Amazon Prime is that you can watch a movie multiple times with no real fiscal consequences. Alone on a Saturday, I started my ritual of looking... Read more

  Posted on 19 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Oxford’s Hire

  

  In 1478 the first book printed in Oxford heralded the eventual founding of Oxford University Press. Just two years earlier Vlad III, the Impaler, had been... Read more

  Posted on 18 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• I See Only Nothing

  

  Once considered to be bad omens, comets are becoming a fad for those who can take their eyes off the screen for a few moments to look at the sky. Read more

  Posted on 17 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• History Bites

  

  After reading a post I’d written about Dracula last year, a friend recommended that I look at Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian. Read more

  Posted on 16 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Problem with Apocalypses

  

  Over on The Daily Beast, Joe McLean points out “How the Tea Party’s Apocalyptic Politics Are Destroying the Republican Party.” I say good riddance. Let me... Read more

  Posted on 15 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Honorable Theft

  

  Young adult literature can be amazingly profound. My curiosity about Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief bubbled to the surface after the movie was released last... Read more

  Posted on 14 November 2013 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY