Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4291 )

• Merry X-Man

  

  Comic books were hard to keep up with for a kid of limited means. Consequently, I never heard of the X-Men until the movies started coming out. Read more

  Posted on 19 December 2012 COMIC BOOKS, ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES, POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Christmas Incorporated

  

  A number of years ago I wrote a short book on holidays for children. Like most of my books, it was never published. I wrote it when I learned that good books... Read more

  Posted on 18 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Faith and Freedom

  

  Schadenfreude is not my usual response to the downfall of a religious leader—with perhaps the exception of televangelists. After all, religious leaders are... Read more

  Posted on 17 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Rachel Weeping

  

  “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are... Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Bleak December

  

  Tragedy follows on tragedy in 2012. Maybe the world really is ending this year. Not even a week after a man accidentally shot his own seven-year-old son in... Read more

  Posted on 15 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• A Big Joke

  

  On the evening table my wife left a token of hope for me to read in this hopeful season. New Jersey “Transit” claimed that the very next day riders of the... Read more

  Posted on 14 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Fanpire Club

  

  It has become an odd world indeed when thousands of people look to vampires for family values. Although I’ve not read any of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight books,... Read more

  Posted on 13 December 2012 SOCIETY

• Chrismahanukwanzadan

  

  Happy holidays from a pluralistic world! Whenever I see the “Keep Christ in Christmas” signs that crop up this time of year, I think of the wonderful profusion... Read more

  Posted on 12 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mutants, Mystics and Memory

  

  Paradigms. These patterns of thought are self-reinforcing and very useful. As anyone who’s studied foreign languages knows, paradigms are an effective way to... Read more

  Posted on 11 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Freud’s Nightmare

  

  B movies are a guilty pleasure. Weekends sometimes allow for guilty pleasures, when I can check my mind at the door, take a seat near the screen, dim the... Read more

  Posted on 10 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Accidental Abortion

  

  There comes a time in life when you realize that if a small town you know makes it into the news headlines, it is likely tragic. Read more

  Posted on 09 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Read Ban

  

  Someone in the Greenville County Library doesn’t get out much. The LA Times reported this week that a surprised parent got a look at Alan Moore’s Neonomicon, a... Read more

  Posted on 08 December 2012 BOOKS

• Spirituality Sampler

  

  Sometimes you read a book and wonder if somehow the author got into your head and fished around for material. Although I’m not Jewish, at least not that I know... Read more

  Posted on 07 December 2012 RELIGION

• Jolly Saint Nicholas

  

  Each December the Princeton University Chapel Choir performs a free holiday concert in the impressive university cathedral (actually, it is a chapel, but given... Read more

  Posted on 06 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Rock Hard Cafe

  

  At first glance it may not appear to be much. A small chunk of rock, probably limestone. Hardly large enough to be used in a sling against a giant in a pinch.... Read more

  Posted on 05 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Old Lies

  

  Much of my exposure to literature has come through my daughter. I didn’t really grow up in a literary family. We had a prominent television and not much money... Read more

  Posted on 04 December 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE, POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Seeking Sava Savanovic

  

  According to the Associated Press, Sava Savanovic seems to have risen from the grave again. In the world of professional vampirologists, I am a mere hack, but... Read more

  Posted on 03 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Last December

  

  December 2012—it is supposedly the last month in the world. Yesterday did dawn with the date being 1212012, but since the local tree farm opened its gates... Read more

  Posted on 02 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Saving Sin

  

  Although it makes little sense, I have always tended toward a monastic outlook. When I see something I want my first impulse is not to get it. I will sometimes... Read more

  Posted on 01 December 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Bible-Landia

  

  It takes a mighty powerful stimulus to get the media to pay attention to biblical scholars. It is no surprise, therefore, when the Society of Biblical Literatur... Read more

  Posted on 30 November 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY