Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4388 )

• Au Fait in the Manger?

  

  On Friday CNN ran a story about the Pope’s new book “debunking” myths surrounding Christmas. The headline certainly looked intriguing, but it turns out that... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Phantom Prayers

  

  Religion and theater have much in common. I suspect that this is one reason several religious traditions initially protested against the secular theater. Read more

  Posted on 25 November 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Prayers in Space

  

  Science with heart. That’s one way to characterize Mary Roach’s writing. Uninhibited is another. I began reading her books when I saw Spook on the science... Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2012 BOOKS, RELIGION, SCIENCE

• Hallowed Be Thy Kane

  

  Watching the alien burst from Kane’s distended abdomen as he appeared to have eaten too much seemed somehow appropriate on Thanksgiving. Read more

  Posted on 23 November 2012 ENVIRONMENT

• Holy Gobblers

  

  I wonder if this is how religions get started. Yesterday President Obama continued the lighthearted tradition of pardoning two turkeys prior to Thanksgiving. Read more

  Posted on 22 November 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Gonad Make Disciples

  

  The funny thing about authority is that when it counts those who have it are often afraid to use it. So yesterday the “mother church” (if that honorific still... Read more

  Posted on 21 November 2012 HISTORY, POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY, SPIRITUALITY

• Under the Influence

  

  A news story over the weekend—when oddball stories of religion are welcomed by the media—revealed that a judge in Muskogee County, Oklahoma sentenced a youth... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2012 RELIGION, SOCIETY

• After the Gold Rush

  

  The morning I flew to Chicago for the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature annual meeting, the headlines in the morning paper were... Read more

  Posted on 19 November 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Dreaming of a Black Xmas

  

  By my best reckoning, Thanksgiving has not yet taken place this year. Since Halloween, such as it was, is now over, we must still be in November. Read more

  Posted on 18 November 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• AAR/SBL Chicago

  

  On just about any playground you’ll spot the kid who’s watching from the side, instead of playing with the others. That’s me. I don’t suspect that anyone... Read more

  Posted on 17 November 2012 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Night of the Johnstown Flood

  

  Floods always have a whiff of old Noah about them. I first heard of the Johnstown flood from a minister who has had a profound impact on my life. Read more

  Posted on 16 November 2012 RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Hunter

  

  Orion seems to have tripped in his journey across the sky last night. I can remember being told of generals falling in battle, and now I hear how they fall in... Read more

  Posted on 15 November 2012 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Say Can You See

  

  Remakes of classics. It is my sense that a classic has earned its place in its own constellation for a reason. Remakes seldom attain the je ne sais quoi of the... Read more

  Posted on 14 November 2012 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES, RELIGION

• Bedrock

  

  Sadly it is a rare occasion to read a truly stupendous book. There are lots of wonderful books in the libraries of the world, great and small. Read more

  Posted on 13 November 2012 BOOKS, POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Star Tract

  

  Over the past few years my wife and I have been watching the episodes of Star Trek (original series; please, we are connoisseurs). Read more

  Posted on 12 November 2012 ENTERTAINMENT

• True Colors

  

  I’ve been on the losing side of my share of elections (although it feels like far more than my share), but I’m amazed at the character of the GOP that has come... Read more

  Posted on 11 November 2012 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Gitche Gumee

  

  Up on the rugged western shore of Lake Superior the lamp atop Split Rock Lighthouse will be illuminated for the only time this year tonight. Read more

  Posted on 10 November 2012 CULTURE, HISTORY, SOCIETY

• November’s Vampires

  

  It may have been the year without a Halloween here in the northeast coastal region of the United States, but it looks like some of the spirit has persisted... Read more

  Posted on 09 November 2012 RELIGION, SOCIETY

• True Myth

  

  A friend of mine, I am glad to see, has started a blog. I’ve mentioned K. Marvin Bruce (“Marvin”) before on my blog, but his situation is such that job and... Read more

  Posted on 08 November 2012 RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Substance of Faith

  

  Every once in a very great while, faith is rewarded. I’m not talking about the faith that is bound up in black leather, inaccessible to realists who struggle... Read more

  Posted on 07 November 2012 RELIGION, SOCIETY