Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4647 )

• Wachet Auf

  

  I have a proposition.  Some folks in town have a big “Anti-Woke” (aka, “asleep”) flag on their house, along with various Trump paraphernalia. Read more

  Posted on 06 May 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Holy X

  

  It took several years, but we finally closed the X-Files. It was shortly after we bought the house, I believe, when we decided to watch the series the whole... Read more

  Posted on 05 May 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Conference Voice

  

  “Conference voice” is a phenomenon that began with my career malfunction.  While teaching I attended the AAR/SBL annual meeting every year but one. Read more

  Posted on 04 May 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Influential Horror

  

  Media has a tremendous effect on society. We all know that, and every four years elections prove it time and again. Like an infinite loop or Mobius strip. The... Read more

  Posted on 03 May 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Wonderful Impossibility

  

  I used to tell my students that a semester break without reading a book that challenged your assumptions was wasted. I tried to lead by example, but jobs are... Read more

  Posted on 02 May 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Happy Beltane!

  

  They creep up on you, these holidays with no official recognition.  I’ve been so busy that it didn’t even occur to me that today was Beltane—May Day—until my... Read more

  Posted on 01 May 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Facing Fear

  

  The relationship between fathers and daughters is intangibly profound. (I can’t speak for fathers and sons, from either side of the equation.) That was the angl... Read more

  Posted on 30 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Too Much TMI

  

  Okay, okay.  I admit I get overwhelmed.  There’s just too much stuff to read.  I currently have 25 tabs open on my browser, afraid that I’ll forget about... Read more

  Posted on 29 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mr. Bean

  

  Edamame.  I remember distinctly the first time I had it.  I was at the house of Alvy Ray Smith, co-founder of Pixar (shameless name drop), by the courtesy of... Read more

  Posted on 28 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Which Mountain?

  

  Disney movies—and I still think of Disney primarily as a movie studio—were part of my childhood. A small part, but there nevertheless. Read more

  Posted on 27 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Springing

  

  Life, for everyone, has difficult times. Katherine May has a reassuring, but not always cheerful way about her. She calls troubled times Wintering. Read more

  Posted on 26 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Just Ask

  

  I see a lot of headlines, and not a few books, that puzzle over something that there’s an easy way to resolve: why do evangelicals (I’m thinking here of the sor... Read more

  Posted on 25 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Panic Inducing

  

  Many movies appreciate in value over time. The Devil Rides Out (also known as The Devil’s Bride) was not well received initially, but has become a highly... Read more

  Posted on 24 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Technologies of Hope

  

  Having an immediate family member with cancer means that you look for hope everywhere.  Those who’ve brushed up against this family of diseases hopefully know... Read more

  Posted on 23 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Planetary Thinking

  

  It’s Monday, and I’m feeling like a holiday.  Good thing it’s Earth Day.  Many businesses (who still don’t consider Earth Day important enough to make it a... Read more

  Posted on 22 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Poe’s Novel

  

  Certain authors, some great among them, excel at short stories. I know from personal experience that trying to publish a book of such stories is a very hard... Read more

  Posted on 21 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Wolfing Hour

  

  It’s not that I didn’t grow up watching horror; it’s that I didn’t grow up watching horror in theaters. I’m sure Mom wouldn’t have had it, and besides, we... Read more

  Posted on 20 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Morte d’Author

  

  I recently learned of Roland Barthes’ essay, “The Death of the Author.”  Originally written in French, Wikipedia warns it’s not to be confused with Le Morte... Read more

  Posted on 19 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Wondering Wailing

  

  You have to wonder, it seems to me, if the western, imperialistic gaze sometimes overcompensates for its past sins. We remain reluctant to say we don’t... Read more

  Posted on 18 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Monopoly by Statute

  

  The Bible is an odd book.  It is foundational for the modern world, no matter how much we might want to deny it.  Even so it’s a strange book.  The King James... Read more

  Posted on 17 April 2024 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY