Steveawiggins

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MY BLOGS

  • Sects and Violence in the Ancient World http://sawiggins.wordpress.com/

    A blog that tries to find intelligent things to say about religion and related subjects.

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4491 )

  • Release Date

    Release Date

    July 16.  That’s the release date for Sleepy Hollow as American Myth. If you’re so inclined, preordering helps to earn a book attention. (I know it’s pricey, bu... Read more

    Posted on 25 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • The Talk

    Talk

    Sex.  It’s the great forbidden topic.  This extends to the truly staggering number of words that have been coopted, either as slang or circumlocutions, to... Read more

    Posted on 24 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Bloody Lips

    Bloody Lips

    Jean Rollin’s vision of vampires was a strange blend of tradition and art film. Having seen his Shiver of the Vampires, I was curious to see what other vampire... Read more

    Posted on 23 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Therapy with Books

    Therapy with Books

    I’ve been doing this for years and just found out there’s a name for it.  Bibliotherapy is a treatment method that uses reading to deal with anxiety.  It is... Read more

    Posted on 22 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Late Night

    Late Night

    If you lived through the seventies, Late Night with the Devil will take you back a bit. It’s one of the more creative possession movies I’ve seen, but what... Read more

    Posted on 21 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Cloistered

    Cloistered

    Free will. I’ll go on the record as a proponent. Any kind of determinism gives me the willies. At times, however, it does feel as if we’re merely pawns. Read more

    Posted on 20 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Proofing Yourself

    Proofing Yourself

    Some publishers give you advance warning.  Many do not.  As a struggling writer, after I submit one manuscript I move on to the next project, knowing proofs wil... Read more

    Posted on 19 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • The Sin of Syncretism

    Syncretism

    Syncretism may not be dead, but it should be.  What is it?  Well, in my field it means a religion that has been “corrupted” by the adoption of some element(s) o... Read more

    Posted on 18 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Lights, Cam

    Lights,

    Techno-horror is an example of how horror meets us where we are. When I work on writing fiction, I often reflect how our constant life online has really... Read more

    Posted on 17 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • More Than It Seems

    More Than Seems

    One of the most fascinating mystical concepts is the idea that words and individual letters have some kind of magical power. This is perhaps illustrated by the... Read more

    Posted on 16 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Not Quite

    Quite

    There’s a debate among horror nerds that goes like this: “Blumhouse or A24?” If this is Greek to you, Blumhouse and A24 are entertainment production companies... Read more

    Posted on 15 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Call Me AI

    Call

    Okay, so the other day I tried it.  I’ve been resisting, immediately scrolling past the AI suggestions at the top of a Google search.  I don’t want some... Read more

    Posted on 14 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Learning Bunnies

    Learning Bunnies

    Although it was released during the first Trump administration, Jojo Rabbit was written before he was sharp bit of dust in the GOP’s eye. Still, in the second... Read more

    Posted on 13 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Naming Names

    Naming Names

    I recently saw a story suggesting that Elon Musk was named after the leader of a Martian colony in an unpublished novel written by none other than Wernher von... Read more

    Posted on 12 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Shivering Vampires

    Shivering Vampires

    When casting about on free movie streaming services, you occasionally stumble across something odd. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that I’ve... Read more

    Posted on 11 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Dangerous Driving

    Dangerous Driving

    It reminded me of the time my manager fell down into the basement.  It also makes me think I must be neurodivergent.  Yesterday we were helping my brother in Ne... Read more

    Posted on 10 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Fine Young

    Fine Young

    Horror is getting harder and harder to define. Maybe it’s because movies are venturing further and further into mixed genres. The best genre I’ve seen... Read more

    Posted on 09 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • What You Believe

    What Believe

    This is an important and frustrating book. I just can’t figure out if the black-and-white thinking is disingenuous or if it was really believed. Read more

    Posted on 08 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Contours of Dark Academia

    Contours Dark Academia

    As I attempt to trace the contours of dark academia, I’m learning that much of my reading has been classified that way by others. Read more

    Posted on 07 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Littlefoot

    Littlefoot

    A film is an object. Just like a book, a film exists and waits for someone to discover and promote it. The vast majority of both don’t make the cut and exist... Read more

    Posted on 06 March 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY