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 ( 4674 )

  • End the Stigma

    Stigma

    I’ve been a lifelong fan of Edgar Allan Poe.  I bought books about him (and by him) from a young age, fascinated by a person who expressed himself so beautifull... Read more

    Posted on 16 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • When Will We?

    When Will

    She Will is a creepy art house film from a couple years back. Sometimes cited as a #MeToo film, it was directed and co-written by Charlotte Colbert and it... Read more

    Posted on 15 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Look It up

    Look

    Does anybody else find the internet too limiting?  I regularly find that what I’m searching for flummoxes even Google when it comes to trying to find things. ... Read more

    Posted on 14 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Dials and Destinies

    Dials Destinies

    Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny didn’t do well in theaters. I’m afraid that Indy fans, like Harrison Ford, may be aging out. Although anthropologists are... Read more

    Posted on 13 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Friendly Bug

    Friendly

    The Beetle and I go way back.  I’m unapologetically a child of the sixties and I’ve always loved Volkswagen Beetles.  My second car was a used Beetle, one of th... Read more

    Posted on 12 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Thoughtful Transformation

    Thoughtful Transformation

    Philosophical horror’s a thing. A friend introduced me to Moorhead and Benson films—these aren’t major studio productions—and I’ve been watching them as I can... Read more

    Posted on 11 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Driving Complexity

    Driving Complexity

    It should be a pretty straightforward thing, buying a car.  Unless you live in a city like New York you need one, so the process should be simple since it... Read more

    Posted on 10 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Modern Work

    Modern Work

    The entertainment industry has proven itself, time and again, resistant to recessions.  It says something about our lives that we need that outlet no matter... Read more

    Posted on 09 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Shopping Trip

    Shopping Trip

    Personal Shopper is one of those movies I’m not sure I understood, but which was nevertheless profound. It didn’t help that it was one of those “free with... Read more

    Posted on 08 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Little Bang

    Little Bang

    I’ve always been interested in the sky.  At times it feels like I’m in love with it.  Having attended a Sputnik-era high school—a rural high school with an... Read more

    Posted on 07 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Moving Hope

    Moving Hope

    We were young and recently engaged.  I had to move from Boston to Ann Arbor, and all my worldly possessions fit into the trunk and back seat of a rental car. ... Read more

    Posted on 06 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Cabin Stories

    Cabin Stories

    Almost always I come out on the same side of the debate. The book is better than the movie. The book allows things to be explained more fully and is the way... Read more

    Posted on 05 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Consider the Ant

    Consider

    Ants, the Bible suggests, are worth both watching and learning from. I was reminded of this while at the Easton VegFest a couple weeks back. The VegFest is an... Read more

    Posted on 04 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Closure of a Trilogy

    Closure Trilogy

    So the final part of Jessica Verday’s Hollow trilogy really moves into supernatural explanations of life after death. At least for those destined to become... Read more

    Posted on 03 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Funny Scares

    Funny Scares

    Camp has its own aesthetic. I’m not talking about the kind with tents and sleeping bags, but that has its own aesthetic too. No, I mean campiness in pop culture. Read more

    Posted on 02 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Reframing

    Reframing

    Theory can be tough to stomach, but once you get through it you can often find all kinds of valuables in an academic book. I learned quite a lot from Cecilia... Read more

    Posted on 01 September 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Self-Correcting

    Self-Correcting

    A comment by a friend regarding Wikipedia recently got me thinking about self-correcting systems.  When I was teaching, I didn’t eschew Wikipedia like many of m... Read more

    Posted on 31 August 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Life Semesters

    Life Semesters

    Some people have a school calendar in their blood.  For me, that was one of the great appeals of the teaching profession.  I worked a lot during summers—class... Read more

    Posted on 30 August 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • How Many Stairs?

    Many Stairs?

    It tries. It really does. Still, The Girl on the Third Floor is just not that good. It got quite a few accolades, but I was waiting for something extraordinary. Read more

    Posted on 29 August 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Whence We Are

    Whence

    Rootless.  Or perhaps a better word is “wandering.”  Although I was born in Pennsylvania, neither of my parents were and back another generation, few of the... Read more

    Posted on 28 August 2023 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY