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 )

  • Beastly Story

    Beastly Story

    You think you know a story. You know, you’ve heard it before, or seen it in a movie, so you think you know how it goes. I’m not the biggest Disney fan in the... Read more

    Posted on 11 August 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • The King

    King

    Stephen King.  I haven’t read all of his books, but I’ve done quite a few.  I’ve watched movies based on some.  I read my first story by him in Junior High... Read more

    Posted on 10 August 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Dark v Light

    Dark Light

    The summer solstice was days away and the earliest sunrise had already passed.  The earliest sunrise and the latest sunset are not on the same day.  To those... Read more

    Posted on 09 August 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Paperback Reader

    Paperback Reader

    Sometimes I wonder why I do it. Horror is a strange category for books and films, but one thing that may be a draw is that they take me back. Life, it seems,... Read more

    Posted on 08 August 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Flower Power

    Flower Power

    Why do we find flowers so attractive?  Often what separates weeds from desired plants are the flowers.  (Not always, though, as the much maligned dandelion can... Read more

    Posted on 07 August 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Who’s It For?

    Who’s For?

    I suspect editors see this all the time.  I also suspect that I’ve unknowingly participated in it as well.  If you’re a book writer, you have to be clear of you... Read more

    Posted on 06 August 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Cover Copy

    Cover Copy

    If you’ve ever wondered why the same images appear on book covers over and over, there’s a fairly simple explanation.  (I should specify, by the way, that I mea... Read more

    Posted on 05 August 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • New Physics

    Physics

    Maybe it’s time to put away those “new physics” textbooks.  I often wondered what’d become of the old physics.  If it had been good enough for my granddaddy,... Read more

    Posted on 04 August 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • The Nature of Nationalism

    Nature Nationalism

    I was recently reading about China.  The particular take of this piece was that China began, just over a dozen years ago, an attempt to become the world’s... Read more

    Posted on 03 August 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Remember the Doorway

    Remember Doorway

    I’m glad it has a name.  And I’m also, relievedly, glad it’s normal.  The Doorway Effect.  I’m sure it’s happened to you.  You walk into a room and immediately... Read more

    Posted on 02 August 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Conflicting Lifestyles

    Conflicting Lifestyles

    Sleep patterns often don’t fit with work patterns.  The reason I wake up so early is that for years I had to do it to get to Manhattan.  For work. Read more

    Posted on 01 August 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Woman in the Wilderness

    Woman Wilderness

    The “Burnt Over District” is religious historian shorthand for upstate New York.  That particular region, during the “Second Great Awakening,” spawned so many... Read more

    Posted on 31 July 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Yep, Nope

    Yep, Nope

    I can honestly say that I’ve never seen a movie that starts with a quote from Nahum.  I also honestly admit that Nope left me scratching my head, but very glad... Read more

    Posted on 30 July 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Beyond Natural

    Beyond Natural

    I’ve read quite a few books about the supernatural. Often these books, which are mostly written by scientists, tend to show the problems with supernatural... Read more

    Posted on 29 July 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Twisted in Knots

    Twisted Knots

    Our staycation at the Red Caboose in Ronks brought to mind the Weird Al Yankovic parody of “Amish Paradise.”  Bored-looking tourists in Lancaster County can’t... Read more

    Posted on 28 July 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • The Magic of Cairns

    Magic Cairns

    They’re one of those things, my daughter explained, that people do that make them so likable.  She was talking about building cairns. Read more

    Posted on 27 July 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Say It in Poetry

    Poetry

    I was listening to some Nick Cave the other day, and, as usual, I was quite taken by his lyrics.  I dusted off my poetry notebook and began to try to forge word... Read more

    Posted on 26 July 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Jekyll and Jekyll

    Jekyll

    W. E. D. (“Marilyn”) Ross was a journeyman writer. Prolific, he produced more than 300 pot-boilers, and he only started writing at mid-life, which kind of... Read more

    Posted on 25 July 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Nope, Not Yet

    Nope,

    It’s perhaps this summer’s most hotly anticipated movie, but I’m not sure when I’ll get to see it. Jordan Peele’s Nope opened in theaters this weekend but I’ve... Read more

    Posted on 24 July 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
  • Ancient West Asia

    Ancient West Asia

    You know what they say about old habits.  While various people are protesting things like critical race theory, there are still some scholarly holdouts for... Read more

    Posted on 23 July 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY