Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4674 )

• Banning Banning

  

  Banned Book Week gets me all aflutter. There have been years at I’m so busy that it slips by before I notice it, but each year I try to incorporate it somehow... Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Discount Nightmares

  

  Now that we’re past the equinox it’s officially okay to obsess with monsters, right?  (Any excuse will do.)  Nightmares with the Bible was officially a... Read more

  Posted on 25 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Price of Monotheism

  

  Before Christianity (I’m not convinced by Marija Gimbutas’ matriarchy hypothesis, as much as I like it) many cultures recognized mother goddesses. Read more

  Posted on 24 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Festive Books

  

  The Book and Puppet Company, a small independent bookstore in Easton, Pennsylvania is unique.  Other bookstores may have puppet shows and other forms of theater. Read more

  Posted on 23 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mabon

  

  Given the immense popularity of Halloween, and the attention lavished on the solstices, it’s a little odd that Mabon is so infrequently observed. Read more

  Posted on 22 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Psychology of Religion

  

  It’s so human.  Mistaking form for substance, I mean.  A recent piece in Wired that my wife pointed out to me is titled “Psychologists Are Learning What Religio... Read more

  Posted on 21 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Seedy Delivery

  

  Call it a weird indulgence, for that it surely is.  I’ve been slowly re-collecting childhood books—really what we call “tween books” these days, but there were... Read more

  Posted on 20 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Before Current Parameters

  

  I recently had cause, for a work project, to survey which Episcopal seminaries are still around.  You see, I began my teaching career at Nashotah House. Read more

  Posted on 19 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Reading Memory

  

  I recently wrote about writing too much (as if such a thing were possible).  After posting that I thought of how much the same can be said of reading. Read more

  Posted on 18 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mental Health

  

  Dark Shadows was a formative part of my childhood. I don’t recall specifics, or even how I found out about it, but I do recall watching it after school and bein... Read more

  Posted on 17 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Perspective on Distance

  

  Thirty miles can be pretty close or pretty far, depending.  This time it was pretty far.  I know the Post Office has been having trouble, but when the tracking... Read more

  Posted on 16 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Thinking Plants

  

  Consider your sources.  As an erstwhile professor I grew accustomed to repeating that, and this was before the internet started up, making claims of all kinds. Read more

  Posted on 15 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Rebranding

  

  Established in 1583, Edinburgh University has been a world-class research institution for centuries.  It appears in pop culture as a place of great learning... Read more

  Posted on 14 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• A Life of Writing

  

  One problem with being a graphomaniac is forgetting what you’ve written.  I’m glad to know I’m not alone in this.  Once we had the eminent historian Owen... Read more

  Posted on 13 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Thoughts on Job

  

  The book of Job has been on my mind lately.  Leave aside the remarks of Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu, it is one of the most honest books ever written. Read more

  Posted on 12 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Healing Time

  

  Twenty years ago today I walked into the refectory at Nashotah House after morning mass and wondered why the television was on. Read more

  Posted on 11 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• All About Merch

  

  Although I’d heard of it uncomprehendingly when I was in seminary, I first joined the Society of Biblical Literature in 1991, while a doctoral student. Read more

  Posted on 10 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Ancient Near Ideas

  

  Looking backwards has its issues.  I still think about the Ancient Near East.  My reputation on Academia.edu is based entirely on it. (From the user stats,... Read more

  Posted on 09 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Screaming Season

  

  The signs are all around.  The orange and black Spirit Halloween signs are appearing where vacant storefronts stand.  Advertisements for autumnal activities... Read more

  Posted on 08 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Moral Bankruptcy

  

  Last Thursday, apart from being the day after the plumber came, Tropical Storm Ida dumped on us, and the first day of September, the New York Times headlines... Read more

  Posted on 07 September 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY