Steveawiggins
MY BLOGS
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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 ( 4661 )
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Prophet Margins
One of the most misunderstood of biblical phenomena is prophecy. One of the reasons it’s so misunderstood is that other ancient peoples came to associate it wit... Read more
Posted on 09 January 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Christian Fragility
Having read White Fragility, I was intrigued when a friend asked me if there might be such a thing as Christian fragility. I think he was onto something. Read more
Posted on 08 January 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
It Happened on Epiphany
Photo credit: Martin Falbisoner, via Wikimedia CommonsCan you spell treason? It does begin with the letters “T-R-.” The events of yesterday made it difficult... Read more
Posted on 07 January 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Manifest Duty
As slaves to Mammon our celebrations are frequently curtailed. In agricultural culture, winter was a time when fields couldn’t be cultivated (at least in... Read more
Posted on 06 January 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Comedic Horror
Spoofs can be a great way of preventing us from taking ourselves too seriously. Extra Ordinary is a film I’d completely missed until my wife made a gift of it. Read more
Posted on 05 January 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Non-sacred Time
It’s difficult to say goodbye to the holiday season (although, according to its origins it’s not over yet!). While the church still recognizes a couple more day... Read more
Posted on 04 January 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Bookselling 101
My wife and I have sometimes toyed with the idea of running a mom and pop bookstore. Our combined lack of business sense (and capital) have always prevented... Read more
Posted on 03 January 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Impatience
It’s only human nature, I suppose. We see our own circumstances and fail to appreciate how others have equally (or perhaps more) complexity to juggle. I’m... Read more
Posted on 02 January 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Seeking Renewal
Now that many are breathing a sigh of relief that 2020 is finally over, I stop to ponder time. Measuring time, although most forms of life do it in some way,... Read more
Posted on 01 January 2021 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
2020 in Books
As has become traditional on this blog, I like to revisit my reading for the year before the next one begins. No matter what else goes wrong, we have books. Read more
Posted on 31 December 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Reading Ahead
One of the highlights of the changing year, for the past five years of my life, has been the Modern Mrs. Darcy’s reading challenge. Read more
Posted on 30 December 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Yankee Doodle
Some books stay with you in a way that hits very close to the nerve. Since I read Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court many years ago,... Read more
Posted on 29 December 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Stay Curious
Needle felting. I’d never heard of it. I’d got along some five-plus decades without knowing a thing about it. My daughter received a needle felting kit as a... Read more
Posted on 28 December 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Pre-Soul
Streaming seems to be the way of the future. I’m reluctant to trust corporations (does anyone remember Ultra Violet?) keeping content I’ve paid for, but the... Read more
Posted on 27 December 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Good Will
Social media can seem overwhelming. There are so many sites and there’s so much to keep track of. And that’s in addition to all these “super storms” we have... Read more
Posted on 26 December 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Thoughts of Christmas
Christmas, in merry old England, used to be the day when bills were due. There are vestiges of that still. Just this past week, when my mind was on upcoming... Read more
Posted on 25 December 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Ghost Stories
Those of us who confess to watching horror are fond of noting that the Christmas season has long been associated with ghost stories. Charles Dickens wasn’t the... Read more
Posted on 24 December 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Udolpho’s Mysteries
The carousels on Google can provide a great deal of information. Looking at them, along with trusted lists of gothic novels, it became clear that one of the... Read more
Posted on 23 December 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Wooden Translation?
The summer got away from me, as it always seems to, leaving several boxes of things yet to be sorted. Since these boxes are in the garage where there’s no... Read more
Posted on 22 December 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Winter Rebirth
It seems like 2020 has already had many longest nights. The Trump administration has hurt so many people so badly (many of them his own supporters) that this... Read more
Posted on 21 December 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
