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 ( 4568 )
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Time Slip
Perhaps you’ve noticed it too, or perhaps it’s just something those of us in the strange world between Mac and PC see. A couple of months ago I noticed somethin... Read more
Posted on 11 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Update on Nightmares
Progress continues on Nightmares with the Bible. Despite pandemic conditions, I received a happy email last week telling me that the manuscript had been... Read more
Posted on 10 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Unnatural Nature
It began as an odd sort of noise. I had the study windows open during the morning of a heat wave and I heard a small, but metallic noise coming from the roof... Read more
Posted on 09 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Jacob’s Ladder
Jacob, it is said, was quite a dreamer. While fleeing from his brother Esau he had a dream of a ladder, or stairway, to heaven. Well, “Heaven” as we recognize i... Read more
Posted on 08 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Almost Ancestors
During the Covid-19 crisis, cemeteries seem to be safe places. Not too many people are in them, at least not people that can spread the virus, and they always... Read more
Posted on 07 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Enough
Stories of the wealthy never interest me unless they have a mysterious, ageless cousin who’s really a vampire. Unfortunately fantasy can’t save us from the... Read more
Posted on 06 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Hurricane Isaias
People have been debating how to pronounce Hurricane “Isaias,” an hispanic name based on Isaiah. Pennsylvania, which has few distinguishing features, is... Read more
Posted on 05 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Wolves? Where?
One of the oldest tricks in the capitalistic playbook is to make something look like a more successful product. Trademarks and copyright laws prevent too close ... Read more
Posted on 04 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Bad Seeds
Strange things happen. I doubt anyone would deny that, even the most skeptical. Sometimes the strange has an edge to it, though. Read more
Posted on 03 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Narrow Passage
While on a rare family visit (it’s scary to get out too much) we visited Watkins Glen State Park in upstate New York. My mother’s family has roots in this... Read more
Posted on 02 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Bonded
It happened this way. When my daughter was young she was interested in dinosaurs. Most kids are. In fact, my wife and I went to a public lecture by a... Read more
Posted on 01 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
No So Innocent
Mark Twain’s best-selling book in his own lifetime was his first commercially produced one: The Innocents Abroad. Originally a set of letters sent during an... Read more
Posted on 31 July 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Fear Writing
Unless your publisher is good at marketing, that book you spend years on will remain unknown. That “share” button in the right hands can make all the difference. Read more
Posted on 30 July 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Who Watches You
When my wife saw Dominic Johnson’s God Is Watching You on the top of my pile she said “Are you sure you want to be reading that?” Her question was justified,... Read more
Posted on 29 July 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Virtual Bible Study
Like just about everybody else, I spend my days online during the pandemic. Well, actually, I spent my days online before that since I’m a remote worker. Read more
Posted on 28 July 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Too Close?
Some time back I did a Google search on something like “best novels about possession,” like one does. I was in the midst of writing Nightmares with the Bible... Read more
Posted on 27 July 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
November Dreaming
I recently took part in a non-partisan postcard-writing effort sponsored by Moms Rising. The idea is simple enough: encourage people to get out and vote. Read more
Posted on 26 July 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Everybody Knows
One of my favorite Leonard Cohen songs is “Everybody Knows.” On a related note, the best-selling book in America last week was Mary Trump’s Too Much and Never... Read more
Posted on 25 July 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Hebrew Class
It is utterly remarkable that in this year of the Common Era 2020 that even in Unicode you can’t write Hebrew in Microsoft Word without gymnastics. Read more
Posted on 24 July 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY -
Graphic Graphomania
You can spot them fairly easily. Graphomaniacs. Perhaps it’s a bit closer to the surface when you work in publishing, but the person who writes too much can... Read more
Posted on 23 July 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY
