Geoff W. Sutton Blog

COUNTING THE COST OF RELIGIOUS RHETORIC Brian D. McLaren has connected with many Christians disenchanted with the rhetoric of fundamentalist leaders. What caught my attention in a recent post was his comment about the “…huge personal cost for religious leaders to change their position…” He was referring to a talk he gave at the White House related to human rights for LGBT persons. Of course, LGBT issues are front and center nowadays but the concept of costs is important to other religious issues as well. (The forum took place this week.) Mariam Yehya is a Sudanese Christian woman who refused to renounce her Christian faith. She was imprisoned and sentenced to die after she gave birth. Her child was born. She was released but then arrested at the airport as she attempted to leave with her family. Now she is at the U.S. Embassy. What will happen? Her conversion to Christianity has already been costly. But she would not renounce her beliefs. She was willing to die...

FORGIVENESS & CHRISTIAN COUNSELING:      Is forgiveness just a fad? “You need to forgive him,” the counselor said as he pointed to the Bible and quoted Jesus threat linked command. “ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. ” ( Matthew 6:15 ) It’s easy to see why forgiveness is a popular topic in Christian literature. It is after all at the heart of the gospel. And it is a command. Although some interpretations have led to much distress for those who fear forgiving will only encourage evildoers to continue to abuse their victims. A few posts ago I began looking at the evidence supporting Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy. This is a post related to that quest. FORGIVENESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE In the past two decades, psychological scientists have tested forgiveness interventions and found evidence that many people are able to forgive their offenders and experience an in...

Can the religious be saved from tribal conflicts? Reflections on Joshua Greene's Moral Tribes How can we escape from the tragedy of religious groups in conflict? Killing, rape, and hate-filled-loud-angry-in-your-face verbal assaults routinely fill news headlines. And the sad thing is that sometimes the conflict is between religious tribes. Who would want to be a part of such a religion? Fortunately, for most of the world, the combat is more subtle. It’s more about killing reputations, insisting that God wants you to live a miserable life (strict rules against divorce or remarriage), or splitting a group over moral clashes like abortion or same-sex marriage. Understanding moral conflict is the quest of philosopher-psychologist Joshua Greene. I read his book Moral Tribes earlier this year (2014) and finally got round to writing a review. There are many ways to analyze his work. I’ll name just two. 1. People act before they think. For me, an intriguing part of t...

What on earth are Christian psychotherapists doing? What in heaven’s name do Christian psychotherapists do? A Christian woman follows the recommendation of her doctor to see a counselor. Her friends advise her to see a Christian therapist. She shows up in the waiting area. What should she expect? Most of us who work or have worked as psychotherapists are familiar with the fact that in the U.S. most people believe in God and most of them identify as Christian. A significant part of those prefer to obtain counseling or psychotherapy from a Christian psychotherapist. And they have many to choose from. But Christian psychotherapists are as diverse as people who identify as Christian. Christian counselors range the full spectrum from conservative to liberal based on their church affiliation and their social values. Add to that conservative-liberal spectrum differences in faith practice by Catholics and Protestants. And if you consider Pentecostals and charismat...