Geoff W. Sutton Blog

Evolutionary Psychology and Christianity This week Pope Francis commented on creation and drew lots of media attention. Pope Francis has a huge audience as the leader of most of the world’s Christians— some 1.2 billion out of about 2.2 billion .  Like many scientists who also hold Christian beliefs, the Pope reaffirmed Catholic teaching that there is no contradiction between religious beliefs and scientific theories about origins of the universe (e.g., so called “Big Bang Theory”) or life (theory of evolution).    RNS reported on the story 27 October 2014 . The fact that the story became news in the United States reminds us of the continued teaching of a competitive creation narrative that is presented as incompatible with scientific explanations of the origins of the universe and of life.  They assert that the biblical story of creation in Genesis should be understood in a literal (or close to literal) fashion. Although creationists vary in how t...

Faith, Hope, and Marriage I’m at that age when my wife and I attend weddings again. The children of our friends are getting married. We've known one or both members of the loving couple for years-- sometimes since they were children. What a great occasion! Old memories mix with the present celebration. For a day or two dozens of us are transported to a world where there is only joy and love. Smiling young people sing and dance, kiss and hug. And colorful pictures tag their way along digital corridors. A new marriage has begun. Most people enter their first marriage because they are deeply in love and want to be together forever. Some obtain premarital counseling and some do not. If they think ahead, they have high expectations that they will have a great marriage. On occasion, close friends and family members can’t imagine a relationship working out. But love is blind. And sometimes the skeptics are wrong. When trouble looms, many couples try to work things out. ...

Women as  Religious  Leaders a nd           the  Morality of  Discrimination This weekend saw the inauguration of a woman as president of a conservative evangelical university in the middle of the United States. Dr.Carol Taylor earned her Ph.D. from Florida State University, gained leadership experience in higher education, and was hired to be the fourth president of Evangel University located in Springfield, Missouri. What makes the appointment interesting is not only that she is a woman heading up what is arguably the flagship university of the Assemblies of God USA (AG) but the fact that she represents an unusual position taken by an otherwise highly conservative Christian group. Unlike many Christian groups, the AG ordains women. Ordained women serve as senior pastors and missionaries and have done so for years. Not surprisingly, many women were encouraged by this move. If you are wondering how it is that the AG can just...

Sexual Response & Self-Control Sexual responsiveness is my third of three posts looking at the psychology of sex with a view toward understanding variations in sexuality and what research findings might mean for religious leaders who offer guidance to people about right sexual conduct.   In addition to research about sexual responsiveness, I look at self-control, offer some thoughts, and suggest questions for those concerned with moral implications. How do psychological scientists study sexual responding? Some sex researchers present videos of sexual activity to volunteers in laboratory settings. They obtain physiological measures of sexual responding along with subjective reports of the experience. Information about sexual interest and visual responding can be obtained from eye-tracking technology and the time spent viewing a stimulus. Brain imaging can be used to identify which areas of the brain respond to sexual stimuli. Researchers measur...

 Sexual  Attraction In my previous post, I wrote about sexual orientation . This week I take a look at factors that influence sexual attraction. I'll take a look at recent research and consider how the findings might relate to the concerns of people working to integrate their religious faith with beliefs about sexuality. Over the years I have consulted with organizations. Not surprisingly, Christians who supervise housing (e.g., colleges, group homes, residential treatment programs) express concern about appropriate sexuality. They focus most on keeping men and women apart. Despite a common occurrence, it is rare for a Christian organization to discuss same sex activity within their residences or among coworkers. It does not seem to occur to many that two persons of the same sex may find each other sexually attractive. The leaders would not think of assigning a man and a woman to the same room but they do not consider the assignment of two same-sex oriented persons...