Geoff W. Sutton Blog

A muddy day LOVING the UNHOLY, UNCLEAN, and DISGUSTING Like most children, I loved to visit zoos. One day my dad took me to the Philadelphia zoo. It was a lot of fun until dad had a disgusting experience. A massive tiger faced us. Then, with front paws raised, it soaked dad in urine. At church, a group of us are looking at Richard Beck’s book titled, Unclean . Philosopher, Doug Olena introduced the topic in the last two weeks. Our impulse is to avoid the unclean and expel that which is disgusting. But Christians are called to serve people that society considers unclean. Beck draws heavily on disgust psychology. In psychology, “Dr. Disgust” is Paul Rozin of the University of Pennsylvania. Rozin has studied disgust for decades. It’s fascinating for many reasons. Disgust is of course an emotional response with a recognizable facial expression. Though the classic disgust face can be seen in babies rejecting anything distasteful, infants soon learn more about that which is di...

Psychology, Memory, and Religious Narratives Pope Francis is in the Americas and will soon be welcomed by the U.S. Congress. What a difference 500 years can make! Attitudes toward Catholics have changed in recent years. Pope Francis offers words of hope to the disenfranchised. I’m focused on the dynamic of human memory and religious struggles--memories that appear so malleable and responsive to revised narratives. To some degree, we each control our own narrative. We tell the story others hear. We explain how religious and secular events fit into our personal history. Together with others, we also tell a collective history of our religious tribe. We share how we related to other religious and irreligious groups. And we forge new narratives when we act in the present. PERSPECTIVES In terms of human history, it wasn’t long ago that Catholics and Protestants were at each other’s throats. The church-state connections in Europe along with the attendant ...

Self-Forgiveness vs. God’s Forgiveness Pope Francis made news when he said priests can forgive women who seek forgiveness for having an abortion. “ The forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented," the Pope said, adding that he has met "many women" scarred by the "agonizing and painful" decision to have an   abortion .” The Catholic Church considers abortion serious enough that it can lead to excommunication. Ordinarily, only a bishop can reduce the penalty. ( CNN ) To Christians, the story reveals the Pope’s compassion. But the statement can seem strange to evangelicals and secularists. And, as a psychologist I’m wondering about the importance of self-forgiveness and where Christians insert God into their views on forgiveness. God, Priests, and Psychotherapists Growing up in conservative protestant churches, it was a badge of self-righteousness not to call pastors “Father.” And we sure didn’t need to confess...