Geoff W. Sutton Blog

Jesus commands the sea Have you heard the phrase, “God is in Control?” I have.  You can see the posts on social media. "It's in God's hands," some say. You would think this is a reasonable belief by Christians who believe in an almighty God who is able to protect His family better than the best earthly father. But when bodies pile up, hospital beds are full, and millions of people just lost their jobs, you might think  everything is out of control . They reported their findings to the Angel of God in the birch grove: “We have looked over the whole earth and all is well. Everything’s under control.” Zechariah 1:11 Governments and public health officials were unprepared for the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. The virus raged out of control for months. This post is not about blame. I am writing about the belief, "God is in control," which is not evident. Some opine that God works through leaders —even through those whose mora...

  Thomas New & Louisa (Clayton) New c 1940s, East Finchley, London Throughout my childhood, our English Christmases became more and more Americanised as the 10-day Atlantic Ocean voyage drifted into history. We always had a live naturally scented fir tree decorated with a few simple ornaments, which dad brought from those first Christmases before World War II. My mum baked a traditional English Christmas cake surrounded by a colourful band, covered with a snowscape of Royal icing with Father Christmas, reindeer, and miniature fir trees. Outside, the townsfolk of Vineland, New Jersey welcomed Father Christmas with red and green lights hung across the broad avenue. On Christmas Eve, we joined bundled church folk singing carols and collecting coins for the poor in honour of Tiny Tim. And at church on the Sunday before Christmas, we were sure to get a colourful two-layer box of filled chocolates. Dad always got my dark ones. Christmas Season 1950s Vineland NJ On that glorious mor...

Outside my house neighbors keep their political signs on their lawns or waving in the air as if they have not given up hope that their candidate who lost the election will find a way to show that the "win" granted to the opposition is false. So many in the US have identified with a political party and its leader. This identification is going to have a predictable effect on self-esteem (one's value or worth) and one's self-concept. The effect may be temporary as other life activities force other identities to become more salient--such as the demands family, work, and school as well as the time-distance since the election. This strong political identity illustrates the social context influencing the self and it also illustrates the limited stability of the self because every 2-4 years there may be a shift in party fortunes. Although some view the self as relatively stable, many studies show the impact of social contexts on our self-concept and those parts of the self-co...

  It is reasonable for citizens of any nation to be concerned about the people entering their territory. Often the boundaries with neighbors were established at a peace treaty following the death of people on both sides. When boundaries change, people with differing loyalties may be trapped and isolated from their relatives unless there is a friendly approach for people to visit back and forth. The citizens of nations with large borders like the US incur considerable costs in monitoring their borders. Presumably, successful nations like the US and those in Western Europe are attractive because of the opportunities for work, education, and a range of benefits. Identifying those who enter the country illegally is no small task. When they mate with citizens and have children, they have created a potentially distressful condition if they are discovered and deported. My concern in this post is the children who were brought to the US illegally. As an immigrant myself, I do not reca...