Geoff W. Sutton Blog

  At first, it seems like a no-brainer—a young male wants to compete as an athlete so he declares himself to be a girl and joins a girls’ team where his maleness will give him/her an advantage. It’s like cheating. Everyone knows boys and girls are not created equal right? Let’s have a look at some data. The reason we have different sports teams for boys and girls is based on evidence that there is a performance gap, which some report as 10% or higher in favour of boys ( Hilton & Lundberg, 2020 ). It depends on the sport. Is there any scientific evidence that can help calm the strong anti-trans girl rhetoric? Well, there is some evidence worth considering by those who believe in the value of scientific evidence. Unfortunately, beliefs, ideologies, and strong emotions are barriers to examining the evidence so, I’m not too optimistic that evidence will win the day. Nevertheless, I will consider what we can learn from science in this post. About words Some readers might won...

Wheaton Chapel Christian Colleges - know before you go Wheaton College was in the news because statements by a professor were questioned. The communication became public. Since then I've heard that professors are being cautious or have been cautioned about what they may say. Conservative Christian colleges declare their beliefs and values. Freedom of speech is restricted as is the freedom to pursue some lines of research. That's why I say, "know before you go." Know what you are committing to as a student, faculty member, or staff member; however, my focus here is on students. And for traditional students who share decisions with parents--this post is for parents too. Seven Facts About Conservative Christian Campus Cultures 1. The Statement of Faith is taken seriously. Read the statement of faith and decide if you believe the words. Life's too short to put on an act. If possible, it's obviously best to learn or work at...

  How Experienced Clergy Consider Offense and Age In Decisions About Restoring Clergy to Ministry Following Clergy-Congregant Sex In my previous post ( March 30 ), I looked at the background to the study of clergy sexual abuse along with some of the data available at the time. In this post, I summarise the results of an experiment that looked at factors clergy might consider in restoring a pastor following a sexual offense. My colleague and I chose to study a sexual offense because of the widespread damage it causes to the victims, their families, the congregation, the faith, and the pastor. How bad is the problem?      We found some relevant studies not included in the previous article. Pastors who were victims of childhood sexual abuse were more likely to violate a sexual boundary with a congregant (Hadman-Cromwell, 1991). We couldn’t find a lot about clergy-congregant sex and boundaries at the time. So, we turned to the helping professions. The ethical...

  Spring Flowers/ Kew Gardens, London/ Geoff Sutton 2016 It's Easter weekend in 2021. I haven’t gone to church in a year due to COVID-19 but I read and hear Christians preaching on Facebook and Twitter. I don’t see much about denial and cross-bearing.  Christ carrying the cross/ El Greco/ c1541-1614 I wonder what the text means-- deny yourself and take up your cross . Here’s the Authorised Version . 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16). It’s a common text for Christians who have been in church for years. I don’t remember it being emphasized in churches I attended as a boy or in evangelical circles. I take it, it isn’t too p...