Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

                           7 Perspectives on Human Nature, God, and Violence     Previously I asked the question  “Why did God order the killing of so many people ?” See the previous post for context. In this post I look at human nature and consider how understanding people might apply to understanding old texts like those in the Bible. As I said before, I am not a biblical scholar so I shall leave the evaluation of my ideas up to those who are experts in both biblical studies and behavioural science. I can offer the perspective of someone who has studied human nature in the present as well as in historical narratives. Instead of assuming that the biblical writers were telling their audience what God literally said and did, is it possible the biblical texts are a true record of how the ancient Israelites interpreted events in their lives? For Christians, the perspective of Jesus t...

God is love. Jesus is God. Jesus is love. What's going on? Joshua's Victory over the Amorites Poussin 1625-26 Are we reading about ethnic cleansing or genocide--or what? "Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 5:8) “...in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you.” (Deuteronomy 20: 16-18) You can read about the conquest in Joshua.   Obvious Yet Difficult Questions 1. How does such destruction of humanity fit with the messages of preachers saying, “God is love” or “Jesus loves you?” And what should we think about those signs at American sports events announcing “John 3:16?” 2. And how do such verses about killing people of any age support arguments about God being prolife? 3. How do Christians claim a moral authorit...

ONE QUESTION ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE I noticed conservative friends posting 40 Questions challenging Christians about their support for same-sex marriage. It did not take long for a counter response. So there are at least 80 questions available for you. It's no surprise that the authors advance a point of view by asking a question, which assumes a premise that has not been established. I come at the questions from the perspective of a psychological scientist and former university professor--so I love to encourage people to think. And if I were teaching a relevant course, I'd probably ask students to think about the 80-questions. I'll include the links so you can see what the two authors are asking. Christians come at the same-sex issue from many perspectives as I wrote about last week . I think for those Christians who have a spiritual struggle, the key question is about sin. There is only one question for fundamentalist Christians to ...