Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

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...

THE FLAMING RHETORIC OF RIGHTS How many similarities do you need to link one rights movement with another? Freedom for U.S. slaves was a lengthy process and even after they were emancipated, civil rights were not codified in law until a century later. A key word here is law because attitudes are slow to change even when laws set limits on behavior. The battle against racism continues. Leaders supporting and opposing same-sex marriage and other rights and protections for sexual minorities have referred to the civil rights movement. Some assert similarities. Others point to differences. The statements are often intensified by emotional rhetoric shrunken to bite-sized statements suitable for T-shirts and video clips. The civil rights arguments are not just academic because the reasons come with powerful emotions attached. One can easily imagine students being asked to write an essay about the subject. And I can imagine some professors having a difficult time gradin...

Justice, Psychology, and Religion Part 1 On the street, U.S. news watchers refer to June 30 2014 headlines and say, “Hobby Lobby won and women lost." As with many difficult cases, the decision was split 5-4 in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. Justice Alito wrote the majority opinion and Justice Ginsburg wrote the dissenting opinion. The decision stimulated much talk. Many social issues came to the fore-- women’s rights, religious freedom, birth control, and religious beliefs held by owners of private companies. The 5-4 split is not just a matter of reasoned opinion.  The winners were joyful. There’s an anger driven  reaction as well. Here’s a quote from the  New York Times “Those who are bound by our decisions usually believe they can take us at our word,” Justice Sotomayor wrote. “Not so today.” The court’s action, she added, even “undermines confidence in this institution.” How religion affects justice. I found a helpful summary of researc...