Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Influential Christian clergyman, John MacArthur recently died (14 July 2025).  AI image for illustration only Bing Creator 2025 MacArthur's beliefs reveal the difficulty integrating faith and science for many Christians. I hypothesize that some beliefs are so different that patients and providers holding a MacArthur worldview would have difficulty interacting effectively with those patients or providers who hold a contrasting scientific worldview. Following are some beliefs collected from the internet.  Please offer corrections for any inaccuracies as to the facts provided, quotations, or links to the references provided. 1. Young Earth Creationism Belief : MacArthur teaches that the Earth was created in six literal 24-hour days and is only several thousand years old. Supporting Citation: “The duration of ‘the evening and the morning’ on the first day of creation was the same as the evening and morning of any solar day” (MacArthur, 2001, p. 37). Contrast with Science: Radiomet...

  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...

From CNN.com I am simply stunned by the hatred and violence toward those who have been shot and injured in Orlando Florida today. Words like outrage and horror come to mind. The picture of pastor Kelvin Cobaris hugging two people is the kind of response I would hope to see from more clergy, regardless of their faith. As a nation, we need to see religious leaders and secular leaders binding people together to help those in need and guiding all to replace the rhetoric of hated with the language of love and respect. The focus must always be on the survivors struggling to stay alive and those with months of rehabilitation ahead. And the families will need much support. There is little meaning to be found in such a powerfully destructive act. Some have wondered about the motives of the mass murderer. Some even say motives do not matter. There will be inquiries of course. And I do hope some information helps homeland security make the USA a safer place.

GAY MARRIAGE WHY ARE MOST CHRISTIANS SO OPPOSED? Why? The why question is complex because Christians give different answers. I’ll not wax too philosophical here. But I think it important to keep in mind that Christians have different beliefs about a lot of things. Here’s a few common answers to the why question. Bible Answers 1. Genesis marriage answer . Most Christians refer to the creation narratives in the Hebrew Bible. Genesis describes God’s creation of the first couple—Adam and Eve—a male and a female. And Christians point out the blessing on sex to fill the earth—some think the purpose of sex is to have children. And they point out the importance of a male and female to reproduction. ( Example: Catholic teaching on marriage .) Christians also point out there are no scriptures affirming same-sex relationships or marriages. 2. S inful sex answer . Same-sex activity is explicitly banned in the Bible. Most don’t think about same-sex couples li...

Slavery, Women’s Rights, and Same-Sex Marriage:  Is There a Connection? Recent news stories continue to highlight struggles of African Americans, women, and LGBT persons.  One event garnered a lot of press as strong emotions were evoked and the recent troubles in Missouri were featured. The Blaze . Franklin Graham caused a stir over comments calling for obedience and listing “Blacks” in his list of ethnic groups. Sojourners posted an open letter of response . Universities have taken steps to deal with ongoing sexual assaults of women on their campuses. ABC news . The Presbyterians joined other mainline Christian groups supporting same-sex marriage. Huffington Post   Franklin Graham condemned the act. Gospel Herald . Bob Jones III apologizes for comments suggesting homosexuals should be stoned. CNN  This week marks the one-year anniversary of the World Vision decision to hire Christians in Same-Sex marriages and their quick reversal. Christianity T...

Sexual Orientation Sexual Identity Sexual Attraction Christians in the United States continue to write and speak about sexual orientation and same-sex relationships as if condoning or condemning same-sex relationships were the keys to Christian identity. The terms referring to human sexuality can interfere with communication when people use the terms inconsistently or imprecisely. In addition, new research changes our understanding of human sexuality such that older terms may carry meanings that are no longer substantiated by evidence. I take a look at some terms and cite a study to illustrate the complexity of sexuality. Given the confusion and misinformation, I hope to return to the topic. Sex  In the context of identity, sex refers to a person’s biological status as male, female, or intersex. Intersex is a biological state that includes an infrequent set of features linked to being male or female. The common indicators of biological sex include external gen...

Feeding Children in South Africa WORLD  VISION, MORALITY        & RIGHTEOUS MINDS World Vision made waves earlier in the week when they announced plans to hire same-sex married couples. Multiple news sources carried stories and blog posts were filled with comments from irate donors. To be sure, there were supportive comments as well. After a few days, World Vision announced a change of heart . They issued an apology to their upset supporters. And reversed their policy . The wide variety of remarks offers a trove of data to illustrate how people focus on different aspects of a situation when reaching a moral decision. In this post I will draw on the work of Jonathan Haidt and his colleagues to frame the six dimensions of morality. QUICK THINKING MORALITY First, several researchers have written about how the mind works when thinking about anything—including morality. One of the best summaries of thinking is the book by Daniel ...