Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Reproduction IVF 2025 Who Has the Right to Control Reproduction? A New Order Stimulates Ethical Discussions The expensive IVF (in vitro fertilization) procedure made news as the president issued an order that could increase the availability and lower the cost. Some have expressed concern over the declining birthrates in the US. As lawmakers and courts make decisions about human reproduction, the question remains: Who controls women’s bodies? https://amzn.to/3XG5Kmr https://www.axios.com/2025/02/19/trump-ivf-order-birth-rate-costs ***** Not all of the politicians are on board with IVF.  Why would anyone oppose the procedure that gives hope to so many? It is well-known that substantial numbers of evangelical Christians supported the president in his campaign during the last election (Pew 2024) and vote for  Republican party politicians but, in some Conservative Christian worldviews, human life begins when a human egg is fertilized. Currently, the IVF procedure creates more ferti...

  9/11 and Religious Fundamentalism Thoughts on the Legacy of 9/11   As is our custom in the United States, national tragedies become the focus of a wide ranging study. Such was the case with the attacks 20 years ago on 11 September 2001 known now as 9/11.   In this post I look at the powerful role of religion in framing the transnational narrative for select Muslims in their war to rid their world of American culture. In the United States, where there is a shifting and porous wall between Christianity and governance, we see a visible rise in the influence of fundamentalist Christian values controlling the narrative of judges and lawmakers. Under threat, people become conservative and many turn to their faith. This phenomenon is well-documented in studies of Terror Management Theory . The attacks of 9/11 and subsequent war on terror triggered an intensity in faith for many who were not already highly devoted. As long as people have been spiritual or religious, a...

                           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...