Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

                  Einstein and the God Problem Barriers to the Integration of Christianity and Science —Including Psychological Science Every so often, the famous German scientist, Albert Einstein makes news. He’s been quoted and misquoted on a variety of subjects outside his area of expertise. It is not surprising to read what Einstein said about God or religion if a quote suggests that such a brilliant scientist believed in God. Earlier this year, one of Einstein’s letters valued at $125,000 was for sale. The RNS story title is eye-catching ( Karmarkar, 2023 ): “Rare Einstein letter rebutting biblical creation story for sale.” Perhaps it shouldn’t matter what Einstein thought about creation. Afterall, Einstein was a theoretical physicist—not a religious scholar. Nevertheless, the biblical creation story has been around for well over two thousand years and many continue to argue for a literal interpretation of the Genesis text rather t...

Viewing a Sacred Book 2023 by Geoffrey W. Sutton & Bing AI   Are Conservative and Progressive Christians Trading Insults? I'm in the process of writing about the assessment of spirituality, which I hope to complete by the end of the year. I've come across articles and research measures attempting to clarify the related concepts of fundamentalism and biblical literalism. And so, I have a question about the meaning of these terms and wonder if there is a way to delineate different approaches that recognizes differences but does not appear to denigrate the perspective of people with different views. Here's a summary of what I've found. Researchers have examined differences within religious traditions in the way subgroups of people communicate about their beliefs and live out their faith. Writing in Christianity Today (2023) Tim Pietz begins his essay on fundamentalism by noting the negative connotation of two of the terms (bold added for emphasis): “ Fundamentalist ” ...

  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...