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...

  I returned to work one day and discovered my office had been moved. Well, I really didn’t have an office anymore. I asked a friend, "what happened?" She mentioned something about the new boss. I did not have plans to find different employment so I put up with what turned out to be a loss of social status and privileges, which I had the year before. No one complained about my work. This was one example of a location in the United States when I was not privileged for being a white man.  White men can point to examples of discrimination. Perhaps that's what makes it hard to deal with generalizations about race and privilege. As I read the a  WP story  of a man who lost his teaching job allegedly because he taught his students that white privilege was a fact and that conservatives are acting to censor what teachers can say about race, I began to think about the lack of nuance in the story. For the most part, I have not experienced discrimination based on my ethnici...

Sex Differences Women and Men and the Words They Use Geoff W. Sutton It doesn’t take a psychologist to know that women and men use language differently. But how are they different and what do their words tell us about gender? Not long ago I attended a regional conference where social psychologist, James Pennebaker was a featured speaker. I have long been a fan of words so I looked forward to his talk. As slide after slide went by, I wanted more so, I bought the book. The title might sound uninspiring ( The Secret Life of Pronouns …) but Pennebaker is a good writer and he has lots to say backed by some pretty creative research. So who said these words as they introduced their commencement speeches? Can you tell if a woman or a man delivered these inspirational messages? I thank you for allowing me to be a part of the conclusion of this chapter of your lives and the commencement of your next chapter. To say that I’m honored doesn’t even begin to quantify the dept...

Divorce Remarriage  &  Tension Alyce Conlon is divorced from her husband. And she has filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit against Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF). According to the story reported by Sarah Pulliam Bailey of Religious News Service, the suit alleges the firing was because of her divorce. But two male colleagues kept their jobs as they went through divorce and remarriage. Pulliam documents the requirements of IVCF policy pertaining to Separation and Divorce. Two verses illustrate Old and New Testament statements about divorce, Malachi 2:16 and Matthew 19:9. FRED CLARK AND THE UGLY GAME Fred Clark weighed in on the news story with a post titled, The ugly little game of white evangelical divorce . Fred opines this case is about gender discrimination. Acknowledging that each case is different, Fred offers another opinion: “In the white evangelical church, there are good divorces and bad divorces.” The crucial issue becomes ...

THE SHOT HEARD  ROUND THE WORLD As I watched the retelling of the story of Malala Yousafzai on ABCs 20/20 , I felt bombarded by conflicting feelings of compassion, admiration, and anger. Fragments of thoughts quickly flowed along the lines of “How could anyone murder a little girl just because she wanted to go to school!” Cover Girl Malala is the current poster girl—a covered, cover girl— a living peace memorial representing the repression of girls and women everywhere.  We in the West are used to the in-your-face uncovered, bare-bodied, how-dare-you tread on me outrage of Western women. But Malala evokes a different response. She’s the child who deserves to be protected. She’s the modest teen who covers. She’s the forgiving one who seeks no revenge. Faith Malala is a girl with faith in God. Malala offers a message of love, peace, and forgiveness. “Even if there was a gun in my hand and he was standing in front of me, I would not shoot him. This ...

10 Reasons to Study the Psychology of Religion Most of the world’s 7-billion people are religious. And religious beliefs and rituals touch so many aspects of life. Regardless of a person’s religious or spiritual beliefs, here are 10 reasons I think all people should study the psychology of religion. 1. Birth . Most people are excited to welcome a baby into the world. Soon after the precious child arrives, the family gathers to celebrate the birth in a religious ceremony. The child may be christened, dedicated, or circumcised. Religious families make a commitment to care for the child and raise the child in their faith. 2. Death . People die and religious people gather to honor the dead in a religious ceremony. The living mourn their loved one but many look to the day when they will be reunited. People who were in pain are said to be better off in a realm beyond death where this is no pain. Friends and relatives of the deceased comfort the mourners with reminders t...