Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The story of the man born blind in John 9 is an evocative, metaphor-laden portrayal of a poor individual caught in a contentious religious crossfire about sinners and the identity politics of righteous minds. I’m writing this post as a way of putting some thoughts into words before leading a discussion on Sunday, 13 January. This story isn’t just for Christians. The characters in the story are mostly Jews. The sociohistorical context is the old city of Jerusalem ruled by the Romans. Muslims recognize Jesus as a prophet from the Quran. But atheists and agnostics may consider the group dynamics that are part of human nature for millennia as well as the ancient author’s manner of dealing with variations of the age-old question, “Who am I?” In addition, we glimpse problems common to all humanity of thinking logically about morality and evil, group identity, and groups in conflict. ***** At the beginning of...

Social Psychology and Theology in Mark 3 I am writing this blog as a reflection on concepts drawn from two major fields of psychology that strike me in my study of Mark 3. In this post I look at social psychology concepts related to group leadership and formation. In the next post I will look at lessons from the perspective of Clinical Psychology. Group Identity Mark opens his gospel with a statement about the identity of Jesus as the anointed one and Son of God (1:1). Who is Jesus? That’s a question offered as guidance on one theme to guide people studying Mark’s gospel (e.g., Martindale ). My focus on group identity comes from a consideration that Mark is writing to people after Jesus has left his earthy ministry. In short, Jesus as leader is no longer visible to his followers. I suggest at least one of Mark’s aims is to identify who Christians are, but perhaps more importantly, who they are not. In this chapter he also identifi...

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister as were his father and grandfather. He was born 15 January, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. According to biography.com , Martin Luther King Jr. was influenced by theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr. Following the arrest of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. met with other leaders to plan a bus boycott. In 1959, Martin Luther King Jr. visited Gandhi’s birthplace in India.  The experience influenced his focus on nonviolent activism. AMERICAN CHURCHES STILL LACK DIVERSITY American religion is as clear as black and white. For centuries, religious groups were divided by color. As recently as 1998, nearly 50% of U.S. congregations were primarily made up of one racial group. In 2013, LifeWay Research conducted a phone survey of Protestant Pastors between September 4-19. Most (86 percent) say their congregation is predominately one racial or ethnic group. American Religion and Prejudice Against African Americans Deborah Hal...