Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

I’ve been thinking about hope this year. I wrote about hope in Living Well . And I‘ve studied hope based on Charles R. Snyder’s hope theory . I’m writing about hope because I am organizing some thoughts about hope as found in the four themes of advent: hope, peace, love, and joy. Although typically depicted by four candles around a Christ candle in a wreath, I think a diagram makes more sense, though clearly less picturesque. The Christmas story links hope to Mary's child, Jesus. When Jesus arrives, he comes with a message of love, which is linked to joy and peace.  Then, the paradox of hope occurs. When the hoped for person arrives, hope ends.  This is the paradox of hope. Hope disappears when it is fulfilled,  but love, joy, and peace are enduring qualities. Hope is powerful when Snyder’s identified twin components are present: (1) a goal, which is a focused desire that energizes our quest and (2) a pathway to reach that ...

Inciting Christian Violence "I always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walk in and kill…" Jerry Falwell Jr. (4 December 2015, CNN ). To loud applause, Falwell encouraged his students to arm themselves. The remarks were related to the latest mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. It didn’t take long before other Christians proclaimed their outrage. Well known progressive Christian leader Brian D. McLaren published an open letter (December 7, 2015, Huffingtonpost ). He advanced the progressive view that “authentic Christianity is the loving, peaceful, just and generous way of life embodied in Jesus. It is characterized more by self-giving than self-defense, by pre-emptive peacemaking rather than pre-emptive violence.” Also opposed to Falwell’s remarks was Shane Claiborne writing for RNS (05 December 2015). Claiborne cited the usual texts emphasizing Jesus...

VIOLENCE ON EARTH   or   PEACE ON EARTH Imagine greeting people with a blessing of “Violence” as in, “Violence to you and your family.” Of course violence has been a part of life for millennia. And we often hear that peace is fragile in some part of the world. But we hope for peace. And some of us work for peace. In the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, peace follows justice. That makes sense. We hear news stories of violent protests following a legal decision that seems unjust. Peace follows justice. Injustice disrupts peace. Future peace is predicated on evidence that the offended people will be treated justly. The image of peace created by the Hebrew prophet Isaiah strikes us as strange. What kind of world would it be if a wolf and a lamb could eat together without the latter being the meal? A wise lamb would flee from the presence of a wolf. In the Bible, many texts admonish people to live righteously and justly. True, biblical notions of justice involve ...