Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

  Before Punishment When I was born, women could vote in some countries but they definitely were in second place when it came to having the same rights as men. After significant progress in many nations, she remains a solid number two when it comes to sacred places. When I was writing  Eve, a Serpent, and a Woman's Place , I was struck by the power of men's narratives and interpretations of the Bible to remain in control of women's lives. Following is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the book illustrating where inequality began for women in nations where Christian denominations and groups had strong influence over laws and customs. ***** Five days have gone by. God has been busy creating the heavens and planet earth then filling the fertile empty spaces with heavenly bodies, plants, and animals. Then, on the sixth day, God speaks to his heavenly council and says (Genesis 1, verse 26): “Let us make man in Our image…” The rest is history—a story pregnant with a plethora of meani...

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...

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...

  To leave a Christian group can involve a painful loss. In addition to the pain of condemnation, there is the potential loss of family and friends. For some, it can mean an economic loss. Some may experience grief or grief mixed with relief. A religious way of life is an investment—a call to commitment (Mt 10:37–38).   The social psychology principle of sunk costs helps explain why some, but not all, Christians continue to support traditional views about biblical texts and doctrines such as those dealing with creation, morality, or sexuality. In contrast, some Christians seem able to throw off old ways of thinking or behaving with relative ease.  The notion of sunk costs refers to the way some investors fail to cut their losses from a bad investment. Instead, they pour more money into it hoping for a recovery. It appears to be a part of human nature to conserve what one has rather than take a loss and look for better options.   The application of sunk costs 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 ” ...

  Religious Music 2023 by Geoffrey Sutton and Bing Does religious music influence wellbeing? Music, Religious Identity, and Wellbeing   Renate Ysseldyk and others examined responses of Christians and Atheists to religious music. Previous studies found a positive link between listening to music and both memory and wellbeing. But the authors wondered if religious identity would make a difference. Psychologists find that our identities are bound up with our sense of our social groups. If the groups we identify with are threatened, then many of us experience negative effects such as a negative mood and even impaired memory needed for learning. The study There were 188 women and 72 men between the ages of 16 and 56 in this study. Their religious identity was used to form two religious groups: Christian and Atheist. The researchers presented them with one of four types of music, which created four music groups: Christian hymn Buddhist chant Classical No music con...

Photo credit Dennis Jarvis  2016 Many of us have noticed the biblical connection between music and symptom relief in the story of David and King Saul of ancient Israel. More than some 2,000 years ago, David, the man credited with writing many psalms played a lyre for his king (See 1 Samuel 16). Apparently, the people had observed the connection between music and relief because they offered to find a musician for Saul. David was called into service based on his reputation. When he played the lyre or harp, Saul experienced relief from his torment attributed to an evil spirit from God. Although some Christians view Saul's distress as caused by a literal supernatural being, others view the story as an ancient way of understanding mental illness. Obviously, it's speculative to make a diagnosis on limited descriptions from thousands of years ago.  It's tempting to view Saul's distress as a cyclical mood disorder. Regardless of Saul's biopsychological condition, the value ...

  A Circle of Well-Being Gratitude and Joy One of the beautiful holiday connections in the United States is the Thanksgiving to Christmas festivities. Just after Thanksgiving, I noticed that a former student posted a photo of an ultrasound. She and her husband had smiles as they hugged. She posted her Spring due date. Great Expectations! We know a lot about gratitude. Saying thanks, writing gratitude letters, and keeping a gratitude journal are annual reminders of things we can do to promote our wellbeing and make the world a nicer place. That’s Thanksgiving. But psychologists have also begun the study of joy, which until recently has been hidden amongst a sea of happiness research. Enter Philip Watkins and his colleagues who find evidence that sets joy apart from other good feelings. Psychologists link the emotion of joy to good news. It’s not just any good news but something we long for—something we look forward to, hope for, and expect. Moreover, joy is not like getting ...