Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

A Christmas Story Image Geoffrey W. Sutton with AI What's the Christmas Story about? Jesús Born Reports Lucas César Augusto, who loved making announcements almost as much as he loved peppermint bark, declared that everyone must sign up for healthcare by December 24. The website immediately collapsed in a dramatic swoon, and people across the land rushed around trying to find Wi‑Fi strong enough to revive it. José and María, expecting a baby any minute, didn’t have internet at home. So they bundled up, grabbed a blanket that smelled faintly of cinnamon, and trudged into town to borrow cousin David’s connection. David wasn’t there — his router blinked sadly, as if it too had given up — so they wandered to the Holly Day Inn. Clark, the night clerk, looked like he’d been working since last Christmas. “Sorry, folks, we’re full,” he said, gesturing toward a lobby overflowing with travelers, carolers, and one man who insisted he was a reindeer. José spotted a small office with a crooked...

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 ...

Solemn Sodom Words of Rape and Sexual Abuse and the Psychology of Disgust Lessons from Sodom “I am gay.” An anonymous professor expressed the difficulty he experienced as a gay man working at an American Christian University in an Inside Higher Education essay . I and several friends received a link to the essay in an email. One friend asked the sender to cease using the word sodomite to refer to gay men because it is offensive. The sender asked: “If this term is hateful or bigoted then I can assume that when it is used in God's word, it is considered as hateful or bigoted?” Cite this post Sutton, G. W. (2013/2025). Solemn Sodom words of rape and sexual abuse and the psychology of disgust.  https://geoffwsutton.blogspot.com/2013/10/solemn-sodom-words.html Who is a Sodomite? Just wondering… I turned to an American dictionary to check on current usage. Sure enough, sodomite is still a word used in the traditional way: “a person who has anal sex with another per...

Christian Cup Results: Are you keeping score?  When it come to an all-inclusive spirituality, many faith traditions continue to grant special status to men of select ethnic backgrounds associated with the tradition. In Christianity, Jesus was oft depicted as a European man. But changes are on the way. It is not surprising that the leader of the Roman Catholics created a lot of buzz with his seemingly gay-friendly statement reported worldwide on 29 July, 2013. After all, he is the leader of the largest group of   Christians in the world and the position of the Catholic Church on matters of same-sex marriage is well known. "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" What makes the comment so noteworthy is that Pope Francis did not just speak about Catholics who are homosexuals. He referred to priests. Also see Ross Douthat at the NY Times for another thoughtful essay. But, what about women? "the Church has s...