Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

The Social Psychology of Morality: Exploring the causes   of Good and Evil Edited by     Mario Mikulincer &     Phillip R. Shaver Reviewed by       Kayla Jordan  &  Geoffrey W Sutton Psychological scientists have built on the ideas put forth by philosophers for centuries. Surveys, laboratory studies, and theory building have significantly expanded our understanding of how people determine what is moral. This handbook includes the work of 40 authors and is published by the American Psychological Association. Our article was published as a featured review in the Journal of Psychology and Theology (Jordan & Sutton, 2012). I (Sutton) draw on that article in this summary. My purpose is to provide readers with an overview of the contents of this sizable volume. I will also comment on my follow-up work to fill a need identified by Roy Baumeister and Jesse Graham in the conclusion chapter. The editors open the discussion with a quote by Oscar Wilde.   “Mora

Silence: A Christian History       By Diarmaid MacCulloch   Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton I come from a noisy church tradition—a place where young Christians like their music loud and pulsating. The notion of silence in Christianity struck me as odd when I saw it on the new books’ shelf of my local library. But as I flipped through the Table of Contents and checked a few pages, many thoughts came to mind. Perhaps like historians, psychologists and counsellors can learn much from silence. Silence helps interpret noise.   Diarmaid MacCulloch work is scholarly, intriguing, insightful, and masterfully written. MacCulloch is Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University and an award-winning author. He has also produced a multi-episode video series on the history of Christianity (this is also worth viewing) as well as a New York Times Best Seller on the same subject. MacCulloch organized Silence into historical eras creating nine chapters

The Rise and Fall of the Bible:  the Unexpected History     of an Accidental Book By       Timothy Beal   Reviewed By  Geoffrey W. Sutton According to Guinness World Records , The Bible is the best selling book- billions have been sold. But that doesn't mean people read the Bible or understand the various texts.  Timothy Beal attempts to educate his readers about the Bible--what it is and how the collection of documents came into existence as one book. Timothy Beal, is a Professor of Religion at Case Western Reserve University, offers an informative review of the Bible as a cultural icon. The Bible has image recognition and star quality. It remains a best seller, but Bible reading is minimal even among those described as Bible-believing . As an icon, it is part of American civil life and multiple versions reside on American tables and bookshelves. In eight chapters, Beal reviews highlights of recent research and scholarship, which are pertinent to the origins of t

Evidence-Based Practices  for Christian Counseling  and Psychotherapy Edited by      Everett L. Worthington Jr.,          Eric L. Johnson,       Joshua N. Hook &      Jamie D. Aten Reviewed by       Geoffrey W. Sutton The editors are Christians with a strong research record. They have assembled a collection of chapters by clinicians and psychological scientists to offer a state of the practice review of the scientific evidence for Christian counseling or psychotherapy. This book will be useful in Christian counseling programs and will help referral sources understand important differences among the various services available. The two-fold goal aims to inform clinicians about Christian practice and the nature of the supporting evidence. After establishing the notion of what constitutes scientific evidence in the Introduction (Chapter 1), the editors present 13 chapters focused on interventions, which are organized into three parts. The fourth part offers t

NO ENEMY TO CONQUER:       FORGIVENESS IN AN  UNFORGIVING WORLD  By       Michael Henderson Reviewed by      Geoffrey W. Sutton The foreword by The Dalai Lama exemplifies Henderson’s approach to the topic of forgiveness. The work is not an academic treatise but a collection of narratives, amassed as  “dramatic evidence validating the power of forgiveness and personal reconciliation to affect national life.”  A Nigerian Pentecostal pastor and an Imam transition from enemy combatants to allies via forgiveness. Hotspot stories from Northern Ireland and South Africa illustrate the power of reconciliation. Indians and Rwandans graduate from victimization to empowerment. British and Japanese warriors take responsibility to engender new relations.  Following an illustration of a safe place, the Swiss project at Caux, the importance of listening and apologizing concludes this trove of collective wisdom. The lessons learned by those who forged opinions in

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION:  AN EMPIRICAL APPROACH (4th ed.)      By Ralph W. Hood,  Peter C. Hill, & Bernard Spilka. Reviewed by  Geoffrey W. Sutton This is the book I wish I had when taking my first course in the Psychology of Religion in the early 1970s.  I can certainly recommend this book to professors and to anyone who wants to learn more about the scientific study of religion. Perhaps my only advice would be to check out the latest edition. I read and taught from the fourth edition of this classic psychology of religion text, which provides an important survey of the state of empirical research in the psychology of religion and spirituality. When I wrote this review, I had just finished teaching a course titled the Psychology of Religion and was pleased I had chosen this text because of the comprehensive and balanced overview the authors offer.  All of the authors are psychological scientists. New to this edition is Peter Hill, Professor of Psycho

LOVE WINS: A BOOK ABOUT HEAVEN,       HELL, and the FUTURE of  EVERY PERSON WHO EVER LIVED    By       Rob Bell   Reviewed by       Geoffrey W. Sutton I have observed that a lot of the adult children of parents in my age group have left conservative churches or left the Christian faith altogether. Some tell me their children identify as spiritual. I get that. My wife and I left conservative churches years ago. Rob Bell is in touch with the bright young people of the 21st century. I understand that conservatives will not agree with his message. And scholars will find his writings too simplistic. Nevertheless, I think Bell is meeting a spiritual need. Following is my summary of his book, Love Wins (Bell, 2011).      Bell is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids Michigan and a graduate of the conservative evangelical Wheaton College and Fuller Theological Seminary. Love Wins is an easy read. Bell is a gifted communicator. Following is a quot

LIVING WELL AND  DYING FAITHFULLY:  CHRISTIAN PRACTICES FOR     END-OF-LIFE CARE   Edited By      John Swinton       & Richard Payne    Reviewed by       Geoffrey W. Sutton “Dying is a spiritual event with medical implications,” opined Gwen London, the former director of the Institute on Care at the End of Life at Duke University (xv).  I am reminded of a story about a Christian health care professional who was glad to be assigned to a pediatric ward from a geriatric ward where elderly patients were dying without having faith in Christ. She believed that God would save children from eternal damnation were they to die. Clearly, religious faith is a significant part of the identity of many people on earth. Most, if not all, religions imbue life and death with meaning. The brute fact of death has been widely studied in psychological science--especially in the context of T error Management Theory where terror refers to the awareness of one's own death.