Interdisciplinary Book Reviews

How Should We Think About Homosexuality?  By Mark A. Yarhouse Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton CITE THIS REVIEW:  Sutton, G. W. (2025, September 25). Framing Sexuality Through Lenses: A Review of Mark Yarhouse’s How Should We Think About Homosexuality? Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews. https://suttonreviews.suttong.com/2025/09/framing-sexuality-through-lenses-review.html ABSTRACT This review examines Mark A. Yarhouse’s How Should We Think About Homosexuality? (2022), a contribution to the Questions for Restless Minds series. Yarhouse presents a tripartite framework—the integrity, disability, and diversity lenses—through which Christians might engage questions of sexuality. Yarhouse succeeds in offering accessible categories and pastoral exhortations toward humility and compassion, yet there are also limitations. The framework risks reinforcing heteronormative assumptions, pathologizing lesbian and gay (LG) identities, and abstracting sexuality into theologic...

  The Missionary Kids   By Holly Berkley Fletcher Reviewed By   Geoffrey W. Sutton The Missionary Kids Abstract In The Missionary Kids: Unmasking the Myths of White Evangelicalism (2025), Holly Berkley Fletcher combines memoir, oral history, and historical analysis to examine the lived realities of missionary children (MKs). Drawing on her upbringing in Kenya and interviews with other MKs, Fletcher challenges romanticized portrayals of missionary life by exposing the cultural dislocation, spiritual neglect, and emotional burdens often carried by children in missionary families. The book is structured around four parts: the myth of parents as martyrs, the imposed nature of missionary “calling,” the spiritual neglect of MKs in boarding schools, and the collective testimony of resilience and loss. Fletcher’s dual perspective as both historian and former CIA analyst enriches her critique of evangelical institutions and their impact on children. This work contributes to schola...

  The Coming Wave AI Image Illustration for a review of the book by Suleyman The Coming Wave  CITE this review:  Sutton, G. W. (2025). The coming wave: AI, technology, and psychology. Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews. Download Review as PDF REVIEWER : Geoffrey W. Sutton Book Summary We are waist deep in the ocean and laughing as playful waves knock us over and give us a short ride toward the shore on a hot summer’s day. We know the warnings about undertows but scattered along the shore are our safe-keepers-- lifeguards armed with whistles and small boats. Suleyman warns us that the coming wave of artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology will not just devastate our shorelines but wreak havoc on our infrastructure and even our way of life unless we accept his challenge to construct a formidable bulwark to keep the powerful sources at bay. Mustafa Suleyman's argument in The Coming Wave is compellingly structured around four defining traits of the coming technol...

God Have Mercy:  A Look at Hays & Hay's  Perspective on LGBT Inclusion AMAZON CITE This post :  Sutton, G. W. (2025). God have mercy: a look at hays & hay’s perspective on LGBT inclusion Interdisciplinary Book Reviews. REVIEWER : Geoffrey W. Sutton Book Summary The Widening of God’s Mercy by Christopher B. Hays and Richard B. Hays (2024) is a deeply reflective and scholarly work that traces the biblical narrative of divine mercy as an ever-expanding force—one that consistently reaches beyond traditional boundaries to embrace those once excluded. Written by a father-son duo, the book is both a theological exploration and a personal journey, particularly for Richard Hays, who revisits and revises his earlier positions on sexuality and LGBT inclusion in light of a broader biblical vision. Central Thesis At its core, the book argues that the Bible presents a dynamic and evolving picture of God’s mercy—one that is not static or confined by rigid legalism, but responsiv...

Trouble with gender:  Sex facts, gender fictions   By Alex Byrne   Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton CITE REVIEW:  Sutton, G. W. (2025). Sex and gender identity: Byrne’s philosophical perspective Interdisciplinary Book Reviews. ***** Woman: the female human being (Collins Dictionary) an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been considered to have a different sex at birth... (Cambridge Dictionary) ***** The challenges surrounding sex and gender extend beyond conceptual debates to encompass the psychological toll experienced by individuals grappling with gender identity, particularly in the face of restrictive laws and policies that constrain personal freedoms and rights. Having completed reading Byrne’s Trouble with Gender last week, I found its arguments especially resonant in light of recent events. On Saturday, I attended a local Pridefest event that celebrated gender diversity and inclusion. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Tenn...

Jesus, the Bible and Homosexuality,  Revised and Expanded Edition   Explode the Myths, Heal the Church   By Jack Rogers Review Title Christians Excluding Gays:  A Look at Rogers’ Perspective on  Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality  Reviewed by      Geoffrey W. Sutton CITE REVIEW:  Sutton, G. W. (2025). Christians excluding gays: A look at rogers’ perspective on Jesus, the bible, and homosexuality.  Interdisciplinary Book Reviews . Book Summary Jack Rogers presents a historical overview of how American Presbyterians transitioned from excluding to including gay and lesbian Christians, contextualized by broader shifts in attitudes toward slavery and women's rights. He provides an extensive background on Presbyterian perspectives regarding slavery and gender equality, demonstrating how biblical texts were historically interpreted to justify oppression—a pattern he examines in Chapter 2, Misusing the Bible to Justify Oppression. In ...