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Interdisciplinary Journal of Reviews

A list of books and reviews presenting an atheistic perspective on the influence of religious beliefs, practices, experiences, and texts on human behavior.

CHRISTIAN COUNSELING & PSYCHOTHERAPY

When Christians seek mental health treatment, many prefer to see a Christian counselor or psychotherapist. This list contains books related to this approach to treatment.

FORGIVENESS and RECONCILIATION

The focus of this collection is on forgiveness and the related concepts of reconciliation and restoration. The reviews include scientific and clinical works, books for general audiences, and true stories that illustrate one or more of the concepts.

PENTECOSTAL STUDIES

Pentecostal and Charismatic types of Christianity represent a major area of growth. This list of reviews includes books authored by researchers studying Pentecostal or Charismatic Christians using quantitative or qualitative methods or discussing theories.

PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY

This list includes reviews of books which are part of a growing body of literature devoted to a way of being Christian that takes the Bible seriously but not literally.

SEX PSYCHOLOGY and RELIGION

This list of books and reviews present religious views on sexuality and sex-related topics, including morality. Different books address topics like abortion, birth control, marriage, same-sex relationships, sexual abuse and rape. Most of these books are from evangelical and progressive Christian perspectives.

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Changing Our Mind by D. Gushee - Review

Changing Our Mind by David P. Gushee Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton Changing Our Mind by David P. Gushee is a transformative book that explores the author's evolving views on LGBTQ inclusion within Christianity. Gushee, a prominent Christian ethicist, shares his journey from holding traditional evangelical views to advocating for full acceptance of LGBTQ Christians in the church. He examines biblical texts and theological positions, encouraging readers to reconsider their beliefs in light of new understandings and the lived experiences of LGBTQ individuals. The book is a call for empathy, inclusivity, and a more loving faith community. ***** I read the Kindle version of the third edition of Changing Our Mind as part of my research into Christian worldviews focused on Christian moral perspectives toward people who identify as LGBTQ. I had previously addressed the topic from the perspective of moral psychology in A House Divided (2016) and in a few research studies co...

Elizabeth and Hazel Two Women of Little Rock

Trauma, Hate, and Barriers to Reconciliation Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock by David Margolick Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton Elizabeth Ann Eckford is 15 in the classic photo of her silently walking toward Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957. But she’s not alone. A loud white mob screams hate. With an unforgettable open mouth, Hazel Massey appears over Elizabeth’s right shoulder and comes to represent the hot white objection to desegregating the all-white High School. The story of Elizabeth and Hazel is painful to read. David Margolick makes the black and white images come alive as much as possible for those of us at a distance in time and place from the lived events. In addition to the stories recalled by each woman, we gain additional insights from school records and the way various reporters retold the stories over several decades. Margolick offers insight into human emotion and personality traits as well as the toll on m...

Denial of Death and the Meaningful Life- Book Review

The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker A Review by Geoffrey W. Sutton The prospect of death, Dr. Johnson said, wonderfully concentrates the mind. The main thesis of this book is that it does much more than that: the idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity—activity designed largely to avoid the fatality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that it is the final destiny for man. — Ernest Becker, xvii I completed a recent reading of this old classic yesterday (13 December, 2015) because I was interested in Becker’s contribution to Terror Management Theory, which I find so helpful in understanding the ways U.S. leaders are publicly responding to terrorist activities. Becker’s ideas are more than forty years old and many have not withstood the test of time. However, his basic premise that we deny the reality of death in many ways...

Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

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