Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

STRENGTHQUEST: DISCOVER AND DEVELOP   YOUR STRENGTHS IN ACADEMICS, CAREER, AND BEYOND By    Donald O. Clifton &    Edward Anderson Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton I read and reviewed (Sutton, 2007b) the 2004 edition of this book published by Gallup. There is a new version ( Second Edition ), which includes a third author, Laurie Schreiner. The authors present their strength-based philosophy, which fits nicely with the concurrent trend in positive psychology (Sutton, 2007a). Others have shown how the strengths approach is compatible with Christianity (e.g., see Sutton, 2007c). "A strength is the ability to provide consistent,  near-perfect performance in a given activity (p. 8)." The authors explain how talent, qua raw material, can be combined with knowledge and skill to produce a unique pattern of strengths. The book and the test have been revised. Overall, I think this approach to identifying personal strengt...

When God Talks Back:  Understanding the American Evangelical    Relationship with God By      T.M. Luhrmann Reviewed by       Geoffrey W. Sutton We are His portion and He is our prize, Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes. If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking; So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss, And my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don’t have time to maintain these regrets When I think about the way that He loves us: John Mark McMillan (2005) I quoted a portion of the McMillan song because it is one of those subgenres of Christian music dubbed "Jesus is my boyfriend." If you observe Pentecostal youth singing with eyes closed and arms raised and swaying you get a real sense of a love relationship between a young woman and a personified God. The idea of a relationship with God is not new, but the focus on a present intensely personal speaking relationshi...

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 edi...

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...

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 resea...

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...

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 ...