Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

  Discipline with Respect in Caring Relationships By     Geoffrey W. Sutton Reviewed by    Various Discipline with Respect in Caring Relationships is an evidence-based approach to helping parents help children develop self-discipline. The program and the book has been well-received in public and private schools, churches, foster parent meetings, and other venues. ********** “With so many barriers to respectful communication, now more than ever parents need practical strategies to help their children develop into respectful adults. Dr. Sutton’s work connects timeless principles to modern wisdom in a way that challenges family habits and encourages relationship-grounded discipline.” —Jennifer Poindexter, M.S., LPC - South Carolina   “ Discipline with Respect meets many of today’s child-rearing needs. In it, Dr. Sutton conveys for parents and for other concerned adults his tested, effective methods for helping children to develop a sense of personal respon...

  THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO: WHY DEFENDING SCRIPTURE HAS MADE US UNABLE TO READ IT      By    Peter Enns (2014) Reviewed by     Geoffrey W. Sutton Bloody violence, talking animals, mysterious beings, rules for slave holders, and managing your bodily fluids challenge anyone who makes a New Year’s resolution to read the Bible. I could have used a book like The Bible Tells Me So when I was a teenager attempting to make sense of this holy book I was dutifully bound to read. And in those days, the Bible sounded even more removed from my reality in the language of Shakespeare. Even with modern translations, some old stories still sound quite strange and leave an intelligent inquirer wondering about what kind of God kicks people out of their home for eating a bit of fruit, changes his mind about creating people because they’ve turned out so bad, or orders his people to kill an entire tribe of other people so his tribe can have their land? ...

  The Passion of the Christ       Director   Mel Gibson Writers   Benedict Fitzgerald   & Mel Gibson Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton WARNING-- The Film is violent and not suitable for all audiences. The Passion of Christ is a graphic film that follows a composite story line of Jesus’ final hours that includes some extrabiblical traditions and artistic license. The opening of the film is set in Gethsemane where Jesus is praying, and his disciples are asleep. Throughout the film, the characters speak Latin or Aramaic. The film background explains that the Aramaic is a Syrian version. Judas has taken 30 pieces of silver from the Temple leaders in Jerusalem. Judas identifies Jesus with the infamous betrayal kiss. Jesus is arrested. Peter attempts a defence by cutting off a guard’s ear, but Jesus insists on putting down the sword and heals the man’s ear. John runs off to tell Jesus’ mother Mary and Mary Magdalene about the arre...

  JESUS AND JOHN WAYNE How White Evangelicals        Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation By    Kristin Kobes Du Mez Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton   Kristin Kobes Du Mez begins and ends her assault on militaristic white American evangelical men with their contemporary sociopolitical leader, former president, Donald Trump. In the Introduction we learn the short doctrinal list of what it means to be a Bible-believing evangelical, but the author posits that American evangelicals are more than a set of theological statements. Instead, since the early 1900s they have embraced a John Wayne view of what it means to be a Christian man—a powerful warrior for country and God—a man who leads his troops into battle to uphold the values of God’s chosen people, the Americans. It was the title, Jesus and John Wayne , that was off-putting. I didn’t grow up with John Wayne films or a love of American westerns. I was after...

The New Religious Intolerance      Overcoming the Politics of Fear in an Anxious Age By Martha C. Nussbaum Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton Philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum provides real world examples to illustrate the role of fear in sociopolitical actions. She identifies fear as “more narcissistic than other emotions.” People who are different from us can evoke anxiety, which can become exaggerated into a call for action to reduce or eliminate the influence of the other group. In the examples, Nussbaum shows how people fail to consistently apply principles of respect for the religious values of people who are members of a minority religion in a pluralistic society. One example is the resistance toward a Muslim plan to build a cultural center in lower Manhattan. Another example is the concern of some Europeans with the facial coverings of Muslim women. What I find particularly refreshing is her ability to clarify the role of human emotions in moral philosophy. S...