The graduates patted each other’s backs, and nervously chatted with their families. Some sat quietly, meditating about their future while others wept.
It could have been a scene from any of the thousands of commencement ceremonies this year. But these graduates were convicted killers, rapists and drug dealers at Mississippi’s only maximum security prison.
“Thank you for giving us the crimes that we committed,” Thomas C. Smith prayed. “That we might be agents of change right here in this prison.”
Right. God gives criminals their crimes to commit. What “theological” school was that, again?
I see a fair amount of jailhouse religion in my line of work. Most of it is sincere, but fades in the free world, when the temptations of drugs, sex, drugs, easy money, drugs, and drugs come back into play. I would worry that formal theological education (like the plethora of bible study programs available to a bored incarcerated population) could feed a religiosity that actually enables folks to avoid, rather than face, the realities of sin and brokenness.
kb9gzg,
While God did not give them the crimes, God is the author of all that is. This includes the fallen creation. While God did not cause the fall, without God’s good creation, the fallen creation would not be possible.
I’ve known several men in prison who hate prison, but are glad that they were sent there because prison is where they found Jesus. The crimes that they committed cause them to come to prison and they met Jesus, repented, and were redeemed. So, what was evil (the crimes) was turned to good (their redemption).
WM (#2) – One of the problems with prison conversion is that it can be very easy to live a Christian life in prison – particularly if you can get hooked into a “God Pod” or can go to Chapel every day. Many of these men are very sincere in their faith and walk. But when they get out of prison, they are often shunned by congregations and have no support system for their faith. They begin to slip and end up back in their old habits – particularly if they parole or release to the same place from which they fell (committed their crimes). Many churches have successful and fruitful prison ministries. We need more to work on aftercare – by providing support/accountability groups for the men and women who leave the prison system so that they won’t return.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder