As some of you may know, I work with a non-profit organization entitled Jesus the Liberator Seminary of Religious Justice. In our 25 years, we have created a template for free theological education, either in prison or through correspondence. In that effort, we have visited and corresponded with over 600 prison inmates, distributed over 1000 books, published many articles, and have helped inmates get published. We have also produced two books. We are now completing our third book entitled More to this Confession: Relational Prison Theology. This book will be available for free or donation. Below are a few excerpts:
“This book is an attempt to expand the concepts of Prison Theology by integrating concepts of Relational Theology.”
“The Biblical world view within captivity and the 21st century offers depth of feeling and contemplation not readily available within modern society. It is a mind out of time; prescient, intuitive and mythos-poetic. It inculcates a deep patience, humility, gratitude and desire (thirst for the word). These are aspects and virtues of a spiritual education that academics do not always consider.”
“We are creating a template for voices of the ‘mystics and prophets and criminals.’ We are creating an epistemology (theory of knowing) based on the fringe of society, those outside the law or those subjected to or under the law (which in the prison context is one and the same).”
“The person in prison attests to their divinity and becomes a witness to resilient spirituality within captivity, that is, prison theology.”
“Gabriel was coming into consciousness and identity in one of the poorest neighborhoods when Hip-Hop music and culture collided with the crack cocaine epidemic. Her roots give her sensitivity and solidarity with people suffering from a matrix which perpetuates the prison-industrial complex: racism, poverty and its effects of abuse and drug addiction. A great number of prison inmates in upstate New York come from five of the poorest zip code areas in New York City.”
“One of Matthew’s primary insights is that intentional relationships are expressions of relational theology. He sets his transcendent wisdom and respect of place within indigenous culture by evoking the Lakota Mitakuye; an expression of I & being & life interconnected... This inter-being, relational way of life also stands in stark contrast to his upbringing within a white, middle class, American Protestant consumer society - which he rejects. His story of breaking from that, his downfall, enlightened awareness and subsequent searching for and participating in alternative systems is his spiritual autobiography.”
If you would like a copy, please contact me at jesustheliberatorseminary@yahoo.com or call (716) 430-1950. You may also view prisontheology.org.