Editorial

Individuals throughout the ages have dealt with the threat or reality of incarceration. In some cases, entire communities have suffered unjust imprisonment because of their skin color or ancestry, and others have faced incarceration because of courageous political stances. In the United States, observers in recent years have noted the disproportionate number of African American inmates incarcerated for similar or lesser offenses than their white counterparts.

Many persons commit heinous acts for which they receive lengthy prison sentences, and those who seek redemption and forgiveness have to address the implications of their actions. Faith traditions can be very helpful in this process of reconciliation, particularly when effective ministerial support is present. The current issue of Interpretation examines all of these aspects of incarceration as the final issue in our series on race/racism.

Three of the essays in this issue look at incarceration through the lens of the New Testament. Bob Ekblad has spent more than twenty years as a volunteer prison chaplain. In his essay, he describes his experiences doing Bible study with inmates, with whom he explores texts such as Acts 16 (the story of Paul and Silas escaping from prison) and other passages that deal with incarceration. These studies often inspire inmates “to reconsider their plight from a fresh perspective,” as they gradually are transformed from despair to taking comfort in Jesus’s ministry of compassion. Matthew Skinner looks at the frequent references to imprisonment in the biblical texts as he examines the types of incarceration and various ways prisoners are treated and the disgrace and loneliness that often characterize these descriptions. He provides a thorough overview of passages that encourage listeners to show care and kindness to prisoners in accordance with the requirements of justice and compassion in Jewish and Christian tradition. Douglas A. Campbell examines the letters of Paul, particularly Romans, in order to challenge the politics of mass incarceration in the United States, which is based on a retributive justice model. Campbell invites readers to reconsider Paul’s description of restorative justice in Romans 5. He suggests that Paul’s restorative model of forgiveness and reconciliation in this passage can be a corrective to our more punitive system of incarceration.

Ford Rowan takes up the topic of forgiveness in his provocative and timely essay. As a longtime volunteer for the Kairos Prison Ministry program, he traces the process of how inmates learn forgiveness through engagement with Scripture and acknowledgment of wrongdoing. Rowan’s decades of experience in public life and familiarity with psychology make this a useful essay for anyone engaged in pastoral care situations seeking to cultivate an ethic of forgiveness. He shows the limitations of self-help psychology in complex situations.

Finally, Anne B. Blankenship examines the tragic incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Blankenship is one of the foremost experts on life in the internment camps, including the practice of religious beliefs, and her discussion provides a helpful historical overview. She also discusses the ecumenical spirit that marked some of the Protestant outreach in the camps, while arguing in convincing fashion that we can learn from these failed efforts by expanding our definition of “unity” and allowing for diversity of expression and leadership.