Helen Prejean

A Different Kind of Cell

History & Biography

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Deconstructing Racism

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“If ever there was a timely book that illumines racism, the role of religion legitimizing it, and how to undo its dehumanizing power, this is the book. Its pages brim with insights: “Europeans saw themselves as the only group that had achieved real ‘humanness, which led our European Founders to design our nation pretty much only for the (truly) human ones,’ which logically excluded women and African slaves, and to a large extent poor, propertyless citizens. (To this very day we do not have a Supreme Court that in its interpretation of the Constitution, recognizes and boldly confronts racism in our criminal justice system.) “The attitude of White European superiority / Black inferiority entrenched itself deeply into American Christian identity (‘We are a White Christian nation’) which led Christian pastors and their congregants to view slavery and then segregation as ‘natural’ and ‘God’s will.’ Although there was, from the beginning, Black resistance to oppression, it was not until Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement that significant societal reform began to happen. And need I say, the struggle goes on. “There’s a whole lot to explore in this amazing book. It may well change your life. I hope it sets you on fire to pitch your energies into the struggle.”

Grace from the Rubble

History & Biography

“A moving portrait of two gardeners of mercy, men who brought gentle and radical love to yield from the most barren soil. Jeanne Bishop skillfully weaves her own heroic triumph over vengeance with Bud and Bill’s in iridescent prose that glows like a late-summer sunset across red Oklahoma prairie. Grace from the Rubble delivers a searing and much needed reminder that we can move past cycles of hatred if only we find the courage to choose, in spite of everything, to witness the living God in our least likely neighbors.”

Jesus

“Want a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a reliable guide? Open these pages and travel with Fr. Jim Martin. He’s at his best here, opening the Gospel mysteries, but with a light touch. Serious scholar, yes—but mostly a pilgrim believer trying to make his way, just like us.”

Making Justice Our Business

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“Stephen Boyd offers a moving account of the eighteen-year-long nightmare of Darryl Hunt. A Thrown-Away-One, threatened with state execution, Hunt refused to lie to save himself and insisted that justice be done. In the faithful work of extraordinarily ordinary Muslims, Jews, and Christians, we see the force of divine love that wouldn't quit, and we catch a clear vision of what it takes from all of us to create a humane society where it is easier for us to truly love all our brothers and sisters.”

Radical Discipleship

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“Prisoners need prophetic advocates who will be their voice to teach us about the reality of their lives. Jennifer McBride’s powerful account of her work with women in prison raises their insights as she challenges us to rethink what the gospel is all about. This book is full of wisdom, pathos, and hope as it invites us to be transformed into disciples who enter into community with people we readily condemn.”

Seven Last Words

Christian Living

“This insight alone makes this book worth reading: Jesus endured suffering, so he understands ours. There is nothing more isolating than suffering, everyone’s suffering is largely incommunicable. Thus, in seeking to shoulder the sufferings of others we must pray to be able to hear the muffled cry.”

The Sound of Listening

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“It's a real soul art to be engaged in fever pitch in social action and to be a contemplative, too. In these pages, John Dear, the activist, brings us to the still, dark places where he wrestles demons and waits to be touched by God. We wait with him and are touched, too, by the silence and a quickened desire to live simpler, more generous, more engaged lives.”