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It doesn’t matter who or the circumstance… Being a survivor I can say ~ it’s NOT a joke EVER. Compassion for all is grace embodied.

 Posted by: Lori // January 18th, 2010 at 9:41 pm>

Very true! Unfortunately, we have been trained by society to value some more than others – if you have money, power, authority, or position, you are somehow more valuable than someone without any of those things.

But Jesus never judged someone based on their exterior, their clothes, their money, power, or position (or lack thereof!), but on what was in their heart, and he treated all who came to him accordingly. Women were no less valuable to him than men were, despite the societal prejudices against women at that time. Unfortunately, Paul’s words about women teaching and speaking in the church have been taken as from God, despite Paul plainly saying “this is not the Lord, but I”, and this was not the way of the Master.

As Christians, we are all called to care for and have compassion for the lost, the lonely, the prisoners, and others whom society has cast away. Jesus didn’t come to reinforce the societal stereotypes (many of which we have today), but to turn them on their head – “the last shall be first, and the first last”.

 Posted by: Ed // January 18th, 2010 at 11:14 pm>

Telling, isn’t it?

I have to wonder, as a history teacher, how the people of faith in our generation will be remembered (I have a post about that coming up). Let’s not let it be for turning a blind eye to known injustice, no matter what the prejudices involved.

 Posted by: Sarah // January 19th, 2010 at 5:18 am>

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by rjmiller15: OUR SLIDING SCALE OF GRACE http://c54ne.th8.us…

 Posted by: uberVU – social comments // January 19th, 2010 at 5:42 am>

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 Posted by: Tweets that mention People of the Second Chance — Topsy.com // January 19th, 2010 at 6:09 am>

So is there room for a discussion of degrees of grace (or degrees of sin for that matter)? It seems to me that there are degrees of tragedy or hurt or sorrow. So why are there not degrees of injustice? It’s really hard for me to view all acts on the same plane and I’m not sure if that is another character flaw or simply how we order our lives and society.

 Posted by: Kenyon // January 19th, 2010 at 6:48 am>

In 110% agreement with Lori. It’s not a joke. Ever.

 Posted by: Jason // January 19th, 2010 at 8:35 am>

Thank you for sharing this. These are very powerful images.

 Posted by: @nicolewick // January 19th, 2010 at 8:36 am>

Wow, that is so convicting. You’re exactly right…God is a God of justice and hates injustice ANYWHERE no matter who is being wronged. Thanks for that reminder.

On a side note, as a graphic designer, those are the kinds of ads we all aspire to create – the kind that simply and effectively convey the message in a memorable way.

 Posted by: Brad Ruggles // January 19th, 2010 at 8:37 am>

@lori thanks for sharing that. powerful.

@ed so true

@sarah i hope history finds this generation to be one full of grace for those who didnt deserve it…but we shall see.

@kenyon i think thats totally open for discussion. im still processing all of it myself but i just know i need to be better at it.

 Posted by: Mike Foster // January 19th, 2010 at 8:39 am>

Ouch.

 Posted by: Benji Zimmerman // January 19th, 2010 at 8:57 am>

Sobering. Absolutely sobering. I clicked the link on twitter and was like, “oh man, what could this be?!” (sarcastically and approaching apathetic), then I saw the pic and was just hit in the face with it and I got called out by it.

I often wonder why we take people, and life for that matter, lightly.

Thanks for posting the image guys, very needed.

–brad

 Posted by: Brad Gross // January 19th, 2010 at 9:00 am>

Powerful imagery of something that is terribly too true. The statistics of rape victims in prison is sickening. But is often joked about in movies, etc. and made light of because of who the victim is or what they possibly have done.

This is a powerful reminder for all of us—that human life is human life. God loves all of us but no one deserves it. So, we need to love the unloveable as well.

 Posted by: Crystal Renaud // January 19th, 2010 at 9:04 am>

Mike,
I’ve had to wrestle with this since I’ve been at Prison Fellowship. I think we’re called to fight injustice everywhere, including the prisons. Rape and assuault are never part of a just sentence. These are men and women made in the image of God. He sees their potential and their pain. He doesn’t just want them to get “saved” or become productive citizens. He wants to see them become devoted followers of Jesus and leaders in the community and Church. I think we’re called to see them and treat them the same as Christ does. Prison Fellowship is doing much to reform our criminal justice system including ending prison rape. You can learn more if you’re interested at http://www.justicefellowship.org/key-issues/issues-in-criminal-justice-reform/issue-1.

 Posted by: Drew // January 19th, 2010 at 9:07 am>

Mike:

Feel free to punch me in the throat any day.

peace | dewde

 Posted by: dewde // January 19th, 2010 at 9:21 am>

@brad ruggles the ads are amazingly effective. so good.

@crystal youre right. the thing that is so disturbing to me is that the study deals with youth detainees. not good.

@drew love what PF is doing. thanks for the link.

@dewde

 Posted by: Mike Foster // January 19th, 2010 at 10:49 am>

“For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” –what sin is better/worse than another? Who are we to judge? For those who have committed a sin that the world warrants incarceration do they deserve injustice and be subject to such horrible torture?

 Posted by: Kelly // January 19th, 2010 at 11:49 am>

not even sure how to process this…like a punch in the gizzard…

 Posted by: @jim_gray // January 19th, 2010 at 12:32 pm>

There used to be a web site called spr.org, for “Stop Prisoner Rape” (it now redirects to justdetention.org). Lots of stories about prisoners having all kinds of sex acts forced upon them, and the guards either watching or actively cheering them on, with the idea that “if you do the crime and wind up here, you deserve what you get.” Don’t know if those stories are still up there.

I have to think that the hottest and darkest parts of hell are reserved for people such as those who possess not one whit of compassion for another human being, regardless of their circumstances.

 Posted by: Ed // January 19th, 2010 at 12:58 pm>

@kelly right on. that sums it up perfectly.

@ed the org that i linked in the post http://www.justdetention.org use to be Stop Prisoner Rape…they just changed their name. the stories are on the new site…very powerful and sobering…i encourage peeps to check them out…thnks ed…

 Posted by: Mike Foster // January 19th, 2010 at 2:17 pm>

Sorry the link above to Justice Fellowship’s page on Prison Rape doesn’t seem to be working. Try this one
http://www.justicefellowship.org/key-issues/issues-in-criminal-justice-reform/issue-1

 Posted by: Drew // January 20th, 2010 at 10:22 am>

Profound. Thank you.

 Posted by: Ken Eastburn // January 22nd, 2010 at 9:30 am>

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