One-sentence summary: Claiborne details some very compelling arguments for Christians specifically to be against the death penalty.
B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8
Our favorite thing about it: Real life stories - the PEOPLE.
Our least favorite thing about it: If forced to pick, we felt it could have been shorter and still packed the same punch.
Main Topics of Discussion: Justice System, Penal Substitution, American History, Restorative Justice
Our favorite quote: “When we receive the gift of grace, it should transform us into grace-filled people who want to see other people given a chance, and other people loved back to life again.”
Notes: We loved the stories of real people in this book. Claiborne explains that this is a people issue and that getting to know actual people puts a face and name to an “issue.” We totally agree.
We felt the book was really well-written and laid out in a logical way, which was great. Claiborne makes a very compelling argument for Christians. Others who are not Christians may find the argument compelling too, but maybe not. Certainly the biblical texts that he invokes are well-selected for his argument and made a lot of sense to us.
This book is very educational too. Not only in the biblical sense, but also in the way it opens the reader’s eyes to the justice system and how it works. There were lots of things we didn’t know before we read this book. One of those things was the history of lynchings. We learned a lot about that.
The book, although a dark subject, is surprisingly hopeful. Though we still have the death penalty in the US, Claiborne explains that it is at its lowest and possibly on the way out. This is encouraging, but there is still work to do. Especially in our home state of Texas.
The last section – about restorative justice – was captivating to us. We loved it and the whole concept. While it seemed a little idealistic to us (and where do you start?!), we wholeheartedly agreed with the idealism. And also – we saw the merit in working toward it no matter how out of reach it seems. Exploring new avenues of justice that are restorative rather than punitive, was a great discussion.
Memorable Meeting Moments: We had our meeting mostly outside in Lindsay’s new outdoor space. The new string lights gave great ambiance to our discussion. It was such a beautiful night.
What We Ate: Crockpot Chicken with Potatoes, Homemade Hummus with Veggies and Pita Bread, Garbanzo Salad with Feta, Lemon and Basil. Brownies and Ice Cream for Dessert.
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