Abstract
This essay introduces the concept of “carceral hermeneutics,” the art of interpreting Scripture from within prisons as, or alongside, incarcerated persons. Reading the Bible in prison reframes the Bible as a whole, highlighting how the original sites of textual production were frequently sites of exile, prison, confinement, and control. Drawing on the work of Lauren F. Winner, the author explores the “characteristic damages” of reading the Bible without attention to the carceral and suggests that physically re-locating the task of biblical interpretation can unmask interpretative damage and reveal alternative, life-giving readings. The essay concludes with an extended example, showing how the idea of cruciformity is a characteristically damaged reading that extracts Jesus’ execution from its carceral context. Carceral hermeneutics surfaces a Gospel counter-narrative in which Jesus flees violence and opts for his own safety. Jesus as a refugee (Matt 2), a fugitive (Matt 4:12–17), and a victim escaping violence (Luke 4:14–30) stand alongside Jesus as an executed person to offer a wider range of options for a “christoformity” in which people can image God while fleeing from violence in order to preserve their own lives and freedom.
Highlights
Locating the Carceral in the BiblicalWhere were biblical texts written, and where are biblical narratives set? When one attends to location in biblical exegesis, one finds that carceral settings pervade and permeate the ChristianScriptures
4:12–17), and a victim escaping violence (Luke 4:14–30) stand alongside Jesus as an executed person to offer a wider range of options for a “christoformity” in which people can image God while fleeing from violence in order to preserve their own lives and freedom
The origin stories of the church in the Book of Acts name at least nine instances of arrest and imprisonment, three of them ending in executions (4:3–23, 5:18–40, 6:8–15, 8:1–3, 12:1–19, 16:16–40, 17:5–9, 19:38–41, 21:33)
Summary
Where were biblical texts written, and where are biblical narratives set? When one attends to location in biblical exegesis, one finds that carceral settings pervade and permeate the Christian. I will use “carceral” as an adjective meaning “of or relating to prisons,” but I will use the term more broadly to indicate a wider range of experiences marked by state-sponsored control of, and violence against, both individual bodies and the social body Under this broader understanding of carceral, the enslavement and exile of the people of Israel are understood to be carceral. I seek to push her work a step further here, arguing that in addition to the importance of social location, the physical location in which one reads a text impacts interpretation While this is true of any location, given the carceral contexts inherent in much of the. Stand alongside Jesus as an executed person to offer a wider range of options for a “christoformity” in which people can image God while fleeing from violence in order to preserve their own lives
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
