Breaking Good: Addiction, Drug Policy, and the Body of Christ
Examining U.S. drug policy through a theological lens as it relates to issues of addiction, racism, incarceration, violence, and militarization at home and abroad.
An Introduction from the PC(USA)’s Drug Policy Task Force We begin with some disturbing data: The United States has less than 5% of world’s population and 25% of the world’s incarcerated people. Even though whites outnumber blacks five to one and both groups use and sell drugs at similar rates,
MoreGod created us as co-creators and consumers. We were made to seek things to consume: to eat, to drink, and to enjoy sex. Psalm 104:14-15: You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate, to bring forth food from the earth, and wine to
MoreAn Opening Editorial There is crystal meth, and there is a crystal against meth and all its intoxicating cousins: the amethyst. In Greek and Roman mythology, the god Dionysus or Bacchus repents of an act of intemperate anger that killed and then transformed a young woman to white stone by
MoreExcerpts The article excerpted below was originally published in Religions Journal. You can also download the full article as a PDF. Mercadante, Linda. “Sin and Addiction: Conceptual Enemies or Fellow Travelers?.” Religions 6(2) (2015): 614-625. Accessed May 14, 2015. doi:10.3390/rel6020614. Abstract: The addiction recovery metaphor of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and
MoreThe following prayer is reprinted with permission from the book Prayers for The New Social Awakening, ed. Christian Iosso and Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty. O God, we pray for all those in recovery whose demons are kept at bay one day at a time; for those clean twenty-four hours and wondering if
MoreThe Rat Park In the mid-to-late twentieth century, scientists conducted a series of experiments on groups of rats. In the early experiments, the rats were housed in cramped, isolated cages where they received a regular supply of food, water, and morphine. What the researchers found is that these rats would
MoreInterview with Author James B. Nelson Special from Presbyterian Health, Education, and Welfare Association (PHEWA). (See also http://www.phewacommunity.org/) Read interviewer Rev. Chuck Booker’s own reflections on addiction in his article Spiritus Contra Spiritum! A renowned Christian ethicist who spent most of his career at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities,
MoreTestimony by Dorsey Nunn before the PC(USA) Drug Policy Task Force, February 14, 2015. Watch testimony in minutes 20:50 – 31:20 of this video of Day 1 of the Richmond Hearings. I guess I’m the bad guy. I was raised in a crack house. I’ve been at this fight for
MoreFrom the Brokenness of Addiction to the Healing of Communion Read Chuck’s interview with James B. Nelson about his book Thirst: God and the Alcoholic Experience. An American – s/he could be any of us – discovers the proverbial magic lamp, replete with genie and three wishes. “I would like
MoreThe Situation in Richmond, CA Testimony by Andrés Soto before the PC(USA) Drug Policy Task Force, February 14, 2015. Watch testimony in minutes 13:45 – 25:00 of this video of Day 2 of the Richmond Hearings. I grew up here in this town, and I see my life as a
MoreClergy and faith leaders are successfully flexing their political muscle with lawmakers in Washington, DC, to end mass incarceration. Last month the new chairman of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), was confronted by three Iowa bishops — a United Methodist, a Catholic and a Lutheran — who
MoreReviewed resource available in print or to download at newjimcroworganizing.org Hunter builds on the work of Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Alexander’s thesis is that the ‘War on Drugs’ was designed as and has become a ‘War on People of Color’,
MoreTestimony by Ted Lewis before the PC(USA) Drug Policy Task Force, February 14, 2015. Watch testimony in minutes 2:15 – 14:10 of this video of Day 1 of the Richmond Hearings. I really appreciate this invitation to speak. My name is Ted Lewis, and I work with the human rights
MoreWhat a Survey of Central American Children Tells Us about Drug and Immigration Policies Testimony by Kelly Engel Wells to the PC(USA) Drug Policy Task Force at public hearing in El Paso, Texas, May 2, 2015. I am a Staff Attorney and the supervisor of the Unaccompanied Minors Program at
MoreInterview with German Zarate-Durier Unbound: Let’s start with the basics: What is the drug war like in Colombia? German: I would say that in Colombia there are two things related to drugs that really affect society – corruption and violence. To start with corruption, it isn’t just something that affects
MoreAddiction, Drug Policy, and the Body of Christ Past Approaches and Present Concerns Re-Examining our Nation’s Responses to Drugs, Rev. Gordon Edwards and John Lindsay-Poland A Biblical and Theological Reflection on Consumption, Addiction, and Prejudicial Drug Policy, Rev. Max Lynn Amethyst Church: An Opening Editorial, Rev. Dr. Chris Iosso Addiction: A
MoreJob Description for a Drug Dealer Local drug cartel seeking new dealers. Position is full time and will work all shifts. Job Skills/Requirements: Applicant must be a self-starter. Ability to count and manage product and cash without creating a paper trail or getting caught by law enforcement. It is strongly
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