Acts 7:55-60
It is not difficult to see carceral logic at work in the Acts of the Apostles. The frequent response of Roman authorities to the activities of early Christians was prison. Prison existed (as it does today) not just as retribution for alleged criminal activity, but to silence dissent, break up movements, and stifle leadership in marginalized communities. The same logic is at work in Stephen’s execution. The response to a potentially dangerous ideology is to destroy the source. In that way carceral logic comes for everyone, not just those we may consider different from us (i.e., s criminals, actually guilty or not).
Before any further reflection in that direction, a word about the anti-Semitism present in the Acts of the Apostles is required. Throughout the Book of Acts, we see references to “the Jews” and their supposed spiritual deficiencies and even their “jealousy” of the Christians. The author is communicating these stories with a strong ideological bias and we need to be aware of it. Luke has a perspective that requires the Christian sect to be religiously triumphant and he wants it to become the main expression of Jewish faith (as does Paul who wrote most of the New Testament books). Over time, that has been used in anti-Semitic ways and has led to violence and persecution of the Jewish people. We need to critique Luke when preaching Acts in this respect, because much of the carceral logic at work Luke lays at the feet of the Jewish community rather than the ones actually practicing, enforcing, and supporting incarceration: the Roman state. Be cautious when critiquing the prisons and practices of incarceration in Acts so not to fall into anti-Semitism by mistake. The Jewish community was not in charge of the violent mechanisms of the state.
Rather, consider directing the question of the persistence of incarceration and retribution at ourselves. Luke says that Stephen’s audience “covered their ears” to avoid hearing the truth of what Stephen had to say. How often do we neglect the cries for justice from prisons? How often is it more convenient for us to ignore stories from death row? How often do we cover our ears to avoid hearing the truth? Abolition of prisons is the inevitable conclusion of our Scriptures, especially in Acts where God is quite literally tearing down prisons. Often, however, it’s easier to cover our ears and ignore it.
Wesley Spears-Newsome (he/him/his) is a writer and Baptist pastor in North Carolina.