You Tube Theology

This Virtual Book Club discusses "You Shall Not Condemn" by Rev. Dr. Jennifer McBride. Book Summary: This book tells the story of Kelly Gissendaner, the only woman on Georgia's death row until her execution in 2015 and highlights the role theological studies played in her faith and in advocacy efforts on her behalf. Central to the book is the written correspondence between Kelly and German theologian Jrgen Moltmann, known internationally as the "theologian of hope." After reading Moltmann's work in a course taught by McBride at the prison, Kelly began a five-year correspondence with him. When Kelly was denied clemency, a local and international advocacy movement arose that was rooted in her theological studies and friendship with him. The advocacy campaign challenged Christians who supported the death penalty to re-examine basic truths of Christian faith. As it was unfolding, the story of Kelly's transformation changed people's minds, not only about her case, but also about the death penalty itself. Weaving together powerful storytelling and theological expertise, McBride recounts that story again here, with an aim toward abolition, and offers practical ways that readers may enter the work. About the Author: The Rev. Dr. Jennifer M. McBride (Ph.D. University of Virginia) is Associate Rector for Formation at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Atlanta. Previously she served as Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and held the Board of Regents Endowed Chair in Ethics at Wartburg College in rural Iowa. After a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Emory University, McBride directed a theology certificate program for incarcerated women through Emory's Candler School of Theology. McBride is author of You Shall Not Condemn: A Story of Faith and Advocacy on Death Row (Cascade, 2022), Radical Discipleship: A Liturgical Politics of the Gospel (Fortress, 2017), The Church for the World: A Theology of Public Witness (Oxford University Press, 2011), and is co-editor of Bonhoeffer and King: Their Legacies and Import for Christian Social Thought.