Executed God

As more Christians begin taking stands on the justice system (see review of Charles Colson's Justice That Restores, this issue), some are critiquing it as an ""injustice"" system. In The Executed God: The Way of the Cross in Lockdown America, Princeton Theological Seminary professor Mark Lewis Taylor attacks U.S. prisons as racist and unjust. Taylor discusses violations such as prison rape, excessively long sentences and capital punishment, employing the example of Jesus as a means of transforming an evil system. ""It is time to confess forthrightly that in Jesus of Nazareth, God suffered not just death but execution... supported by religious officials,"" he notes. Taylor's voice is strident and uncompromising, making this a moving if controversial read. ( Apr.)