Naked As A Jailbird Expert Review

By Harold Campbell


What is your perception of people who are in jail or who have been incarcerated? Naturally, they are not the kind you would desire to spend time with or engage in conversations. In fact, many people wish they had tags or marks on their foreheads to make them easily recognizable. It is not until you have read Naked as a Jailbird that it dawns on you that they have a human face and desires, just like you.

The author is Richard Shaw, a chaplain who has a responsibility to minister in prisons. However, for him it is more than a ministry. It is a calling that makes him different from all other chaplains who might be given the responsibility. Every minute spent with these incarcerated human beings points at a different experience about salvation, God and humanity.

Shaw is conscious of the negative portrayal that people give to prisoners. These are outcasts and criminals who arrogance and ignorance has led them behind bars. However, when you spend time with these prisoners, you realize that their world is different. The book does not seek to justify when they are incarcerated but your mentality of prison and prison life will change. You will also want to review prisons and whether they change people.

Movies and books have portrayed prison life as unbearable. Working with these perceived defiant souls who are looking for a way out is one of the most challenging ministries to ever engage. Surprisingly, you are expected to spread the message of hope, repentance and forgiveness to a people who might never experience that. This makes the situation extremely challenging especially considering that some are awaiting their day at the guillotine.

How about the ministers assigned to prisons? Is this a responsibility that everyone and anyone can take up? This question is tough to answer. There is a valley of difference in the people imprisoned and those roaming free. If a minister or worker is to find satisfaction and make prisoners to feel humane, it will take the Grace of God. Richard Shaw testifies to this.

There are more questions that ringer about prisons and their role in the society. This is a confined space for both the free and those who are locked. Prisoners naturally do not want to be there. In fact, many of them recognize their faults as soon as reality hits that they are imprisoned. Do the prison warders love the job of being the lords and gods over these prisoners? The answer lies deep in the book.

The author chose the name Naked for a reason. It shows that prisoners are stripped to the last cloth, an exercise that takes place at the gate. One wonders what else is taken away from them. According to the author, the person who goes inside prison will never come out. A different one walks out of those gates, Naked.

The book is a fast read and enlightening text that will change your perspective of people in prisons. It gives you a different idea of prison life and the people who work in the system, directly or indirectly. From the book, no one ever enjoys a minute behind bars, for whatever reason.




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