The power and clarity of Dr. Thistlethwaite’s book confronts an anemic church afraid of the words and witness of Jesus Christ. This is a must read for all who want to reclaim the Bible and the Church from poor biblical scholarship and a market driven theology possessed by Wall Street. Read at your own risk. You may accept the call of #occupy the world with love and justice.
The Reverend Otis Moss, III, Senior Pastor
Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, IL
This book is a must read for Christians struggling to follow Jesus in an era of rampant greed as well as those concerned that America’s economic system is morally bankrupt. The book s grounding in scripture and theology is a critical tool for anyone trying to counter hypocritical political leaders or Christian right leaders who are leading America astray on economic policies and principles.
The Reverend Jennifer Butler, Executive Director
Many serious-minded faith leaders still cannot articulate why the Occupy movement engaged them so powerfully or why its distinctive culture continues to fascinate. For all such leaders this book will come as a huge gift. Susan Thistlethwaite uses compelling scholarship to show just how biblically and theologically relevant the Occupy movement was and is. It doesn’t matter that the encampments are gone; this book is about us: it is about our calling and our need do do a “mic check” on a money-dominated social system that is rapidly losing its way.
The Reverend Peter Laarman, Executive Director
Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite brings the brains of a first rate scholar, the spirit of a pastor and the passion of a prophet to Occupying The Bible. Her book reveals the immediate relevancy of the sacred scriptures for today’s struggling world and offers a compelling altar call for Christians to live out the mandate for justice inherent within our faith.
The Reverend Paul Raushenbush, Senior Religion Editor
The AOL/Huffington Post Media Group
Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite inspires, educates, and challenges me [us] to deeper biblical understanding about what God intends for us to do as His people at this time in America’s economic travails. She is a prophet who in my evangelical theological tradition engages not in predictions or foretelling as much as forth telling, applying truth to contemporary circumstances. It is clear, insightful, and oh so relevant. I wish every evangelical in America would read this book. It will change you, one way or another.
The Reverend Richard Cizik, President
The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
With signs of religious decline all around, many wonder if the church has a future. In this provocative book, Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite points to another sign for the church–a hopeful one: the Occupy movement. As she explores Occupy in light of scripture, it becomes clear that the church must renew itself as a grassroots movement of those who enact Jesus’ teaching to love God and neighbor. Is Occupy a sign of a new spiritual awakening? Thistlethwaite thinks so, and I suspect she is right.
Susan Thistlethwaite’s new book, #OccupytheBible, is a powerful reminder for LGBT people of faith everywhere that economic justice is, at heart, a queer issue. Jesus of Nazareth had a preferential option for the poor and the marginalized – that is, the queer folk of his day. Read this amazing book and take back the Bible by unleashing your own biblical Stonewall Rebellion!
The Reverend Patrick S. Cheng, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology
Episcopal Divinity School
