Edited by Liz Theoharis
Foreword by William J. Barber II
Broadleaf Press, 2021
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From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible proclaims justice and abundance for the poor. Yet these powerful passages about poverty are frequently overlooked and misinterpreted.
Enter the Poor People’s Campaign, a movement against racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism, and religious nationalism. In We Cry Justice, Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the campaign, is joined by pastors, community organizers, scholars, low-wage workers, lay leaders, and people in poverty to interpret sacred stories about the poor seeking healing, equity, and freedom. In a world roiled by poverty and injustice, Scripture still speaks.
Organized into fifty-two chapters, each focusing on a key Scripture passage, We Cry Justice offers comfort and challenge from the many stories of the poor taking action together. Read anew the story of the exodus that frees people from debt and slavery, the prophets who denounce the rich and ruling classes, the stories of Jesus’s healing and parables about fair wages, and the early church’s sharing of goods. Reflection questions and a short prayer at the end of each chapter offer the opportunity to use the book devotionally through a year.
The Bible cries for justice, and we do too. It’s time to act on God’s persistent call to repair the breach and fight poverty, not the poor.
Contributors: Aaron Scott, Adam Barnes, Brigitte Kahl, Carolyn Jean Foster, Charon Hribar, Ciara Taylor, Claire Chadwick, Clinton Wright, Colleen Wessel-McCoy, Dan Jones, Erica Williams, Idalin Luz Montes Bobé, Janelle Bruce, Jessica Chadwick Williams, Karenna Gore, Keith M Bullard II, Kenia Torres-Alcocer, Leonardo Vilchis, Letiah Frasier, Marco Saavedra, Melanie Mullen, Michael Pollack, Nicholas Laccetti, Noam Sandweiss Back, Rebecca Forsyth, Sarah Monroe, Savina J. Martin, Solita Alexander Riley, Stephen Pavey, Tammy Rojas, Tejai Beulah, Tonny Algood, Wess Daniels