Member Reviews
Richard P, Reviewer
"The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward" by Malcolm Foley isn't an easy read.
In fact, at times it's a pretty horrific read. At times, I can't even lie, I wanted to stop reading it.
Stopping wasn't an option.
Pastor at Mosaic Waco and Special Advisor to the President for Equity and Campus Engagement at Baylor University (I love the idea of Foley and Beth Allison Barr on the same campus), Foley has crafted what Publishers Weekly calls "A Forceful call to recognize the roots of American inequality and a solid starting point for Christians who want to help fix them."
The assertion is quite simple really. Racism is not about hate and ignorance, though this is often the lens that we use. It's about greed. According to Foley, it always has been.
Note by note and scripture by scripture, Foley sets out to show how how "racial capitalism" causes violence and exploitation. For anyone who cares, and all Christians should, "The Anti-Greed Gospel" is an often difficult read as Foley takes us through the history of racial violence in the United States including paying absolutely necessary to the history of lynching.
"The Anti-Greed Gospel" begins boldly as Foley establishes that we're in for a different sort of discussion. While acknowledging traditional views of racism, Foley makes it clear that what we're about to read is about Mammon, which Christians will know is preached against throughout Scripture. Foley dives in quickly to explain how race/racism has been created to justify exploitation and domination. To a painful extent, and for those particularly sensitive I'll note somewhat graphic one, Foley repeatedly visits the history of lynching as a post-slavery means by which control over African-Americans was inflicted.
Much of the first half of "The Anti-Greed Gospel" deals specifically with the history of greed, race, and racial capitalism. The second half, is a necessary and pointed call to action. Foley introduces us to key figures throughout, from Francis Grimke to Atticus Haygood to James B. Cone to the vastly underappreciated Ida B. Wells.
"The Anti-Greed Gospel" accomplished many things for me.
First, of course, Foley powerfully captures the truth that greed is at the very root of racism and without addressing it we are failing to not just eliminate racism but actually replace it.
Secondly, Foley brings forth an effective argument about the necessity of anti-violence rather than non-violence or any number of other familiar phrases or terms.
Thirdly, Foley constructs more convincingly than nearly any writer I've read an argument against violence. As someone who spent several years within the Anabaptist tradition, my leanings have often been toward peace but with those usual red flag discussions. Foley addresses the vast majority of those discussions with precision, discipline, Scripture, and remarkable insight.
Finally, I must acknowledge that even before I was done with reading "The Anti-Greed Gospel" I could feel Foley's words becoming actionable. As a longtime activist, I could feel Foley's words influencing my giving, my philanthropy, and my desire to ensure my giving is devoid of "superior/inferior" in favor of equity and community. I may have cried (Okay, I did) as I thought about this last year as I traveled in my wheelchair 160 miles to eliminate medical debt for Hoosiers.
If anything, I wish I'd read this book before that effort.
As an adult with disabilities, I saw kernels of truth that I could also apply to my own existence and to the way I live in my world and the world around me.
In short, I didn't just learn a lot from Malcolm Foley's "The Anti-Greed Gospel." I learned how I could apply it all to my own life.
Weaving together powerful theological truths and insights with historical evidence and lived realities, "The Anti-Greed Gospel" refuses to accept the path we've been living far too often as Christians but then, with stunning compassion, points toward a Christ-like path forward.
