The Anti-Greed Gospel - by Malcolm Foley (Paperback)

About the Book

A Black Christian historian shows how racism is part of a cycle of self-interest that begins in a lust for power and money. The church can break this cycle by building communities of deep economic solidarity, anti-violence, and truth telling.

Book Synopsis

"A forceful call to recognize the roots of American inequality and a solid starting point for Christians who want to help fix them."--Publishers Weekly

Racism is not about hate and ignorance. It's about greed. And it always has been.

Black Christian historian Malcolm Foley explores this powerful idea in The Anti-Greed Gospel, showing how the desire for power and money--what some call "racial capitalism"--drives violence and exploitation across American history. In this book, you'll discover

- how greed historically gave birth to racial categories and systemic oppression,
- the connection between economic exploitation and racial violence,
- lessons from historical figures like Ida B. Wells on resistance and truth-telling,
- practical steps for building communities of deep economic solidarity, and
- biblical foundations for combating racial capitalism through gospel values.

Foley reviews the history of racial violence in the United States and connects the killings of modern-day Black Americans to the history of lynching in America. He challenges the contemporary church to wrestle with crucial questions: How can we become communities that show generosity and resist greed? What is the next step in the journey toward racial justice?

Readers will gain tools to resist greed that exploits others, love their neighbors more completely, and build communities rooted in deep solidarity, anti-violence, and truth-telling.

From the Back Cover

"Seriously convicting and saturated with hope"

Racism is not about hate and ignorance. It's about greed. And it always has been.

In The Anti-Greed Gospel, Black Christian historian Malcolm Foley shows how racism is part of a cycle of self-interest that begins in a lust for power and money and causes violence and exploitation. The church can break this cycle by building communities of deep economic solidarity, anti-violence, and truth telling.

"Presents a searing critique of the status quo and points Christians to a redemptive path forward. A must-read book for the American church."
--Kristin Kobes Du Mez, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus and John Wayne

"This book, properly understood and applied, has the potential to topple our monuments to Mammon and make room for real racial justice in both church and society."
--Jemar Tisby, New York Times bestselling author of The Color of Compromise and The Spirit of Justice; professor, Simmons College of Kentucky

"Offers us a necessary antidote to racism if we put down the delusions and temptations of greed."
--Christina Edmondson, coauthor of Faithful Antiracism: Moving Past Talk to Systemic Change and Truth's Table: Black Women's Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation

"Foley reminds us that the church's fight against anti-Black lynching and its struggle for economic justice and solidarity are the same fight."
--Jonathan Tran, associate professor, Baylor University; author of Asian Americans and the Spirit of Racial Capitalism

"Seriously convicting and saturated with hope--real hope that is both disruptive and full of wonder. May churches read this book together and practice living in the reality of the kingdom and the love for our Lord and for our neighbor."
--Aimee Byrd, author of Saving Face and The Hope in Our Scars

About the Author

Malcolm Foley (PhD, Baylor University) is a pastor, historian, and speaker who serves as special adviser to the president for equity and campus engagement at Baylor University. He has written for Christianity Today, The Anxious Bench, and Mere Orthodoxy. Foley copastors Mosaic Waco, a multicultural church in Waco, Texas, where he lives with his wife, Desiree.