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Jesus and the Disinherited Paperback – November 30, 1996

by Howard Thurman (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 3,769 ratings
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Famously known as the text that Martin Luther King Jr. sought inspiration from in the days leading up to the Montgomery bus boycott, Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited helped shape the civil rights movement and changed our nation’s history forever.

In this classic theological treatise, the acclaimed theologian and religious leader Howard Thurman (1900-1981) demonstrates how the gospel may be read as a manual of resistance for the poor and disenfranchised. Jesus is a partner in the pain of the oppressed and the example of His life offers a solution to ending the descent into moral nihilism. Hatred does not empower--it decays. Only through self-love and love of one another can God's justice prevail.
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  1. Print length
    128 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Beacon Press
  4. Publication date
    November 30, 1996
  5. Dimensions
    5.12 x 0.42 x 8.16 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780807010297
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0807010297
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Thurman’s prophetic witness and piercing intellect are as relevant to our current hour of tumult as they were when he first put these incisive thoughts to paper.”—Jelani Cobb, author of The Substance of Hope

“[Jesus and the Disinherited] is the centerpiece of the Black prophet-mystic’s lifelong attempt to bring the harrowing beauty of the African-American experience into deep engagement with what he called ‘the religion of Jesus.’ Ultimately his goal was to offer this humanizing combination as the basis for an emancipatory way of being, moving toward a fundamentally unchained life that is available to all the women and men everywhere who hunger and thirst for righteousness, especially those ‘who stand with their backs against the wall.’”
—Vincent Harding, from the Foreword

About the Author

Hailed by Life magazine as one of the great preachers of the twentieth century; a spiritual advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr., Sherwood Eddy, James Farmer, A. J. Musty, and Pauli Murray; the first black dean at a white university; cofounder of the first interracially pastored, intercultural church in the United States; Howard Thurman (1899-1981) was a man of penetrating foresight and astonishing charisma. His vision of the world was one of a democratic camaraderie born of faith, and in light of today's global community, one of particular importance.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0807010294
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Beacon Press; Reprint edition (November 30, 1996)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780807010297
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807010297
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.12 x 0.42 x 8.16 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 3,769 ratings

About the author

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Howard Thurman

Howard Thurman

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Howard Thurman (1900-1981) was the first black dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University and cofounder of the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco, California, the first inter-racially copastored church in America.

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-opening and beautifully written.
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2024
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Book written from an individual (first black pastor in a white University) who I learned about on the PBS station. I found it an easy read, understandable and totally applicable in today's world to help understand each other no matter our race and what we face in life.
4 people found this helpful
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Nathan W. Attwood
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Powerful Masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2012
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Howard Thurman is well known as one of the 20th century's great mystics, thinkers, and spiritual leaders. "Jesus and the Disinherited" may be his best known book, and it's certainly his most influential. Martin Luther King, Jr. carried a copy with him in his travels and it grounded him as much as any book. It's certainly worth the accolades.

It's a small book, and its organization is basic. Thurman begins by describing people under oppression as the people "With their backs to the wall." Most of what Christians have written about the role of the teachings of Christ in conversations about oppressed people comes from the perspective of those with power who have an obligation to help those who do not have power. Thurman affirms this approach, and compares it to the perspective of Paul, who, though a Jew and regularly persecuted for the Gospel, always had the power to assert his Roman citizenship. His was a chosen powerlessness, and he occasionally chose to use his societal power.

Jesus, God Incarnate, chose to take his place among those "with their backs to the wall." Thurman believes that Jesus' life and teachings can only be understood from this vantage point. He argues that those who have never been powerless cannot fully understand what it means to have society's structures and systems turned not to their benefit and protection but to their subjugation and humiliation.

Thurman describes how the life and teachings of Jesus relate to the great enemies of the soul--fear, deception, and hate. He is a master not only of the faith but also of psychology and society. The final chapter is about love, and how love between those in power and those with their backs against the wall can only be the result of relationships built on mutuality. He thinks the church is the best place for such relationships to form, and laments that congregations are so segregated and do not allow such relationships to form.

Love is a miracle, and all of society makes the enemies of the soul and the possibility of the love Jesus describes incredibly difficult. One of the great wonders of the Jesus story is that he is a person with his back against the wall who was able to demonstrate the possibility of living in an oppressive situation without giving in to fear, deception, or hate. Jesus was able to love, even his enemies. This fact alone gives tremendous hope that those with their backs against the wall may actually live in such a way. Thurman certainly did.

Howard Thurman wrote in the midst of the Civil Rights struggle, and he talks about his conversations with a grandmother who had spent her childhood in slavery. People like me, who take our freedom and privilege for granted, should read the book, if for no other reason, to get a sense of the interior struggles others face.

Our world is full of fear, deception, and hate. The kind of love Jesus demonstrates and Thurman describes is rare, indeed. This book is a training manual for those who would live in this world with souls untouched by its cruelty.
70 people found this helpful
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5.0 out of 5 stars inspirational required reading
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2024
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As a Bible scholar and theologian, I can’t recommend this book enough. I am reading it, as a white man in 2024, and it is still relevant. Thurman truly captures what Jesus means for people who are down and out, and he articulates things that every person needs to hear. For those in the US, this should be required reading in seminary.
3 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Jesus and the Disinherited
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2024
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A good book to read and understanding how others think about Race
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B. Marold
4.0 out of 5 stars A great homily on humility, tactics, and Christ. Historically Important
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2012
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Regarding Howard Thurman's Jesus and the Disinherited, paperback.

I suggest that the value of this work is less as a timeless document, as one reviewer suggests, and more as a great sermon for its time. Being great, that means it can speak to us as well, but it has a few scholarly and theological points which may have tarnished over the years. This is the situation:

WW II is over, and the hints of efforts to desegregate were starting. This essay was not written as biblical scholarship or theology or sociology or psychology. Some claims from all those points of view are suggested. He wishes to influence behavior and attitudes, so that his audience can deal with their condition effectively, in a more Christian manner. He makes statements which may be historically or psychologically or scripturally inaccurate. However, most of his psychological theses are sound.

The "homily" is written from the point of view of a preacher, addressing all the black people of mid-20th century America. I suspect few lay black Americans read it. Its primary role was in informing the sermons and strategies of the civil rights leaders arising in the following 15 years. His message is strengthened by the humility with which he describes the discussion which prompted his writing.

It was in part written in response to a learned Hindu observation that Christianity had many sins laid at its feet. The irony is that the response is directed not to the Hindu as much as it is to Thurman's Christian contemporaries, as a remediation of the kind of reactions which would break out in American riots 20 years later and be fueled by the black power movement.

Thurman never denies the racism and injustice. He makes no excuse for it. But it is also a sign of his times (1949) that he does not advocate the events which became the seeds of the integration movement 10 years later. He is describing how to make the very best of a bad situation. To his credit, he does it with no reference to sin or resurrection or the coming Parousia. I don't think he deals with it, he does relate his thoughts to domestic violence, which is not his primary subject. This shares the genre of Bonheoffer's The Cost of Discipleship, as a manual of practical Christian advice. Thurman is intent on restoring Jesus to the center of Christian life and thinking.

His references to American and personal history are made to illustrate points about the psychology of the oppressor and the oppressed. They especially illuminate the sham of "separate but equal" attitude.

What I liked best is that although he did not address it, he was not naive about the kind of violence we hear about in domestic abuse situations.
21 people found this helpful
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Barbara T
5.0 out of 5 stars a must read
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2023
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Masterfully worded to help the reader tear away misconceptions and false ideas.
2 people found this helpful
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W. Brady
5.0 out of 5 stars good read
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2023
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Of course, we all need to read, fully digest and utilize the information to improve our corporate lives. There is so much more to making it work than saying we can do it. Daily adjustments to our thought process and actions are diligently required.
2 people found this helpful
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Dodge1972
5.0 out of 5 stars College book
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2024
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Never read it but it was good!
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Top reviews from other countries

Wonz
5.0 out of 5 stars Important Read.
Reviewed in Canada on March 21, 2024
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Written in the civil rights era, yet the teachings in this book are relevant to the current racial climate.
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Musa W Bisalla
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2022
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Brilliant book, very deep and insightful
One person found this helpful
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Jim Pike
5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding book
Reviewed in Canada on February 7, 2024
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Thurman’s towering intellect and beautiful writing style is relevant more thsn ever
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A seminal work bringing insights from liberation theology that are as relevant today as they were for Martin Luther King...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2015
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Thurman draws powerful parallels between the Afro-American experience and that of the Roman occupied Middle East - expounding the liberating message of Christ.
One person found this helpful
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Marilyn LePan
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
Reviewed in Canada on March 5, 2021
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He has an interesting point of view.
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