! ! ! ! ! ! WILL!‘THE!POOR!BE!WITH!YOU!ALWAYS’?:! TOWARDS!A!METHODOLOGICAL!APPROACH!OF!READING!THE!BIBLE!WITH!THE! POOR! ! ! REVEREND&ELIZABETH&ARMEN&THEOHARIS& & & & & & & & & & Dissertation&Committee:& Rev.&Dr.&Brigitte&Kahl& Rev.&Dr.&Hal&Taussig& Dr.&Richard&Horsley& Dr.&Aliou&Niang& & & & & & & & & SubmitteD&in&partial&fulfillment& of&the&requirements& for&the&degree&of& Doctor&of&Philosophy& at&Union&Theological& Seminary&in&the&City&of&New&York& May&2014& ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Copyright!©!2014!Elizabeth!Armen!Theoharis! All!rights!reserved! Acknowledgements. ! ! I!want!to!thank!the!many!people!who!have!contributed!to!this!dissertation!over!the! past!ten!years!and!the!work!on!which!this!dissertation!stands.!Thank!you!to!the! teachers!in!the!classrooms!and!streets!who!have!insisted!that!poverty!defiles!our! world!and!defies!our!God.!Thank!you!to!the!students!who!have!been!committed!to! learning!as!we!lead,!walking!as!we!talk,!educating!as!we!organize.!Thank!you!to!all! the!“Poverty!Scholars”!who!have!dedicated!their!time!and!talents!to!not!just! improving!their!lives!but!ending!poverty!for!all.!Thanks!especially!to!the!leaders!and! participants!in!Poverty!Initiative!activities,!including!the!Poverty!Scholars! Leadership!School,!Potter's!Field!Campaign!of!Picture!the!Homeless!and!Interfaith! Friends!of!Potter's!Field,!"Reading!the!Bible!with!the!Poor",!“The!Gospel!of! Matthew”,!and!“The!Gospel!of!Paul:!Poverty!and!Spirituality”!semesterMlong!classes,! Poverty!Initiative!immersion!courses,!Poverty!Scholars!Strategic!Dialogues,!Roman! Empire!and!New!Testament!Convenings,!and!the!many!other!undertakings! referenced!throughout!that!greatly!contributed!to!this!dissertation.! ! I!appreciate!the!support!of!Union’s!administration,!faculty,!staff!and!student!body! for!this!dissertation!and!the!larger!work!of!the!Poverty!Initiative.!Thanks!especially! to!my!advisor!Brigitte!Kahl!who!has!taught!me!the!importance!of!both!rigorous! intellectual!inquiry!and!social!justice!commitments!and!to!my!committee!members! Brigitte!Kahl,!Richard!Horsley,!Aliou!Niang,!and!Hal!Taussig!and!their!contributions! to!the!biblical!and!social!justice!fields.!Thanks!to!Union!professors!Mary!Boys,!David! Carr,!James!Cone,!Alan!Cooper,!Roger!Haight,!Brigitte!Kahl,!Barbara!Lundblad,!Larry! Rassmussen,!Jan!Rehmann,!Hal!Taussig,!emily!townes,!Janet!Walton,!Edwina!Wright,! and!others!who!guided!my!doctoral!coursework.!I!thank!Hal!Taussig!and!Janet! Walton!who!nudged!me!to!do!a!Ph.D.!back!in!2003M2004!and!have!supported!me!all! the!way.! ! I!deeply!appreciate!all!the!people!who!edited!various!drafts!of!this!dissertation,! especially!over!the!past!year!including:!Willie!Baptist,!Adam!Barnes,!Chris!Caruso,! Shailly!Gupta!Barnes,!Dan!Jones,!Charon!Hribar,!Emily!McNeil,!Thia!Reggio,!Aaron! Scott,!Joe!Strife,!Jeanne!Theoharis,!Colleen!WesselMMcCoy,!Atticus!Zavaletta.!Thanks! to!everyone,!especially!my!sister,!Jeanne,!for!going!section!by!section,!idea!by!idea,! helping!me!to!find!my!voice!as!a!biblical!scholar!and!social!theorist!as!well!as! activist.!Many!thanks!to!Kathleen!Gallager!Elkins!and!Aaron!Scott!for!copyMediting! the!whole!dissertation,!dotting!i’s!and!crossing!t’s!(and!noting!omicrons,!etc).! ! I!thank!my!family!and!community!of!friends!who!labor!for!justice!beside!me!and! who!have!supported!me,!prodded!me!to!achieve!more,!and!watched!my!kids!so!I! could!work!(on!the!dissertation!and!building!a!movement!to!end!poverty)!including:! my!parents!M!Athan!and!Nancy!Theoharis;!my!siblings!M!Jeanne!and!George! Theoharis;!my!niece!and!nephew!M!Ella!and!Sam!Theoharis;!my!inMlaws!M!George,! iii Joanne!and!Greg!Caruso;!our!band!of!Poverty!Initiative!kids!–!Indi!and!Jack!Barnes,! Skye!and!JJ!Bingham,!Esperanza!Carmín!Cardinale!Hernandez,!Hardy!and!Eirene! Eville,!Carolina!LugoMFeliz,!Josiah!Maskell,!Elijah!and!Jude!Plummer!Polson,!Sophia! and!Luke!Theoharis!Caruso,!Kenji!Vasquez,!and!Myles!and!Josephine!WesselMMcCoy;! my!friends!and!colleagues!in!this!work!of!doing!justice,!loving!kindness!and!walking! humbly!with!God!–!especially!Onleilove!Alston,!Nkosi!Anderson,!Greg!Asbed,!Cathlin! Baker,!General!Baker,!Willie!Baptist,!Joanie!Baptist,!Kira!BakerMDoyle,!Adam!Barnes,! Rachel!Barnhart,!Lucas!Benitez,!Desi!Burnette,!Vanessa!Cardinale,!Chris!Caruso,!Ron! Casanova,!Jessica!Chadwick!Williams,!Todd!Cherkis,!Larry!Cox,!Veronica!Dorsey,! Nijmie!Dzurinko,!Shelly!Fayette,!Larry!Gibson,!Amy!Gopp,!Chris!Grove,!Susan!Grove,! Patrick!Grugan,!Shailly!Gupta!Barnes,!Charon!Hribar,!Ashley!Hufnagel,!Dan!Jones,! Brigitte!Kahl,!Dara!Kell,!Peter!Kinoy,!Lenora!Knowles,!Marian!Kramer,!Nic!Laccetti,! Luis!Larin,!Celene!Lillie,!Alejandra!Marchevsky,!Savina!Martin,!Kathy!Maskell,!Kym! McNair,!Emily!McNeil,!Derrick!McQueen,!Bryan!Mercer,!Chris!Nizza,!Julia!Perkins,! Rebekah!Phillips,!Dawn!Plummer,!Diana!Polson,!Thia!Reggio,!Jan!Rehmann,!Mica! Root,!Rose!Schwab,!Aaron!Scott,!Tim!Shenk,!Charlene!Sinclair,!Aaron!Stauffer,!Alicia! Swords,!Jeanne!Theoharis,!Jose!Vasquez,!Alix!Webb,!Colleen!WesselMMcCoy,!John! WesselMMcCoy,!Heather!West,!Phil!Wider,!Jennifer!Wilder.! ! I!particularly!appreciate!the!love,!support,!and!mentorship!I!have!received!from! Willie!Baptist!over!the!past!two!decades,!who!embodies!what!it!is!to!be!a!“Poverty! Scholar”.!I!cannot!thank!Chris!Caruso,!my!partner!in!struggle!and!life,!enough;!his! clarity!on!what!is!wrong!in!our!society,!commitment/faith!that!another!world!is! possible,!competency!in!absolutely!everything,!and!connection!and!deep!love!for! humanity!inspires!me!(and!our!whole!network).!Thanks!Chris!for!everything!!I!love! you!so!much!!I!want!to!include!a!special!acknowledgment!of!our!children,!Sophia! and!Luke,!who!have!taught!me!about!justice,!grace,!mercy,!and!why!ending!poverty! is!so!urgent!and!necessary.! ! This!work!is!dedicated!to!the!millions!of!God's!children!known!and!unknown!who! are!buried!in!Potter's!Fields,!those!on!whose!shoulders!we!stand,!and!those!who!will! refuse!to!rest!until!all!poverty!is!ended!for!everyone.! iv Table&of&Contents! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS&.......................................................................................................................&iii& CHAPTER&ONE:&POVERTY&SCHOLARS&INTERPRET&.....................................................................&1& INTRODUCTION)...........................................................................................................................................................)1) THE)POVERTY)INITIATIVE:)THE)POOR)ORGANIZING)THE)POOR).......................................................................)3) THE)CURSE)OF)POVERTY)..........................................................................................................................................)7) THE)POWER)OF)THE)WORD).....................................................................................................................................)9) POVERTY)SCHOLARS)INTERPRET).........................................................................................................................)11) NEW)INTERPRETATIONS)OF)MATTHEW)26).......................................................................................................)25) POVERTY)SCHOLARS)AND)METHODOLOGY)........................................................................................................)32) CONCLUSION)............................................................................................................................................................)45) CHAPTER&TWO:&POVERTY&AND&THE&BIBLE&................................................................................&48& INTRODUCTION)........................................................................................................................................................)48) POPULAR)TREATMENTS)OF)“THE)POOR)ARE)WITH)YOU)ALWAYS”))............................................................)49) ACADEMIC)TREATMENTS)OF)“THE)POOR)ARE)WITH)YOU)ALWAYS”)...........................................................)58) THEOLOGICAL)OBSTACLES)AND)“THE)POOR)ARE)WITH)YOU)ALWAYS”)......................................................)64) CONCLUSION)............................................................................................................................................................)67) CHAPTER&THREE:&READING&THE&BIBLE&WITH&THE&POOR&.....................................................&69& INTRODUCTION)........................................................................................................................................................)69) METHODOLOGICAL)INFLUENCES)FROM)SOUTH)AFRICA,)LATIN)AMERICA)AND)THE)US)BORDER)...........)71) CONTEMPORARY)US)CONTEXTUAL)BIBLE)STUDY)............................................................................................)82) BUILDING)A)SOCIAL)MOVEMENT)LED)BY)THE)POOR)........................................................................................)84) MELDING)PIETY)AND)POLITICS)............................................................................................................................)94) THE)METHODOLOGY)OF)“READING)THE)BIBLE)WITH)THE)POOR”)................................................................)96) THE)DEVELOPMENT)OF)THE)MODEL)................................................................................................................)106) CONCLUSION).........................................................................................................................................................)116) CHAPTER&FOUR:&ROMAN&PEACE&AND&POVERTY&....................................................................&118&