“What keeps good people silent and complicit when they know their neighbor is being dehumanized, oppressed, exploited, and/or massacred?” (25)

This isn’t a question that is meant to overwhelm or make others feel stuck in grief.
When things are falling apart, hate and hurt rage, there is hope—not the frilly or opiate kind, but the kind that Bruggemann writes, “hope is subversive, for it limits the grandiose pretension of the present, daring to announce that the present to which we have all made commitments is now called into question.” Gilliard’s book illustrates this. Subversive Witness calls those who claim allegiance to Christ to model what it means to leverage their privilege to embody hope, lament, and power through actions that pushback on the evil systems of the empire.

The book notably examines how privilege keeps us from hearing the truth about history and creating equitable and just possibilities. “Unbridled privilege emboldens an a la carte faith that masquerades as Christianity.”

𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 provides encouragement to those who are looking for ways to deepen their discipleship practices and who are willing to wrestle with what it means to follow a revolutionary Jewish God-man from the Nazareth ghetto.

I actually was not sure what to expect. As someone who feels like they know biblical narratives pretty well, Gilliard has a way of pointing to aspects we longtime readers often overlook or minimize. He has a gift for breaking open that which we may have been hardened to and allowing the precious possibilities to spill out.

It is insightful, practical and provides encouragement to those who are looking for ways to deepen their discipleship practices and who are willing to wrestle with what it means to follow a revolutionary Jewish God-man from the Nazareth ghetto.

One of the Best Books of 2021. In Subversive Witness, author Dominique DuBois Gilliard illuminates the stories of important biblical characters to show that Christians have the ability and responsibility to administer, use and sometimes to give up privileges to advance the Kingdom of God and to help the people around us. From the daughter of Pharaohs Esther, Moses, Paul, Silas, Jesus, and Zacchaeus - the author shows how the Holy Spirit leads the people of God to be stewards of our privileges. This book is a MUST READ!

Having read Dominique DuBois Gilliard's book Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice That Restores I was expecting a very insightful and challenging book when I was going to read Subversive Witness. I was not disappointed. He fleshes out in the stories of Biblical characters how they were subversive witnesses in their time and place.

Throughout this book Dominique details for us how these Biblical characters used their privilege to honor God and their neighbors fro their positions of privilege. I believe the following quote best sums up what is addressed in Dominique's book:

"Having privilege is not a sin, though privilege emerges from sin. What is sinful is exploiting privilege for our own advantage and turning a blind eye to the suffering of our neighbors in order to sustain it. Scripture repeatedly acknowledges privilege and provides insight into how privilege insidiously functions today. Learning to unmask privilege can be painful work, but the cure for the pain is in the pain. By candidly addressing privilege, we create a unique opportunity for the body of Christ to turn away from sin and reorient ourselves toward God and neighbor through the spiritual disciplines of remembrance, confession, lament, and repentance." p. 84

Dominique Gilliard looks at Pharaoh’s Daughter, Esther, Moses, Paul and Silas, Jesus, and Zacchaeus and how they turned their privilege upside-down and addressed the suffering of their neighbors rather than exploiting it to their own advantage. This is the Kingdom of God displayed in flesh and proximity "on earth as it is in heaven."

This is a book that pastor's, elder's, deacons, and lay persons should read to understand how the Church can be an incarnate and subversive witness in today's world as we were intended to be. A Christ's ecclesia we need to understand the proper use of "privilege and its power". To leverage our privilege to address "systemic sin", "stand in solidarity", "birth liberation", bring about "systemic change", "proclaim the good news", and to "foster social transformation."

I am thankful for Dominique's faithful presence in the way he lives out his faith and his gift of writing and without reserve highly recommend this book.

In his new book, Subversive Witness, Dominique Gilliard tackles the sometimes touchy subject of privilege by diving into Biblical examples of people who had privilege and what they did with it. By examining the stories of Pharoah’s daughter, Esther, Zacchaeus, Paul and Silas, and others including Jesus himself, I’ve been challenged to think about my own privileges and how they have been granted to me not to exploit for my own or my family’s benefit, but to leverage for the flourishing of others, particularly those who do not have the same privileges. Besides the Biblical context and history that I always find so helpful when learning about Bible stories and passages, I also enjoyed how Dominique pulled from other theologians, pastors, authors, and thinkers to flesh out implications in today’s world. And for anyone who questions the existence of “white privilege,” the data-rich and historical-fact-full first chapter breaks down the reality in a thorough yet succinct way. As with other calls to stewardship and action, the challenge is in the personal application, to listen and discern exactly how I am being called to participate, but I found the present-day real-people stories sprinkled throughout to be encouraging and inspirational. The following quote from the book that helps me to take the idea of privilege out of culture wars and CRT debates and into the Biblical mandate that comes with following Jesus: “What we have been entrusted with us not just for us. We are blessed to be a blessing, to reinvest in our communities, and to contribute to communal flourishing.”