Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite (born 1948) is an author, former president of

Chicago Theological Seminary Founded in 1855, the Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is the oldest higher education institution in the City of Chicago and was established with two principal goals: first, to educate pastors who would minister to people living on the new weste ...

, a syndicated columnist, ordained minister, activist, theologian, and translator of the Bible. She is currently an emeritus faculty member at

. She also spent some of her time serving as a trustee for different organizations.

Biography

She attended

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

, in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts. She then continued her studies at

Duke Divinity School The Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is one of ten graduate or professional schools within Duke University. It is also one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church. It has 39 regular ...

, earning a Master of Divinity and graduating Summa cum Laude. She was ordained as a minister in the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

in 1974. She ministered for several years as an associate minister in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, before earning a Ph.D. from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. During her time in North Carolina, she worked with women who had experienced domestic violence. She taught women's studies and theology in various schools from 1975 to 1984. She served on a task force of the

National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Uni ...

that produced an inclusive language lectionary, while she was teaching theology at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

in the early 1980s. In 1984, she joined the faculty at Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS), a seminary affiliated with the

. In 1998, she became the president of the seminary, the first woman to lead the institution since its founding in 1855. She served two five year terms, stepping down from the post in 2008. Alice Hunt succeeded her as president of CTS. Thistlethwaite became a Senior Fellow at the

Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The president and chief executive officer ...

in 2008, while also teaching full-time. She continued to be a public theologian, writing and speaking on matters relating to religion and public life. She wrote a column in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' for six years. She's contributed to articles for ''Theology Today'', the ''Journal for Religious Education'', and the ''Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion''.

Works

* Thistlethwaite, Susan B. and Victor Gold, Thomas Hoyt, Jr., Sharon Ringe, Burton Throckmorton, eds. ''The New Testament and Psalms: A New Inclusive Version'' (1995) *Thistlethwaite, Susan B. and Rita Nakashima Brock. ''Casting Stones: Prostitution and Liberation in Asia and the United States'' (1996) *Thistlethwaite, Susan B. and Mary Potter Engel, eds. ''Lift Every Voice: Constructing Christian Theologies from the Underside'' (1998) *Thistlethwaite, Susan B. and Glen Harold Stassen ''Abrahamic alternatives to war Jewish, Christian, and Muslim perspectives on just peacemaking'' (2008) *Thistlethwaite, Susan B. ''Sex, Race and God: Christian Feminism in Black and White'' (reprinted 2009) *Thistlethwaite, Susan B., ed. ''Adam, Eve and the Genome: Theology in Dialogue with the Human Genome Project.'' * Thistlethwaite, Susan B. ''Dreaming of Eden: American Religion and Politics in a Wired World'' (2010) * Thistlethwaite, Susan B. ''#Occupy the Bible: What Jesus Really Said (and Did) about Money and Power (2013)'' *Thistlethwaite, Susan B. ''Women's Bodies as Battlefield: Christian Theology and the Global War on Women'' (2015) *Thistlethwaite, Susan B. ''“Feel Awful? How to identify Trump’s Politics of Abuse and Subvert It” from Taking it to the streets : public theologies of activism and resistance'' (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thistlethwaite, Susan Brooks 1948 births Living people American theologians Place of birth missing (living people) Seminary presidents Duke University alumni United Church of Christ ministers Smith College alumni Female Bible Translators