Ruth and Esther

Marcia Y. Riggs is J. Erskine Love Professor of Christian Ethics, Emerita, Columbia Theological Seminary. She has published articles and books on womanist ethics, sexual-gender justice, moral education, public discourse, and public policy. Her publications include: Awake, Arise, and Act! A Womanist Call for Black Liberation; Can I Get a Witness? Prophetic Religious Voices of African American Women, an Anthology; Plenty Good Room: Black Women versus Male Power in the Black Church, and she is a co-editor of Ethics That Matters: African, Caribbean, and African American Sources. Dr. Riggs was awarded a 2017-2018 Henry Luce III Fellowship from the Luce Foundation and the Association of Theological Schools.

“This welcome series holds great promise for a new engagement between biblical texts and constructive theology. Readers can anticipate a great deal that may be both fresh and faithful.”—Walter Brueggemann, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary“As one who preaches regularly and teaches both clergy and laity, I find the Belief series to be just the kind of resource I depend on for my own preparation and to recommend to adults who wish to move carefully through a book of the Bible. The approach is scholarly rich, theologically nuanced, and accessible to the thoughtful reader.”—Patricia J. Lull, Bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America“For the preacher who seeks to do justice not only to biblical texts in all their complexity but also to the richness of historical and contemporary theology, the Belief series offers a vital new tool.”—Maxwell Grant, Senior Minister, Second Congregational Church of Greenwich, United Church of Christ“Again and again, the careful scholarship and liveliness of the witness of each author have brought not only theological insights but also new frameworks for preaching and looking at my own life of faith. This is an excellent series, the best one I have found for parish ministry.”—Kelly Nelson, Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Crawfordsville, Indiana“I highly recommend the Belief series! The authors are widely respected theologians who aid pastors and teachers by bringing the biblical text into creative theological conversation with contemporary concerns.”—Roy Howard, Pastor, Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, North Bethesda, Maryland