Kirjahaku

Ruth and Esther theologically examines Ruth and Esther as moral agents who overcome gendered violence with moral courage and imagination.In this volume of the Belief commentary series, Marcia Y. Riggs brings a womanist, social-ethical reading of the books of Ruth and Esther to reveal the intersection of various forms of gendered violence-social, political, ethnic, economic. Riggs insightfully invites readers to examine how Ruth and Esther are social actors and moral agents responding constructively to gendered violence in their contexts, and she offers historical and contemporary examples of gendered violence to juxtapose with the experiences of Ruth and Esther. In the process, readers are inspired to ask who are the Ruths and Esthers in our society. How is the church responding to the marginalization of these women? How are people of faith doing ministry in solidarity with the struggles of these women?In all, this resource for preaching and teaching provides insights about faithful ethical responses to violence, encouraging readers to be in dialogue with biblical texts as they ask questions about their complicity with violence in our environments today.

""I offer this book as an outgrowth of my faith journey in the African American Church and as an ethicist who is deeply concerned about the distorted relationship between the professed theological and ethical beliefs and moral practices with respect to gender in that church. I am concerned with the way that we interpret our beliefs about justice in particular in order to match our sexual gender oppressive practices while maintaining that we ""received"" such interpretation by way of the Bible and/or church tradition."" - Marcia Y. Riggs In Plenty Good Room: Women Versus Male Power in the Black Church, Riggs discusses African American church life as a case study for ethical reflection about sexual ethics and clergy ethics - the prevailing silence about sexuality in the black church as well as the fact that sexuality is generally a taboo in the Christian tradition. The author feels that sexism has been perpetrated by misuse of the Scriptures and by circumscribing the role of women, and seeks to transform current discourse about sexual behavior and clergy misconduct from a concentration on formulating policy to re-train. Riggs offers both descriptive analysis and normative proposals for transforming the moral life of the African American church - the way of ""being"" and ""doing"" characteristic of the African American church - in the areas of: ∑ Sexual-gender relations ∑ Clergy ethics ∑ Ministerial ethics ∑ Ecclesial practices Riggs begins each chapter with a scenario and ends each chapter with dialogue questions for further group reflection. Marcia Y. Riggs is Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.