Anathea E. Portier-Young, associate professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School, has co-edited a volume of essays offering a panoramic view of current thinking on biblical texts that play important roles in either inspiring or impeding contemporary struggles for social justice.

The book, Scripture and Social Justice: Catholic and Ecumenical Essays, was published by Lexington Books/Fortress Academic in August 2018. Portier-Young co-edited the book with Gregory E. Sterling, dean of Yale Divinity School and the Reverend Henry L. Slack Dean and Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament.

Portier-Young and Sterling collected essays from an ecumenical array of leading biblical scholars that offer fresh and compelling resources for thinking biblically about what justice is and what it demands. They also each wrote an essay, with Portier-Young’s titled “Preaching Justice from the Old Testament.”

Individual essays treat key debates, themes, and texts, locating each within its historical and cultural settings while also linking them to the most pressing justice concerns of the 21^st century. The volume aims to challenge academic and ecclesiastical complacency, as well as highlight key avenues for future scholarship and action.