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241 Afterword .Marcia Y. Riggs and James Samuel Logan. the inSpiration and SometimeS source for these essays is the scholarship of Princeton Seminary’s emeritus professor of Christian social ethics Dr. Peter J. Paris. The important leadership of Dr. Paris as president of the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Christian Ethics, and the Society for the Study of Black Religion is matched by his contributions to the field of Christian social ethics. His scholarship teaches students and scholars. He teaches students that doing ethical reflection requires that we understand history and traditions in order to better understand and analyze our present realities. He teaches scholars that excellent scholarship contributes substantively to its author’s academic discipline and enlarges a people’s vision of the world that they inhabit. We are reminded by Dr. Paris that God’s creation is a moral community that is local and global, human and nonhuman, and we are called to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.” A significant part of Dr. Paris’s scholarship has focused upon African Americans and Africans. From his analysis of black leaders in church and society and the social teaching of the black churches to his exposition of the moral discourse and spirituality of African American and African peoples, Dr. Paris demonstrates the way in which social ethics must be grounded in particular human experiences and communities as it addresses issues affecting all of society. His scholarship pushes individuals and groups to struggle through the unavoidable trials and tribulations of human association on the basis of a moral vision of hope. This moral vision of hope invites us to be mutually vulnerable (acknowledging real 242 Ethics That Matters human differences and disagreements) as we strive to be accountable and covenant with one another to seek our common good. As Cornel West notes, Peter Paris is one of the greatest Christian ethicists of our time. His scholarly corpus is magisterial. His teaching career at Vanderbilt and Princeton Theological Seminary is legendary. His church activism is exemplary. And his deep sense of humanity—of love and service to others—pervades his very being. The grand legacy of Peter Paris is deep and wide. We dedicate this volume to Dr. Peter J. Paris. ...

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