The Book of Esther was not accepted into the Jewish and Christian canons without controversy. A feminist interpreter explains how Esther, sometimes called ''the most secular book of the Bible, '' caused problems for Israel and the church:

''The reason for the difficulty that the book had in achieving canonical status is its perceived lack of religiosity. Most glaring is the complete absence of any mention of God...concepts of law and covenant are absent,...there are no prayers.[1]

He told me how much he was enjoying his Bible study group here at Duke.

''Were you in a Bible study group in high school?'' I asked.

''Are you kidding?'' he asked, ''I told you I was an Episcopalian.”

I persisted. ''Well why do you think that Bible study has become so important to you here?”

Exasperated he …