Westar Institute

Marti J. Steussy, MacAllister-Petticrew Professor of Biblical Interpretation emerita at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, is an ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She has written or edited Samuel and His God (U of South Carolina Press, 2010), David: Biblical Portraits of Power (USC 1999), Psalms (Chalice Commentary for Today series, 2004), The Chalice Introduction to the Old Testament (2003), Gardens in Babylon: Narrative and Faith in the Greek Legends of Daniel (Scholars Press 1993), and two science fiction novels, Forest of the Night and Dreams of Dawn (Del Rey 1987 and 1988), as well as essays and articles. She was a translator for the Common English Bible project (Eerdmans, 2011) and has written and edited notes for CEB study Bibles. She has a special interest in the dynamics of the Bible as live spoken literature and has done presentations on biblical storytelling in Canada and the UK as well as the US. She serves on the board of the Network of Biblical Storytellers, Int’l. and is a founding member and program planner for the Network’s seminar group. She is a past president and current participant in both the American Theological Society and the Association of Disciples for Theological Discussion, and holds memberships in Spiritual Directors, Int’l., and the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences.Although she formally retired in 2014, Dr. Steussy continues teaching at the seminary part-time. Her portfolio has included not only First Testament and biblical language courses, but interdisciplinary seminars on religion and science, mythology, environmental issues, process and feminist theologies, mysticism, spirituality, and forgiveness. She has hiked the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain and parts of the Kumano Kodo (a Japanese pilgrimage trail), completed a two-year certificate in Self Psychology with the Center for Religion and Psychotherapy of Chicago, and memorized the Sermon on the Mount in Greek. She and her husband Nic (a biophysicist at Purdue University) have two adult children and a cat.