God and Sex What the Bible Really Says

by Coogan, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780446545266
• ISBN10: 0446545260
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-03
• Publisher: Twelve

Summary

The Bible is full of narratives about sexual encounters, and modern-day readers have shown a widespread interest in what, exactly, it says about the subject. Scholars have turned their attention to the rigorous examination of biblical texts from historical, theological, and ethical perspectives. Still, many clergy and lay people continue to look upon these words (even the most cryptic, confusing, and bizarre ones) as authoritative literal statements. In addition, these misinterpreted texts are constantly used to "legislate morality" and to promote "family values"--selectively and misleadingly twisting what is written. As it stands, the gulf between the scholarly understandings of these texts and their popular appropriation today is a large one. Before the Bible can be applied to contemporary issues, it is vitally important that we take a careful look at what the Bible itself says-- placing it in the contexts of the social worlds in which it was written. To know what the Bible really means, we must first actually determine what it meant when it was written, and apply this to the lives we lead, here and now. This is the mission ofGOD AND SEX.

Author Biography

Michael Coogan is Director of Publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum and Professor of Religious Studies at Stonehill College. For several decades, he has taught an introductory course on the Hebrew Scriptures at Harvard University, as well as at Wellesley College, Boston College, and Stonehill College. One of the leading biblical scholars in the United States, he is the author of The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures and editor of the acclaimed third edition of The New Oxford Annotated Bible.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xi
To Know in the Biblical Sense: Speaking of Sex	p. 1
He Will Rule over You: The Status of Women	p. 19
Widows	p. 26
Virginity	p. 27
Jephthah's Virgin Daughter	p. 28
Celibacy as an Ideal	p. 32
The Virgin Mary	p. 36
Women's Public Roles	p. 39
Women's Domestic Roles	p. 50
As It Was in the Beginning?: Marriage and Divorce	p. 61
Abortion	p. 64
Arranged Marriages	p. 67
Endogamy and Exogamy	p. 70
Polygamy	p. 73
Divorce	p. 84
Thou Shalt Not: Forbidden Sexual Relationships in the Bible	p. 99
Adultery	p. 101
David and Bathsheba	p. 104
Sex with Family Members	p. 108
Tamar	p. 110
Lot's Daughters	p. 113
Reuben	p. 114
Other Prohibited Sexual Relationships	p. 115
Same-Sex Relationships in the Bible	p. 117
David and Jonathan	p. 118
Sodom and Sodomy	p. 121
Prohibitions of Homoerotic Relations	p. 134
Jesus and Same-Sex Relationships	p. 139
Folly in Israel: Rape and Prostitution	p. 141
Dinah	p. 147
Tamar	p. 149
Prostitution	p. 150
Fire in the Divine Loins: God's Wives in Myth and Metaphor	p. 161
Myth and Metaphor	p. 165
Yahweh's Wives in Myth	p. 166
Polytheism in Ancient Israel	p. 170
Yahweh's Children	p. 176
The Goddess Wisdom	p. 178
Yahweh's Wives in Metaphor	p. 181
Problems with the Metaphor	p. 186
Conclusion	p. 189
Acknowledgments	p. 196
Illustration Credits	p. 197
Bibliography	p. 198
Notes	p. 202
Index	p. 229
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