God and Sex by Michael Coogan

God and Sex by Michael Coogan

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 of GOD AND SEX.

'Concise, clear and accessible to general readers, this book covers all the usual topics plus a few that may surprise' - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Michael Coogan is Director of Publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum. 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.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780446545259
ISBN 10	0446545252
Title	God and Sex
Author	Michael Coogan
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Little, Brown & Company
Year published	2010-10-01
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.