God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says

When a book is titled, or as in this case subtitled, what the bible really says that usually does not bode well. I say usually because Michael Coogan's book is a delightful exception to that rule. First off, he has chosen a fascinating topic. Second, Coogan is an excellent First Testament scholar. And thirdly, this is the perfect book to tie into my ongoing series on the theology of marriage.

Not only is sex a hot topic, it is the source of many a heated debate. Coogan does not skirt around any of this. His focus is clearly on what is in the text and he carefully steers us away from the culture wars so that we can give the texts a chance to speak. That is a good thing. But it is also a hard thing as the texts do not consistently present show more the values we cherish in our society. Over and over again Coogan points to the horrendous treatment of women in Scripture. This highlights his critique of the use of Scripture in the contemporary culture wars - that we all pick and choose what to highlight and what to ignore. If you are looking for a how to guide for Biblical sex, then you are probably not the kind of person who would be reading this book. But if you are looking for a careful study of what is actually in the texts themselves regarding human (and divine) sexuality, this is a great resource.

It is clear that Coogan's strengths are in First, sometimes called Old, Testament scholarship. (Funny note, at a few points I was reminded of the work of popular historian Thomas Cahill only to find Cahill mentioned in the Acknowledgments. It was a feeling I had based on Coogan's style. I found Coogan as easy to read as Cahill who is a very engaging writer.) He draws the reader into the scope of the text like an archeologist carefully unearths a site of antiquity. His forays into the New Testament are good, but somehow not nearly as engaging. Most of the chapters did leave me wanting more though, simply because everything is so interesting.

It is curious though that despite focusing heavily on the treatment of women, Coogan does not mention an important First Testament cultural challenge at the end of Job. In fact it is one of the few things that marks Job as being changed by his experience - the way he treats his new daughters. Here is where Coogan's insistance that we need to let the text speak as a whole becomes so important. But perhaps I find this important because it is foundational to my own strategy of working with Scriptural text. Coogan's proposed strategy is that the texts should be in dialogue with the people of faith and not simply taken as normative - otherwise we should treat women horribly and reinstate slavery. At least we should if we want to be faithful to all of Scripture.

In terms of my series Towards a Theology of Marriage. Coogan provides an excellent overview of Biblical views on marriage. And it is a mess. The following, according to the Bible, should be acceptable: women are merely property and are distributed in power broker type arrangements, a woman who is raped is not important it is an offense against her owner, married men as not prohibited from seeing prostitutes even though they may not let their daughters be prostitutes, polygamy is really the norm and if there were more women in the garden than Eve you can bet Adam would be depicted as procreating with them as well because as soon as this was an option (according to pre-historical texts) it was the norm. Of course none of this will support a high view of covenant such as I am proposing. But the good news is that we do not read Scripture this way. Even the hyper-literalists navigate their way through scripture using their preconceptions about what it 'should' say. This is why Coogan's proposal for Scripture in faith communities is so important.

If you are looking for an engaging read on a fascinating subject then look no further. If you want to read something that supports your already established notions of what the Bible says about sex - you might want to avoid this one. It will only make you mad. But for those of us who care about the text, this book is a great read. show less

I have read a few perspectives on sexuality from a Christian point of view before, but had so far found them quite innocuous in that they did not actually make much in the way of claims (at least not well-founded claims) and in the fact that they did not challenge the Christian status quo. I was hoping that this book would be different, and it was. Unfortunately, it was different from the others on only one count.

The book is divided up by topic rather than historical time period or Bible order, which marks a departure from most Christian books I have read before. The author delves into the historical, cultural, religious, and linguistic ambiguities on Biblical topics related to sex, such as the status of women, marriage and divorce, show more forbidden sexual relations, rape and prostitution, and the idea of a wife for Yahweh. The topics seem quite well-covered and explored except for the last one. It was by far the most fascinating and radical issue in the book, but he starts discussing it not long before the book ends. Furthermore, the conclusion is non-conclusive; the author merely brings up issues but never takes an intellectual (not to mention moral) stance on them. This is most troubling on the topic of the women's issues highlighted in the first section as well as the section about rape and prostitution. The author brings up how reprehensible people would find traditional Biblical views on ideas such as consent, but does not provide a Biblical perspective on that warranted disgust nor does he state his own opinion. It made me feel as if he was subtly undermining the more humanistic views on women and women's rights that people espouse today.

Overall, I would say that the author does a fantastic job of deconstructing Christian views on sex based on the Bible, but he doesn't do much for reconstructing them afterwards. Maybe it's supposed to be the reader's job, but from a non-Christian point of view, I do wonder what the author, who is a Christian, actually thinks about some of the thornier issues he discusses. show less

Michael Coogan's "God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says" accomplishes what few book on the Bible even attempt: It is at once a well-researched, well-conceived historical-critical examination of the biblical text while also being completely accessible to modern readers not particularly well-versed in biblical scholarship. As other reviews have suggested, this book will not be well-received by those who already "know" what the Bible says concerning sex (yep, that's me being cute using one of the authors textual highlights). However, as a minister I can think of many congregants to whom I would recommend this work.

On several occasions, Coogan takes to task those translators who have "prudishly" toned down the sexual overtones in the show more text. Conversely, on a few occasions the author seems to overstate (play up?) the sexual nature of a passage, probably to elicit a bit of a shock for the novice student of the Bible. However, this is rare and not pervasive.

For those less inclined to finish the book due to its very explicit sections, I would say, "please reconsider your decision." The conclusion of the book is perhaps its strongest section and sets forth why books such as these are important in a culture where the Bible has great influence and a myriad of interpretations. show less

If you're hoping for a biblical Harlequin, look elsewhere. This is a heavy little book, even a little overwhelming, as it delves into the sexual inequalities of biblical times. I found the book rather dark in places; an obvious agenda of the author is to extol how grateful we should be to have outgrown the biblical view of women as property. Indeed there are multiple horror stories of how women were treated in the Bible, but is it healthy to overdose on this topic? Coogan touches only briefly on the other side of the coin--the radical change in treatment encouraged by Jesus and his earliest followers. Even Paul, says Coogan, suppressed women, as he argues against current scholarship that many of the suppressive teachings recorded by show more "Paul" were actually later writings.

But, thankfully, the book isn't entirely about sexual inequality. Some of the topics are more light-hearted. You'll learn about sexual innuendos which shed light on several passages in the Bible; you'll find out whether David and Jonathan were gay lovers (they weren't); you'll learn about the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah (it wasn't sodomy, or even sexual perversity); you'll learn about Yahweh's wife in Israel’s most primitive beliefs, including several passages from the Bible. I highly recommend the book, and I guarantee you'll learn from it. show less

A Review of God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says, a book by Michael Coogan

We are a culture enamored of our own sexuality for both good and bad. For some of us, human sexuality is approached with an extremely liberal laissez faire attitude. For others, the issue of human sexuality, including the roles of gender, is approached from a hyper conservative – and some would say puritanical – perspective. The vast majority find themselves somewhere in the middle but no one is without some sort of opinion.

In the midst of this eternal debate, we hear entreaties made to look at these issues in light of “What would Jesus do?” or, “What does the Bible say?” According to a recent study released by the Pew Forum, however, it would seem show more that a great many of us are illiterate when it comes to religion in general and the Bible specifically. Therefore, it is questionable whether many of us can actually answer these questions as they pertain to either sexuality or any other aspect of human life.

Fortunately, we do have scholars like Michael Coogan who are willing to help us intelligently and unflinchingly look for the answers. In his new book God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says, Coogan boldly leads his readers through the broad scope of the Bible’s sexual content.

Using the best that modern biblical scholarship has to offer, Dr. Coogan incorporates sociological, literary and anthropological insights from the Ancient Near East, enlightening the biblical texts and tradition which we lean on so heavily. The result is an unblushing look into the biblical bedroom as it were. It should also be greatly appreciated that he also makes it a point to discuss the sexual roles of women and men in society in general. In all of this he maintains a wry sense of humor, bringing an appropriate touch of humor to what might be an otherwise dry, academic discussion.

Dr. Coogan has really rendered us quite a service. His book generously confronts both those who wish to lift the bible up as a definitive collection of precepts while challenging those who would generally ignore its importance. Perhaps his most insightful thoughts come in his conclusion.
“…no single biblical text adequately expresses the ideal, and in fact some texts clearly are counter to it from our perspective. Taken as a whole, however, the Bible can be understood as the beginning of a continuous movement toward the goal of full freedom and equality for all persons,…”

It is, in my estimation, an entirely useful one stop shop for those who would seriously ask, “What does the Bible say?” show less

It has taken me a little while to get round to reviewing this book. As others have mentioned, this book is more on the academic side than some may have expected, but it is still very accessible if approached with this in mind. What Coogan has done is look at the topic of 'God and Sex' from the point of what is written in the context of when and where it was written. Too many people use the Bible to prove the point they want it to make rather than actually taking the time to read what it says contextually. Although a lot oh what he wrote has been written in other places, it was good to have all of it put together in one short volume like this. I thought it was good that he left his own conclusions to the end of the book, which gives the show more reader time to think about their own conclusion on the subject. This is a worthwhile book to read, even if at times it may be a little to explicit for some, as it offers some insight to a topic that is often whitewashed or overlooked in the church today. show less

He made it easy to understand the metaphors in the Bible, explaining what each meant in the context of the times. I walked away with a deeper understanding of the text as it concerns sex and relationships.

As with other books, we must realize that it was written at a certain time. What was acceptable to society at that time is not now. The premise of respect and love is the same, just not how we portray those things.