Sex in the Bible
The author of this book J.Harold Ellens believes interpretation of any biblical passage must attend to cultural context. Present culture is significantly different enough from those of biblical times to affect one’s understanding of biblical passages. In the Bible, women are important for the family line, but are often viewed as property.
Sometimes readers are uncertain whether sex relationship or property relationship was the central issue in this or that biblical story. Similarly, knowing whether an admonition refers to a context of holy worship and is significant only in worship settings – or also in ordinary human relationships - is difficult. Ellens seeks to clarify these contextual matters in specific biblical references to sex. He discusses ways that today’s culture differs significantly from the cultures of biblical times.
He points out the distinctive effects of Jerome and Augustine upon a pronounced separation of sexuality from spirituality. He reminds readers that New Testament authors lived in cultural contexts different from those of the Old Testament. Jesus’s response to the law of the Old Testament was more of a situational ethics than people today are prone to admit. Ellens is generally successfully in his attempt to write at a level suitable for general readers.
Praeger Publishers (2006) | ISBN 0275987671 | 213 pages | PDF | 2.48 MB
