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 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?”