About this ebook
“An explosive, fascinating book that reveals how the Bible cannot be used as a rulebook when it comes to sex. A terrific read by a top scholar.” —Bart Ehrman, author of Misquoting Jesus
Boston University’s cutting-edge religion scholar Jennifer Wright Knust reveals the Bible’s contradictory messages about sex in this thoughtful, riveting, and timely reexploration of the letter of the gospels. In the tradition of Bart Erhman’s Jesus Interrupted and John Shelby Spong’s Sins of Scripture, Knust’s Unprotected Texts liberates us from the pervasive moralizing—the fickle dos and don’ts—so often dictated by religious demagogues. Knust’s powerful reading offers a return to the scripture, away from the mere slogans to which it is so often reduced.
Boston University’s cutting-edge religion scholar Jennifer Wright Knust reveals the Bible’s contradictory messages about sex in this thoughtful, riveting, and timely reexploration of the letter of the gospels. In the tradition of Bart Erhman’s Jesus Interrupted and John Shelby Spong’s Sins of Scripture, Knust’s Unprotected Texts liberates us from the pervasive moralizing—the fickle dos and don’ts—so often dictated by religious demagogues. Knust’s powerful reading offers a return to the scripture, away from the mere slogans to which it is so often reduced.
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August 9, 2012
Q. Does Jennifer make her point about the contradictions of the Bible with regard to sex and desire? A. She does, but I found the entire book boring. Q. Why is that? A. Jennifer goes way too far into these matters for me. For example, she spends a chapter or two on circumcision and menstruation and such. This just does not interest me. Q. But it may interest others? A. Yes, but compared to other books about the Bible I have read, this one is not for a lay readership. Q. Why not? A. Jennifer makes a weak attempt to link her materials with the world of today, for example, quoting Jerry Falwell and a Texan pastor named Ed Young who recently encouraged married couples to have sex daily. She mentions bullying in schools and homosexuality. But for the most part, she leaves the reader out to wander in the Old Testament (mostly) among Judaic laws and pseudo epigraphs, that scholarly stuff that she and her colleagues talk about at their conferences. I am just an average reader, not a specialist in how men were recognized in the Bible. I want to know how that impacts us today. Jennifer did not relate her narrative to the world of today sufficiently. She does this only sporadically. Q. So the book is not for the general reader? A. I really think most readers will be bored. They will either not finish the book or skim most of it to get the essence. Q. And what is the essence? A. Jennifer does show that people get out of the Bible what they are looking for. There is a Bible citation for every point of view. That does not mean it should be ignored, but it must be read with personal awareness. Awareness of what we are looking to find and why.
About the author
Jennifer Wright Knust is assistant professor of religion at Boston University. She is an ordained American Baptist pastor, and holds a doctorate in religion from Columbia University and a master of divinity from Union Theological Seminary.
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