Description: 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."
Brief description:
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.
Review Quotes:
"[Knust mines] the Bible for its earthiest and most inexplicable tales about sex...to show that the Bible's teachings on sex are not as coherent as the religious right would have people believe." - Newsweek
"[An] impressive and highly readable analysis of Old and New Testament Bible stories.... For those wanting to understand the Bible as a chronicle of human conduct for achieving the goals of survival, peace, and fulfillment, this is a treasure." - Booklist (starred review)