Hi all,

I listened to a programme on Radio National the other night – it has been on before – and I thought it may be of interest to f2bers:

The programme is entitled "The World's Sexiest Book"

This is the blurb that accompanies the programme:

"The Bible is rife with sex, and right from the beginning it is introduced as part of the human condition. Judges, kings and prophets enjoy sex, women use it to bring down tyrants, and King Solomon's 'Song of Songs' makes Casanova's memoirs look like kid's stuff. Michael Coogan is one of the leading Biblical scholars in the US, and in his book God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says, he reveals all, including whether David loved Jonathan in that way."

Here is the link to the programme – you can listen or follow the links to read the transcript.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/spiritofthings/the-worlds-sexiest-book/3689312#comments

Sarab

Hi Sarab

Thanks for posting this. I like that Michael Coogan challenges the fundamental view that the bible was hand written by God. I also like that he points out that just because certain things aren't mentioned in scripture, doesn't make them right or wrong. The bible clearly doesn't include everything relating to modern life. And I doubt that it covered everything in ancient times either. For example, there is the role of women in ancient times, many unnamed and down played, because of the bias and culture of the day as well as subsequent patriarchy adding it's layers of cover up.

Blessings,

Ann Maree