Reviewing: Unprotected Texts: The Bible’s Surprising Contradictions about Sex and Desire
Jennifer’s argument in this book is that there is no single sexual ethic in the “Christian” Bible and surrounding Judeo-Christian texts. She proves her point by examining the similarities, differences and even contradictions between various Judeo-Christian texts, the law of the land and customs of the surrounding culture.
Jennifer shows that Song of Songs is more likely about two sexually active single people than two single virgins who are abstaining. She delves into the book of Ruth, the story of David and Bathsheba contrasted with the story of David and Jonathan (which may have been a sexual relationship), ideas about ownership of women, and the commonplace acceptance of polygamy in Old Testament times. She further contrasts polygamy with the elevation of celibacy in the New Testament.
I found chapter four particularly illuminating. Jennifer explains that when the Bible refers to “adulterers” and “prostitutes” it is simply a label to distinguish between “us” and “them.” The label itself often has no sexual basis. We have little or no evidence that temple prostitutes existed, for example, and most likely refers to people serving other gods. The Israelites were often just as “adulterous” as any other nation in terms of actual sexual behavior and also in terms of their relationship to their God—the figurative “adultery” AKA “idolatry” they committed by worshipping other gods. So when we read lists in the New Testament about “fornicators,” or the “sexually immoral” etc. we can see that this is more of a code-word for “outsiders” and less of a reference to actual sexual behavior.
Jennifer talks about rape, incest and divorce laws evolving over time. She writes about Eunuchs and Sodomites and their treatment within Judeo-Christian texts. She studies the Nephilim and the mating of humans with spiritual beings; a discussion which lends itself to Jesus’ own “miraculous” conception and the emphasis on (or idealization of) Mary’s “purity.” The final chapter is all about bodily fluids like menstrual blood and semen, childbirth, the ritual of circumcision, and the customs and thought processes around “cleanliness” in the Bible.
Jennifer convincingly demonstrates that
sexual laws are irregularly enforced and subject to constant revision, both in America and in the Bible.