Review: God and Sex by Michael Coogan

For several decades, Michael Coogan's introductory course on the Old Testament has been a perennial favorite among students at Harvard University. In God and Sex, Coogan examines one of the most controversial aspects of the Hebrew Scripture: What the Old Testament really says about sex, and how contemporary understanding of those writings is frequently misunderstood or misrepresented. In the engaging and witty voice generations of students have appreciated, Coogan explores the language and social world of the Bible, showing how much innuendo and euphemism is at play, and illuminating the sexuality of biblical figures as well as God. description taken from here.


Coogan covers everything.  I mean everything.  Marriage, women's domestic roles, abortions, arranged marriages, divorce, etc.  Like I said, he covers everything.  Honestly, Coogan didn't leave a good impression with me.  At all.  Starting with the chapter on women's roles.  Now, if you believe that women are supposed to be the subordinate, then you might just love this book.  However, I feel like we are not in the 1800s anymore and we need to more forward with rights, equality and so forth.  Apparently, Coogan thinks that women are subject to their fathers, and then their husbands once married.  They are never their own person, they are un-named, that's just how important they are to him.  As stated above, this does not leave a good impression with me.  Coogan quotes overly much.  His writting is stale and needs life in it.  Obviously, I did not care for this book at all and I will not be recommending this to anyone.




**I received a complementary copy of this book in order to write a real and honest review. I did not get paid for this post. All opinions are my own, unless otherwise stated.**