Book Reviews,  Christianity,  Theology/Bible

What is the meaning of sex?

For those of you who pay attention to the sidebar, you know that I have a new book set to be released on October 31. As it turns out, the publisher got her done early, and the book is available now for anybody who wants one. Amazon.com has it at a discounted price, but the best price I’ve seen so far is offered by the Westminster Theological Seminary bookstore—only $9.

People have been asking me why I wrote this book. There are a number of reasons I could cite, but the main reason is this—the glory of God. We inhabit a culture that falls short of the glory of God when it comes to sexuality. Many people have simply found themselves folded into the Bible-ignoring Zeitgeist. Whatever the reason, there is a great deal of misunderstanding out there about sexuality, gender, manhood and womanhood. This book is designed to bring the witness of scripture to bear upon the nitty-gritty details of our sexual lives.

In this book, I’m trying to answer the question in the title, “What is the meaning of sex?” My answer is that the deepest meaning of our sexuality is the glory of God. Because the glory of God is the ultimate purpose of all things, all sexual morality must be judged by its ability to achieve that end. With that principle in mind, I discuss a range of topics: marriage, homosexuality, gender, intersex, singleness, and much more.

I am really excited about this book, and over the next couple of weeks I hope you might bear with me as I use this blog to try and get the word out about it. In the meantime, the WTS bookstore has posted an excerpt from the beginning of the book. I hope you’ll take time to check that out and perhaps even to buy the book itself. Thanks!

12 Comments

  • Esther O'Reilly

    This looks good Denny. I’m curious, what position do you take on the “other” sexual acts besides the ordinary one? I’m concerned to see many Christians, even supposedly conservative ones, taking an “anything goes” approach to this issue. The Mormons are actually better than some evangelicals on the issue from what I’ve seen.

  • Bill Griffin

    Only an observation Denny but I thought it a bit odd that you wrote a book about sex and then referred to the book as a “her”. Seems Freudian somehow. 🙂

  • Suzanne McCarthy

    It showed up as available in Kindle and I paid but got a download error! Spent my money but no book! I do have a few reactions to the excerpt, however.

    Denny, just wondering why you say “my love” is a “she” in Song of Solomon 2:7. The woman is speaking in all of the verses you cite. She is the initial pursuant in this book and has agency. Are you using “she” as a personification of love? That would make sense. Is there any Bible translation which does this? Or is this also Freudian?

    Also, why are you using the terms “lover” and “beloved” as active for the male and passive for the female, when it does not relate in any way to the Hebrew text. This study should be based on careful translation and exegesis. The lovers have an equal role, and authority and submission are not in view. Nor is there a male initiator. I realize that there are complementarian translations of the S of S but surely we want something close to the original.

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