The Bible and Sexuality, by Karen R. Keen, Durham, NC: Contemplatio Publishing, 2020.116 pages.
What Does the Bible Say About Sex?
A slim volume, easily read in an afternoon, or evening, Keen writes with a spare yet approachable style exploring what the Bible has to say about sex, including same-sex encounters. Originally intended as a primer for her college students, Keen explains that her Course Reader is an anthology of essays originally published as blogs supplementary to a course she teaches on the interaction of scripture and ethics in the discussion about same-sex relationships.
In her own words, The Bible and Sexuality is divided into two main sections, first dealing with “descriptive ethics” and the second “normative ethics.”
Descriptive Ethics
As Keen points out, the biblical authors’ views and moral reasoning were shaped by their own time and place. I would add that in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, authors conveyed timeless truths and principles couched in the language, culture, and age they knew. Keen brings forward this same understanding as she seeks to bring scriptural values and morality into the world we live in now.
Included in this section are all the Bible passages dealing explicitly with same-sex relations along with something I have long wished to see but had yet to encounter: brief and accurate summaries of both the traditional and progressive views.
Monogamous Marriage
There were some surprises for me in this first part of the book. For instance, I had always believed that the practice of monogamy had come through the Hebrew people, based upon the foundational story of Genesis 2, “and they became one flesh.” How often have we heard the portrayal of God’s ideal for marriage argued from this passage as “one man, one woman, one lifetime?” Jesus certainly seems to support this teaching on monogamy when he says,
“Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Matthew 19:4-6 (NRSVUE, italics added)
But, evidently, it is the Greeks who “introduced monogamous marriage to the ancient world” (7). Polygamy was accepted and widespread among Israelites, even into Jesus’s day, though it appears the Essenes argued for monogamy based on Noah’s instruction to bring the animals two-by-two into the ark (and Noah and his sons all entered the ark with one wife a piece).
I also did not grasp that premarital sex was allowable (in other words, perhaps frowned upon in conservative circles, but not considered sin) for Hebrew men up until the first century BCE, or CE. However, by Jesus’s day, celibacy before marriage was expected of both Jewish men and Jewish women.
It was not a surprise that the word porneia had come to mean all forms of sexual immorality from the Jewish point of view. Men in the Greco-Roman world, though they may have been married to only one wife at a time, they routinely bedded concubines and slaves (both male and female) in their household, as well as visited prostitutes (also both male and female), as a perfectly acceptable and legal mode of entertainment in their day.
Same-Sex Relations
Perhaps the most valuable information, for me, was reading the traditional and progressive interpretations of each of the passages that deal with same-sex relations, beginning with Leviticus and ending with Revelation.
After providing summary statements, Keen gives a number of thoughtful suggestions concerning hermeneutical principles for interpretation (31-36). I have quoted her principles below, hopefully to pique interest in the reasoning Keen gives to each point, and the helpful reflection questions she asks.
- Our social location impacts the angle in which we view and interpret scripture.
- specific topical and word studies can be helpful but have certain limitations for ethical application.
- proof texting leads to misinterpretation.
- flat reading leads to misinterpretation.
- the biblical authors did not always view outside culture as a bad influence.
- paying attention to literary context is essential for correctly interpreting a particular verse or passage.
- reception history helps us to understand how later generations received and interpreted biblical texts.
Normative Ethics
The rest of Keen’s essays have to do with forming theology for today based upon what the scriptures have to say.
Support of Family
Her opening remarks position the biblical authors’ view of sex as set “in the context of community stability” (40). Adultery tore apart family unity (and still does), as does marrying outside the community. Knowing paternity guaranteed the carrying forward of family inheritance. Fealty of each new generation to the community into which they were born provided care for the aging, and for family homesteads.
From these basic concepts comes a proposed “normative Christian ethic” for today that asks how “sexual behavior impacts community welfare as a whole, particularly as it relates to the stability of marriages and the well-being of children. And it will find grace-filled, not shame-based, ways to do that” (42).
Self-Control
Keen’s thoughts are particularly relevant, pointing out the difference between “controlling behavior by external force” and self-control that comes through submission to the Holy Spirit’s authority (44). A normative Christian ethic would encourage and celebrate self-control through voluntary submission of desire to the Lord rather than resorting to legalistic control from the outside.
Just reading the subtitles in this section conveys how rich this section is:
- Our bodies belong to God for a purpose.
- Covenant is the best context for sex.
- A better way than shame and rules.
- How the Spirit empowers us to live a Christian sexual ethic.
Keen next tackles three complex topics (that have generated shelves of books) in just a few pages.
- The nature of marriage.
- The biblicality of the Nashville Statement.*
- The feasibility of celibacy.
Each category is given the same summary treatment as the material so far in this book, and it is here Keen’s own leanings become most evident. She asks some fair questions, and offers some compassionate thoughts that at least open the door for further discussion.
Nuda Scriptura
Keen ends her book with a second chapter on hermeneutical principles and provides a helpful worksheet on developing one’s own ethical framework—useful for those who subscribe to a traditional interpretation of scripture, or a progressive one, or some combination of both.
The biggest perspective broadener for me in this section has to do with our Protestant view of the Bible.
“Sola scriptura as defined by the early Reformers did not mean God’s revelation only comes through Scripture and nothing else. The Reformers considered other sources of insight, including tradition. In fact, they frequently cited tradition to make their theological points. Today, many Christians who say they adhere to sola Scriptura actually believe in nuda Scriptura, which is the belief that scripture and nothing else can reveal God’s will. Only the Bible can be used as a source for ethics. In contrast, sola scriptura is the view that scripture is primary (prima scriptura), while other sources can also aid in scriptural discernment (e.g. tradition or general revelation). Nuda Scriptura is a problematic distortion of sola Scriptura.”
Karen R. Keen, The Bible and Sexuality: A Course Reader, 107
What I Liked
As promised, Keen has developed a primer to be read as a companion to a longer work on biblical sexual ethics. She surprised me with fresh perspectives and historical nuggets. I especially appreciate her irenic handling of both traditional and progressive biblical interpretation, and her wise counsel on hermeneutics.
What I Did Not Like
It is probably unfair to say this, but I wish Keen had offered citations for some of the facts she provided (like the Greek introduction of monogamous marriage), as well as notes for how to further investigate the views she summarizes. There is also no bibliography, which I found disappointing. In my opinion, this little primer could be developed into a sturdy textbook for Christians on all sides of this hot topic today.
*The Nashville Statement, written by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, states the only context for sex is within a faithful monogamous marriage between one man and one women. Embedded within this statement is the complementarian view of male “headship” within the family and opposition to all other forms of sexuality.
Complementarianism is a concept developed in the late 1970’s to replace the church’s traditional position of patriarchy, based upon the supposed innate inferiority of women. I give an overview of complementarian and egalitarian thought in the post below.
I have often wondered why so few scholars mention the polygamy of the patriarchs, while saying definitively that Bible is authoritative. Seems like selective blindness. Thanks for sharing this book review.
You bring up such a good point, Vicki. After I read about the -Greeks- introducing monogamy, I was just floored. But there it is. As you say, so few scholars have addressed the entrenched polygamy in the Bible, and also the less savory ways ancient Hebrew men procured wives for themselves, yet promote the ideal of Genesis 2.
There is probably a paper in that. I might try to pursue that over the summer.