Reviews:
-[D]oes a better job than most at prodding us to encounter the biblical texts in all their strangeness....[E]llens is a welcome guide worth reading and learning from and arguing with and reading again.
—Books & Culture
-Compelling writing and thoughtful engagement with matters textual and sexual make this a fine resource for anyone confronting contemporary sexual issues.
—The Christian Century
-Sex in the Bible is a book that can be enjoyed by clergy, students of theology, and lay persons alike....Sex in the Bible: A New Consideration is exactly that -- a man telling the truth as he has discovered it, over a lifetime of study of human nature and biblical texts. And that truth is a breath of fresh air, indeed.
—Observer & Eccentric
-Ellens aspires to discuss all aspects of human sexuality and the perspective offered by the numerous and varied authors of the 66 books of the Holy Bible during the 1,000 years or so that they wrote. He tries to look at the texts as they were intended by their original writers to be understood by their original readers, rather than as they are now read after 2,000 years of dogma, interpretation, and moralizing. He also mentions teachings of the Quran and Islam that are influenced by Christianity and Judaism.
—Reference & Research Book News
-Ellens, an eminent scholar of the Bible and psychology, serves as both series editor and author of this work on the Bible's views on sex and sexuality, in which he also contemplates such topics as reproduction's purposes, original sin, gender roles, adultery, divorce, monogamy, and homosexuality. In some instances, e.g., homosexuality, he does an outstanding job of presenting the social and historical context for the Bible's abomination of its practice, pointing out its origins in pagan religious practices of the time....[h]is study is accessible and comprehensible; public libraries will find it popular.
—Library Journal