There is also the article on the book on sex in the Bible that talks about how the Bible is not a guide book as we expect it to be.

“The most interesting thing about sex in Bible,” J. Harold Ellens insists, “is the fact that the Bible does not moralize sex.” . . . The Bible resists our attempts to distill it into a universal rulebook because it’s mainly a collection of stories and poems crafted over a span of centuries by many different authors, often with conflicting implications. When it comes to sexual mores, the Bible is actually full of “situational ethics.” For example, Ellens notes, polygamy is the most common model of marriage in the Bible, and one can still make a strong biblical argument for polygamy in societies where women greatly outnumber men (such as in areas ravaged by war).

Driving home this point, Ellens cites the Old Testament stories where women, most notably Ruth and Esther, employ their feminine charms to seduce men for the furtherance of God’s aims (and their own). Far from being condemned, these women earn nothing but praise from the biblical authors. It’s ironic that Ruth is upheld as a role model for conservative Christian girls today. Instead of “waiting on God” for a husband, she spotted a good man, followed him home from a party, and jumped into bed with him—violating three “Biblical Rules for Dating” at once.

—Sam Torode (Books & Culture) on Sex in the Bible, by J. Harold Ellens.
Thursday, September 27, 2007 (Congdon blog)