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Rating: 
Summary: WOW!
Review: If nothing else, I will always be greatful to Countryman for making the Judaic purity laws make sense AS A WHOLE. I could always find explanations/rationalizations for an individual law, but the system seemed so arbitrary. Countryman -- almost in passing -- makes it all make sense. That aside, his scholarship and theology are excellent. He looks at Mosaic law in context, and at the New Testemant teachings on it. He goes into depth, often taking us back to original texts and holding our hand through the tribulations of translation. He never makes a statement withoug showing you why (and citing his sources). I can't stress enough: Whether or not you're Christian, Read This Book!
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: If nothing else, I will always be greatful to Countryman for making the Judaic purity laws make sense AS A WHOLE. I could always find explanations/rationalizations for an individual law, but the system seemed so arbitrary. Countryman -- almost in passing -- makes it all make sense. That aside, his scholarship and theology are excellent. He looks at Mosaic law in context, and at the New Testemant teachings on it. He goes into depth, often taking us back to original texts and holding our hand through the tribulations of translation. He never makes a statement withoug showing you why (and citing his sources). I can't stress enough: Whether or not you're Christian, Read This Book!
Rating: 
Summary: A Must-Read
Review: If you are a Christian wanting to develop a whole-orbed sexology, or understand "what the Bible REALLY says about sexuality", Countryman is definitely the author for you. Always challenging, yet never overbearing, Countryman deals with the Biblical text as it is. He does not wander into the quagmires of liberalism and declare that the Bible is archaic and we needn't bother trying to understand what it says. Equally importantly, he does not blindly declare, "THIS is what the Bible says to us today", as if we ourselves lived in Biblical times without the intervening two millennia of Church history. He stakes out a middle path between contextualizing the Scriptures in their own times and emphasizing their relevance and authority for today's Church WHEN RIGHTLY UNDERSTOOD IN THEIR ORIGINAL CONTEXT. Anyone seriously interested in a reverent, careful, intelligent study of the sexology of purity and property in the Christian Scriptures will surely come away challenged and refreshed by Countryman's rigorous close readings and contextualizations of the Biblical text. After reading this study, you should also read John Boswell's "Same-Sex Unions in PreModern Europe" as a further testimonial of the Church's legitimation and sanctification of homosexual unions (marriages). This historical study only further bears witness to the fundamental correctness of Countryman's exegesis of the New Testament text.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read
Review: If you are a Christian wanting to develop a whole-orbed sexology, or understand "what the Bible REALLY says about sexuality", Countryman is definitely the author for you. Always challenging, yet never overbearing, Countryman deals with the Biblical text as it is. He does not wander into the quagmires of liberalism and declare that the Bible is archaic and we needn't bother trying to understand what it says. Equally importantly, he does not blindly declare, "THIS is what the Bible says to us today", as if we ourselves lived in Biblical times without the intervening two millennia of Church history. He stakes out a middle path between contextualizing the Scriptures in their own times and emphasizing their relevance and authority for today's Church WHEN RIGHTLY UNDERSTOOD IN THEIR ORIGINAL CONTEXT. Anyone seriously interested in a reverent, careful, intelligent study of the sexology of purity and property in the Christian Scriptures will surely come away challenged and refreshed by Countryman's rigorous close readings and contextualizations of the Biblical text. After reading this study, you should also read John Boswell's "Same-Sex Unions in PreModern Europe" as a further testimonial of the Church's legitimation and sanctification of homosexual unions (marriages). This historical study only further bears witness to the fundamental correctness of Countryman's exegesis of the New Testament text.
Rating:
Summary: A Comprehensive Approach to Understanding Sex in the Bible
Review: While no book is going to be the final word on what the Bible means and how to apply it to one's life, this book provides insight into the cultural mindset of the authors of both the Jewish and Christian scriptures and helps one get behind archane regulations and statements to what their intended purpose actually was. Note: although homosexuality is a hot button topic in today's society, the book is not primarily on that subject. It is a good resource on the overall subject of sex and the relationships which revolve around it. Additionally, the primary thesis opens up the understanding of how God's Law regulated purity and ownership issues and thus can open up one's understanding of the Bible in other areas beyond the subject of sex.
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