How did the biblical authors view sexuality?

A Uniting Church theologian has continued his steady output with a new book that explores the topic of sexuality in the ancient world.

Rev. Dr Bill Loader is an Emeritus Professor at Murdoch University. After his retirement, he moved to Orange to be closer to family and continues to publish at a rapid rate.

Rev. Dr Loader’s recently released his latest book, Sex, Then & Now.

“The publishers of my previous work, What can love hope for? approached me about writing this book based on my extensive research publications in the area,” he explained.

“They were responding to a growing need in American churches to have issues of sex and same gender relations in particular addressed.”

 “Those churches are not alone, of course. Accordingly, I wrote this book to provide a resource for people wanting to grapple with the issues. It does not try to explain away what biblical writers were saying but presents the data clearly and readably with the suggestion that people today need to take responsibility for making informed decisions on the issues.”

According to Rev. Dr Loader, the book generated strong endorsements, including Carl Holliday of Atlanta, former president of the International Society for New Testament studies., “Years of careful scholarly research distilled into one volume of clear, engaging prose,” he wrote.

“A balanced discussion of the complex set of issues related to gender and sexuality in the bible, and how these should be understood in our time.” 

Local endorsements include Dr Elenie Poulos, who wrote that the book charts, “a fascinating and engaging new way through the controversies surrounding the Bible and sexuality.”

“Profoundly respectful of the scriptural texts, imbued with love and grace, this book helps us to better understand what the Biblical writers said and meant about sexuality, gender and relationships and what this means for us now.”

Rev. Dr Loader continues to write more, and has another book already scheduled for the coming months called Myths on the Margins: Making it to the Centre.

“It looks at some key myths which people of biblical times employed to explain their faith. they include the myth of the wicked angels, the myth of divine kingship, the myth of wisdom Sophia and the myth of the wicked God,” he said.

“The book explores how we can makes sense of such myths today.”

“These works reflect my deep commitment over a lifetime of research and teaching to making academic research accessible to a wider readership and to helping people develop and informed faith.”

Sex, Then & Now is available now at Amazon and Dymocks. It is also available for loan at Camden Theological Library.