SEX AND LOVE IN THE BIBLE

**No matter who may be attracted to this book by the title, which is an accurate description of the subject matter, and which needs no apology, the reading of this book will do him good. Dr. William Graham Cole, professor of Religion at Williams College, has already acquired a well-earned reputation for unusual competence in this field through his earlier book, Sex in Christianity and Psychoanalysis, and now he gives us a brilliant and penetrating study in this field of intimate personal relations which is of such major concern to every man. He examines carefully every major biblical reference to sex and love, both sacred and profane, and against this Biblical background he projects the modern world of the Kinsey reports, calling for a more understanding approach to the sexual dilemmas and distortions of the men and women of today, which are not so different from those of Bible days. It is only after sex becomes separated from love that it becomes twisted and demonic, he says, descending then to the realm of mere instinct and sensual lust, transforming men into something subhuman. The application of moralistic repression, either by law, social mores or the church will not remove this separation. Rather must the positive in sex be accentuated on all fronts, following the lead toward a more excellent way provided by the Bible, that of gratefully reserving the divine gift of sexuality for its highest possibilities. The book is theologically sound, sociologically and psychiatrically well-balanced, -- and it makes fascinating reading.