Thursday, April 12, 2012

Bible Erotica


Big Think discusses the Song of Songs.

From the piece...

It remains a mystery as to how a poem so ardently secular found its way into the Bible at all. Mitchell asks bluntly, “What were the ancient rabbis thinking?” I'd like to believe they weren’t as crazy, or innocent, as they might appear. There is something sacred about young love—sex and all—which the Song has communicated better than anything since. I like to think the ancient rabbis wanted to expurgate the poem, but had the wisdom to act against their better judgment. Their decision speaks finally to the deep humanness of the Bible.

Why not celebrate humanness yourself in the coming weeks, by reading the Song as a rite of spring? It’s already a traditional Passover text, but regardless of your faith or lack thereof, it’s the ideal accompaniment to wine-drinking, flirtation, outdoor lovemaking, drives in the countryside, and just about anything else that makes warm weather preferable to cold and being in love a hell of a lot better than being dead.

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