regarded as being a virgin at the time of
Mary’s birth! This idea arose in the 4th century and was revived in the 15th century, and though the Vatican renounced the idea as ridiculous in the year 1677, they retained
the belief that Mary herself was born to Anne via an immaculate conception!
This is a long way from the attitude we see in the Song, and I’d suggest that the attitude of the Song towards sex more truly mirrors the overall Biblical perspective than
does Christian history.
Broadly speaking, I would suggest to you that the Bible has very little to say about sex! Despite all opinion to the contrary, and despite the fact that sex is a very significant
subject for us, I would suggest to you that the it is not a very significant subject for the Bible.
Yes, Jesus had a couple of things to say on the matter, and yes, there are warnings scattered about the Bible, telling us that we need to be careful about where our sexual
drives might lead us. But this is pretty minor stuff really, especially when we consider how significant sex is in other religions, most especially the other religions that were
popular when the Bible was being written!
From the early Canaanite fertility cults we read about in the Old Testament, to the worship of Aphrodite in the New, sex was seen as a divine force. Much new age
spirituality has likewise latched on to ‘sacred sex’ rituals in Hindu tradition and elsewhere.
At the other end of the spectrum, as we’ve already mentioned, you had the influence of Greek dualism. This was has been more