Joseph W. Smith III - Sex and Violence in the Bible: A Survey of Explicit Content in the Holy Book

Where the sermons we weekly hear in church would only get a G rating, the books and letters in the Bible contain a lot of content readers would expect in modern literature, war reports or memoirs of victims. You may compare a sermon to a children’s Bible – beautiful colored, a bias towards easy to comprehend stories, love, grace & famliy friendly stuff – to the real Bible you read when your children are teenagers. Joseph Smith III did an extensive research and categorizes his 700 quotes in all kinds of human sexuality and bestiality, acts of violence and a bunch of plagues and horrible diseases. The book’s based on the premisse that the Bible speaks truth, instead of many other works earlier devoted to an exploration of sex in the Bible. This work’s linguistic digging will unearth many euphemisms, precise nature of body parts, cruelties and diseases.

Why read Sex and Violence in the Bible: A Survey of Explicit Content in the Holy Book? Well, though it’s not the majority of the Bible’s content, it is showing how earthly, sinful, and receptive chosen people are for forbidden acts done by neighboring cultures . It definitely shows why the sin of Israel and of us all did become so overwhelming that God had to send His Son as atonement. And yes, Christ’s suffering is described in much detail too. Nothing human is alien to God’s Word. If you are a Victorian prude – play it safe type – you may feel very uncomfortable reading.

About the author

Joseph W. Smith III is a teacher, journalist, author and discussion leader in Northcentral Pa. He has taught English at Loyalsock High School since 1992. Before that, he taught in Lewisburg, Pa., and Linden, N.J. In the 1980s, he spent five years in the copy editing department at Simon & Schuster in Manhattan. Since 1997, Joe has worked as a critic and feature writer for the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, having penned nearly 1000 articles in that time – mostly film reviews. He serves as elder, clerk and adult Sunday school teacher at New Life Presbyterian Church in Loyalsock Township. Joe’s first book – The Psycho File: A Comprehensive Guide to Hitchcock’s Classic Shocker – was published by McFarland in September 2009. Presbyterian & Reformed brought out his second tome in January 2014 – Sex and Violence in the Bible: A Survey of Explicit Content in the Holy Book.

He leads a monthly book-discussion group in Danville and a thrice-annual movie seminar, Christ and Culture, at Agape Church in Williamsport. He has taught at Brown Library, Light & Life Chapel, Camp Susque, Manhattan Presbyterian Church and the Willowbank Resort in Bermuda. Joe also plays trumpet in the Repasz Band. He holds a B.A. from Syracuse and an M.A. in literature from NYU. He has taken classes at Lycoming College, Harvard University and Manhattan’s New School. He is married to Dr. Mona P. Chang, a family physician at Cornerstone in Williamsport, and they have two children – Douglas (b. 1989) and Tim (b. 1992). They are also the proud owners of two feline sisters, Cadenza and Dolce.

Joe’s interests include reading, seventies prog rock, the Buffalo Bills, Scrabble, Al Stewart and smooth jazz. His favorite author is Ian Fleming.