Love and Intimacy in the Bible

About the Book

From the earliest recorded times, organized religious groups have tried to require all adherents to adopt the same creeds and codes of behavior. Those who have had Holy Writings have used those writings as a hammer to help compel adherence to orthodoxy. None have been more rigorous in demanding such compliance than the Christian church. This book offers a perspective on Christian Holy Writings, known as the Bible, that can help the faithful to understand love, intimacy, and marriage as they actually occur in that book. It aims to free one of the cultural distortions of scripture that deny authentic expression of our most intimate relationships.

About the Author

Pastor Ted Hampton was born and raised in rural western Pennsylvania. He attended Otterbein University in Ohio, where he received his BA in history, English, and Greek. After college, he attended United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, where he received his M. Div. He has done some postgraduate work in clinical hypnotherapy. Ordained an Elder in the Evangelical United Brethren Church in 1962, Pastor Hampton's first parish assignment was to a three-point charge in Eastern Colorado. He was then called to serve on staff at First UMC in Long Beach, California. Pastor Hampton was senior pastor at the Pioneer Memorial UMC, Monrovia UMC, and Dominguez UMC. In addition to his parish assignments, Pastor Hampton spent several years in Panama, where he taught English to the Guardia National, followed by several years directing a federally funded program for “acting out and drug abusing teens” in Long Beach, California. He retired in 2003. After retirement, he served as interim pastor at numerous churches in the Long Beach District. In 2009, Pastor Hampton joined the Lakewood First United Methodist Church leadership team as pastor of spiritual direction. He retired again in 2012 and now spends his time writing and preaching.