Sodom and Gomorrha - a review

[Maranatha_Yeshua]

What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? It is abundantly clear that homosexuality was the primary evil. The biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah is recorded in Genesis chapters 18-19. Genesis chapter 18 records the LORD and two angels coming to speak with Abraham. The LORD reiterated His promise to Abraham that he would have a son through Sarah. The LORD also informed Abraham that "the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous." Verses 22-33 record Abraham pleading with the LORD to have mercy on Sodom and Gomorrah because Abraham's nephew, Lot, and his family lived in Sodom.

Genesis chapter 19 records the two angels, disguised as human men, visiting Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot met the angels in the city square and urged them to stay at his house. The angels agreed. The Bible then informs us, "Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom — both young and old — surrounded the house. They called to Lot, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.'" The angels then proceed to blind all the men of Sodom and Gomorrah and urge Lot and his family to flee from the cities to escape the wrath that God was about to deliver. Lot and his family flee the city, and then "the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah — from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities — and also the vegetation in the land."

The men of Sodom and Gomorrah, thinking that the visiting angels were men, wanted to have sex with them. Those who attempt to explain away the biblical condemnations of homosexuality claim that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was inhospitality. While the men of Sodom and Gomorrah were certainly being inhospitable, that clearly was not all. The men of Sodom and Gomorrah desired to perform homosexual gang rape on the angels. Also, God never declared inhospitality to be an abomination to Him, while Leviticus 18:22 makes God’s view of homosexuality clear: “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.”

While Sodom and Gomorrah were surely guilty of many other horrendous sins, homosexuality was the reason God poured fiery sulfur on the cities, completely destroying them and all of their inhabitants. To this day, the area where Sodom and Gomorrah were located remains a desolate wasteland. Sodom and Gomorrah serve as a powerful example of how God feels about sin in general, and homosexuality specifically.

http://www.gotquestions.org/Sodom-and-Gomorrah.html

 

[Maranatha_Yeshua]

I think you're largely correct, though I'm still not sure the desire of the men of Sodom to literally rape Lot's guests can be inferred. They certainly wanted to do something bad to them, but the word know is only used to mean sexual relations one percent of the time it appears in the Hebrew scripture.

Mind quoting a source for that?

 

[charisenexcelcis]

To me its very difficult to study scripture and not make it lean towards what im hoping it means, without an open unbiased mind word studies allow usually more possible private interpretation. If this study was done to show that Sodom and Gomorrah was judged for more than homosexuality i would agree.Im not sure that your indication of sexual sins listed last is an order of the severity of sinfulness. I rather think it may be a list showing progression in sinfulness in that society. History also can give us a list of degration of societies. Sin begets sin when tolerated and drags downward until its wiping out our very nature. In other words a bruise is not the worse part of getting hit with a bat.

I agree. If I say, the robbery is just a sympthom of the drug use, does that excuse the robbery? I think that the context of the passage on the angels coming to Sodom clearly indicates the Sodomites intention to rape the visitors. Regarding the use of heteros, remember that the words "heterosexual" and "homosexual" are modern words. In Jude 7 "apelthousai opiso sarkos heteras" would indicate going after any form of sexual perversion, including homosexuality.
This is the question, what does the acceptance of homosexuality in our society mean, what is it the sympthom of? I believe it is that our society will go after any pleasure regardless of the consequences.

 

[karuna]

Regarding the use of heteros, remember that the words "heterosexual" and "homosexual" are modern words.

I hope it didn't seem like I was making an argument using modern etymologies. I just find that amusing.

In Jude 7 "apelthousai opiso sarkos heteras" would indicate going after any form of sexual perversion, including homosexuality.

The point I wished to make is that it certainly didn't mean going after specifically the same type of flesh, as some would have it.

 

[Brackenzee]

Mind quoting a source for that?

Essay by Rictor Norton.

 

[Maranatha_Yeshua]

Essay by Rictor Norton.

Lol, dude that guy isn't a Hebrew scholar. He's just a spokesmen for "homosexual Christians".

 

[greatkraw]

He said....

"The issue is not that they only did a particular sin such as homosexuality, but that they were so corrupt that they did whatever their heart desired, and that usually was sin of a sexual nature. They lusted after angels, they lusted after animals and inanimate objects, they lusted after people of the same sex. All of the above. Their depravity is shown when they actually turn down the offer of Lot's virgin daughters, in favour of the visiting angel/men."

Can you read it now?

it seems like this whole thread was just an excuse to list a bunch of fetishes

the scripture does not support the interpretation

 

[MahogonySnail]

The entire point of Snail's post that was the homosexuality was just a symptom of their utter depravity, not the cause of their destruction.

Correct. I didn't even read past the first post. These Sodomites weren't your average friendly neighbourhood homosexual that mows the back lawn wearing a straw sun hat, yellow shirt and floral pajama pants. They were so corrupt they had to be destroyed, no hope for them.

 

[karuna]

If I say, the robbery is just a sympthom of the drug use, does that excuse the robbery?

I passed over this accidentally. No, it definitely doesn't excuse the robbery and in this case, no one here is asking anyone to excuse the attempted gang rape or homosexuality in general. They've been held accountable for their sexual sins, of course, but the entire point has been that they were held accountable for so much more. If the drug user is caught in the act of a robbery, don't they still try to prosecute him for the drugs, even if the robbery is enough to put him away?

 

[Maddog]

I can't control that I'm more attracted to redheaded women than brunettes.

Flippin' deviant...

 

[Nuhen]

It's been said before, but Scripture is clear that homosexuality was a MINOR sin in ALL the sins Sodom and Gomorrah committed.

This isn't to make homosexuality any less of a sin than it is, but it wasn't even specifically mentioned. It was mentioned in a CATEGORY of sins that included others ("abomination") and that category was at the end of a long list of other specifically mentioned sins.

 

[charisenexcelcis]

It's been said before, but Scripture is clear that homosexuality was a MINOR sin in ALL the sins Sodom and Gomorrah committed.

This isn't to make homosexuality any less of a sin than it is, but it wasn't even specifically mentioned. It was mentioned in a CATEGORY of sins that included others ("abomination") and that category was at the end of a long list of other specifically mentioned sins.

If their lust after "strange flesh" was a minor sin to the major sin of [fill in the blank], Then what is the major sin in our world of which homosexuality is the minor side effect?

 

[charisenexcelcis]

I passed over this accidentally. No, it definitely doesn't excuse the robbery and in this case, no one here is asking anyone to excuse the attempted gang rape or homosexuality in general. They've been held accountable for their sexual sins, of course, but the entire point has been that they were held accountable for so much more. If the drug user is caught in the act of a robbery, don't they still try to prosecute him for the drugs, even if the robbery is enough to put him away?

Not always, but then again they aren't omniscient so that doesn't undermine your point.

 

[aspen]

If their lust after "strange flesh" was a minor sin to the major sin of [fill in the blank], Then what is the major sin in our world of which homosexuality is the minor side effect?

unconfessed sin.

 

[Nuhen]

If their lust after "strange flesh" was a minor sin to the major sin of [fill in the blank], Then what is the major sin in our world of which homosexuality is the minor side effect?

Homosexuality isn't a "side effect" of any sin. I'm not sure where I said that.

 

[charisenexcelcis]

Homosexuality isn't a "side effect" of any sin. I'm not sure where I said that.

Alot of talk about the primary sin of sodom.

 

[Nuhen]

Alot of talk about the primary sin of sodom.

Oh. Well, it's not so much "primary" sin as looking at the whole picture. Homosexuality is obviously not one of the main reasons G-d destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, because G-d lists in Scripture all of the sins for which S&G were destroyed, and all of them were very specific. Homosexuality isn't even directly mentioned, and one could argue it wasn't even one of the sins mentioned. There's just a category at the end of the list - abominations. One could say that was talking about homosexuality, but Scripture calls a lot more than homosexuality an "abomination".

 

[Mal316]

Oh. Well, it's not so much "primary" sin as looking at the whole picture. Homosexuality is obviously not one of the main reasons G-d destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, because G-d lists in Scripture all of the sins for which S&G were destroyed, and all of them were very specific. Homosexuality isn't even directly mentioned, and one could argue it wasn't even one of the sins mentioned. There's just a category at the end of the list - abominations. One could say that was talking about homosexuality, but Scripture calls a lot more than homosexuality an "abomination".

^ This is what I've been trying to say. Good post, Nuhen.

 

[Brackenzee]

Right. And the core of the problem is that this exaggeration of how much a grievous sin that homosexuality supposedly is compared to others has led to outright mistreatment and hatred towards homosexuals, even those who don't actually engage in sodomy. Instead of 'hate the sin, love the sinner' it's become 'call the potential sinner an abomination unfit for basic human compassion.'

 

[charisenexcelcis]

Right. And the core of the problem is that this exaggeration of how much a grievous sin that homosexuality supposedly is compared to others has led to outright mistreatment and hatred towards homosexuals, even those who don't actually engage in sodomy. Instead of 'hate the sin, love the sinner' it's become 'call the potential sinner an abomination unfit for basic human compassion.'

I think that the problem is more complex than that. The Bible calls homosexuality an abomination. In the sense of eternal life or ****ation, all sin has the same effect and the same cure. God loves all, no matter the specifics of their sins. But in the sense of temporal life, there are obvious differences, as scripture points out.