Sodom

Genesis 19:1-11

It is interesting to note that Lot offered his own daughters for the men to have sex with, so that they would not bother the guests. Was this not male-female rape? Lot refused to expose his guests to the abuse of the men of Sodom. To do so would have violated the law of sacred hospitatliy. In desert coutry, where Sodom lay, to stay outside exposed to the cold of the night could be fatal, so a cardinal rule of Lot's society was to offer hospitality to travelers. In war, the victors often would rape members of the defeated enemy, for to treat them as women would insult them, and treat them as inferior.

What was the sin of Sodom? Abuse and offense against strangers, insult to the traveler, inhospitality to the needy, and sexual abuse. That is the point of the story understood in its historical context. The whole story and its culture make clear that the author was not concerned about sex in itself, lot offered his daughters without a second thought, the point of the story is not sexual ethics. The story of Sodom is no more about sex than it is about pounding on someone's front door. The point of the story is abuse and assault, in whatever form they take. To use this text to condemn homosexuality is to misuse this text.

The Bible often refers back to the story of Sodom and says outright what Sodom's sin was. Ezekiel 16:49-49: "This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." They rejected even God's messengers. Also see Isaiah 1:10-17, Jeremiah 23:14, in reference to Sodom. The sins listed in those places are injustice, oppression, partiality, adultery, lies, and encouraging evildoers. The sin of Sodom had nothing to do with homosexuality. Even Jesus understood the sin of Sodom as the sin of inhospitality. Other passages in the Bible come right out and say the same thing. Yet people continue to cite the story of Sodom to condemn gay and lesbian people.

There is a sad irony about the story of Sodom when understood in its own historical setting. People oppose and abuse homosexual men and women for being different, odd, strange, "queer", outsiders, foreigners in our society. They are disowned by their families, separated from their children, fired from their jobs, evicted from apartments and neighborhoods, insulted by public figures, beaten and killed on the streets, and even thrown out of churches. All this is done in the name of religion and supposed Christian morality. Such oppression is the very sin of which the people of Sodom were guilty. Such behavior is what the Bible truly condemns over and over again. So, those who oppress and condemn homosexuals because of the supposed "sin of Sodom" may themselves be the real "sodomites", as the Bible understands it.