Sodom & Gomorrah
For a very long time Christians has used the story of Sodom & Gomorrah as the bases for hatred towards homosexuals and homosexuality. However, is the interpreted story told here the whole truth or has Christianity again made assumptions based on predigest. This passage has also been use to defend the physical assault on gay people.
Deuteronomy 29:22-29 "the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath."
God’s anger caused a number of cities to be destroyed, not only the two cities. There are indications that the entire region was at war and at high alert.
According to the King James Version of the Bible, Genesis 19:4 says: "...the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter." (KJV)
The New International Version translates the same verse: "...All the men from every part of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house." (NIV)
The KJV translation is ambiguous. The first part of the verse talks about "the men of Sodom", that is, a male group. The second part talks about "all the people", presumably men, women, and children. The NIV implies that Lot was faced by an all-male mob consisting of every man and boy in Sodom; no females of any age were in view. The ambiguity appears to be due the phrase in the original Hebrew that is translated as "anshei ha'ir, anshei S'dom". It can have two meanings. It can mean "men of the city, even the men of Sodom". But it can also mean "the people of the city, the people of Sodom". It appears that the KJV and NIV translators, perhaps influenced by their homophobia, chose a translation that would make the mob all male. The original Hebrew text may well have said that everyone in Sodom, men, women and children were there. "The sin of Sodom wasn't what you think" National Gay Pentecostal Alliance (NGPA)
According to the King James Version of the Bible, Genesis 19:5 says: "And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, where are the men who came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them." (KJV)
The New International Version translates the same verse: "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.' "
“Ya,da´” is a Hebrew verb which is commonly translated as "know." Its meaning is ambiguous. It appears 943 times elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Usually it means, "To know a fact." In only about a dozen of these cases does it refer to sexual activity; in these instances, the sexual meaning is always obvious. The text generally talks about a man "knowing" a woman and of her conceiving a child because of the "knowing." All such references involve heterosexual relationships.
It could easily have been that the mob wanted to interrogate the two strangers in their city. I do not say that they were innocent and would not have used violence. However, what if we are interpreting the scriptures wrongly? There are no original documents to go back too to double-check the translation.
If they were gay, why did Lot offer his daughters to them? It was a useless gesture for peace. Lot lived in the city and knew the people. However, an angry (strait) mob might have their attention diverted if they could have two virgins to keep them busy with…
Lot is classified as a just and righteous man (2 Pet.2:7-8). God’s angels also saved him before the city was destroyed. However, he offered his two, virgin, daughters to be raped to a mob! Again, in god’s eyes, Lot falls into the category of being a righteous man. I think God would not have been happy if he had offered his sons to the mob!
Gen 19:14 Lot lied to the mob in verse 8 about the virginity of his daughters. Righteous, is he? They were actually married, to men from the same city and the husbands were not gay. Do you think they found the only two strait men in the city?
The interpretation of Genesis 19 as referring to a homosexual sin appears to have been created in the 11th century by the Italian ascetic St. Peter Damian.
In ancient Jewish literature, such as the Ethics of the Fathers and the Talmud, there are many references to Sodom. The phrase "middat Sdom" was used. It may be translated as "the way the people of Sodom thought". It meant a lack of charity and hospitality towards others; ignoring the needs of the poor, etc. In the Middle East, a person's survival could depend upon the charity of strangers. To help strangers was a solemn religious duty of paramount importance. See Leviticus 19:33-34 and Matthew 25:35, 38 and 43.
Isaiah 1 The entire first chapter is an utter condemnation of Judah. They are repeatedly compared with Sodom and Gomorra in their evildoing and depravity. Throughout the chapter, the Prophet lists many sins of the people: rebelling against God, lacking in knowledge, deserting the Lord, idolatry, engaging in meaningless religious ritual, being unjust and oppressive to others, being insensitive to the needs of widows and orphans, committing murder, accepting bribes, etc. There is no reference to homosexuality or to any other sexual activities at all.
Jeremiah 23:14:"...among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah." Jeremiah compares the actions of the prophets with the adultery, lying and evil of the people of Sodom. Homosexual activity is not even mentioned.
Ezekiel 16:49-50:"Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen." God states clearly that he destroyed Sodom's sins because of their pride, their excess of food while the poor and needy suffered; sexual activity is not even mentioned.
Matthew 10:14-15: Jesus implied that the sin of the people of Sodom was to be inhospitable to strangers.
Luke 10:7-16: This is parallel passage to the verses from Matthew.
2 Peter 6-8: Peter mentions that God destroyed the adults and children of Sodom because the former were ungodly, unprincipled and lawless.
Jude, Verse 7: Jude disagreed with Jesus and Ezekiel; he wrote that Sodom's sins were sexual in nature. Various biblical translations of this passage in Jude describe the sin as: fornication, going after strange flesh, sexual immorality, perverted sensuality, homosexuality, lust of every kind, immoral acts and unnatural lust. It looks as if the translators were unclear of the meaning of the verse in its original Greek, and simply selected their favourite sin to attack. The original Greek is transliterated as: "sarkos heteras." This can be translated as "other flesh". Ironically, our English word "heterosexual" comes from "heteras."
A likely interpretation is that the author of Jude criticized the men of Sodom for wanting to engage in sexual activities with angels. Angels are considered a species of created beings that were different from “homo sapiens”. The sin of the people of Sodom would be that of bestiality. Another possibility is that the "other flesh" refers to cannibalism, which was a practice associated with early Canaanite culture. Another argument is that the author of Jude was predigesting in his message.
In the end as Lot and his nameless wife run away, she looks back and is turned into a salt pillar by God. How does this small disobedience compare with that of Cain murdering his brother? God’s judgement leaves a lot to be desired for!
