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Summary of this page
The story of Sodom is often used as a condemnation of
all homosexual sex. But a careful examination shows that
it is mainly condemning only men who try to force other
men to have sex with them, i.e. same-sex gang rape.
The story is found in Genesis 19:1-29
The New International Version of the Bible gives the
highlight of the story as:
- Before they [Lot, his family and guests] 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."
Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door
behind him and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this
wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have
never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to
you, and you can do what you like with them. But
don't do anything to these men, for they have come
under the protection of my roof." (Genesis 19:4-9).
Excellent accounts and interpretations of the Sodom
story are given by Rev Neil Dawson, Rev Dr Robert
Goss, and the Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance.
Further discussion about the use of the word “know”
to mean “have sex with” in Genesis 19:5.
Michael Carden* gives a comprehensive history of
interpretations of the Sodom story in Genesis 19 and
the parallel Gibeah story in Judges 19. Among other
things, he points out that Philo, a contemporary of Jesus,
is the first person known to state that one of the reasons
for the destruction of Sodom was the practice of male-
male sex. Prior to that time, Sodom had been thought of
mainly as a cruel and unjust city whose people abused
the poor and outsiders.
*Sodomy: A History of a Christian Biblical Myth, 2004. Also see
here.
This site shows that the men of Sodom, instead of being
gay, could actually have been gay-bashers.
Here is a humorous account of the Sodom story.
Motive of the mob
Genesis 19 does not tell us why the mob wanted to gang
rape the strangers. However 2 motives can be surmised.
One possible motive is that the rape would be mainly for
sexual pleasure or lust. Another possible motive is that
the mob feared or disliked strangers being in their town
and gang rape would show the rapists’ power over the
vulnerable strangers. Anal penetration by a gang would
be an act of humiliation lowering the strangers’ male
status to that of women. Being forced to take the female
role in sexual activity would be the ultimate insult. Under
the code of hospitality, Lot offered the mob his virgin
daughters as a substitute for his guests to protect their
male honor and also his own honor as a host. This
shows the paramount importance of honor in that culture.
False views about the Sodom story
Most of the following views (in italics) are those of people
who are anti-homosexual.
The Sodom story shows that God condemns
homosexuality or all sex between men (this is false)
The Sodom story is no more a condemnation of all sex
between men than the similar story in Judges 19, where
men gang rape a (female) concubine to death, is a
condemnation of all sex between men and women.
Instead both stories are condemnations of gang rape, not
of consenting sex.
The Sodom story does not explicitly or implicitly condemn
sex between men except where gang rape is involved.
The reference in Jude 7 to the people of Sodom having
gone after strange or other flesh refers to homosexual
sex (this is false)
The true situation is explained by Richard Hays in The
Moral Vision of the New Testament. He states that the
phrase "went after other flesh" (apelqousai opisw sarkos
heteras) refers to their pursuit of non-human (i.e. angelic)
flesh. The expression sarkos heteras means "flesh of
another kind". Thus, it is impossible to construe this
passage as a condemnation of homosexual desire, which
entails precisely the pursuit of the same kind. (p. 404).
Further, just as verses 6 and 8 are both talking about
angels, so verse 7 is also talking about angels.
The reference in Ezekiel 16: 50 to the people of Sodom
having committed abomination refers to homosexual sex
as in Leviticus 18 and 20 (this is false)
The use of “haughty and committed abomination” in verse
50 does not refer to new sins but merely sums up the sins
in verse 49 (arrogance and not helping the poor and
needy). The two verses are constructed in the common
Hebrew pattern of parallel repetition.
The men of Sodom were all homosexuals (this is false)
Genesis 19:4 says that all the men from every part of the
city of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house. Lot knew these
men and would not have offered them his virgin
daughters for sex as a substitute for having sex with his
guests if all or most of them were homosexuals.
The mob surrounding Lot’s house did not want to rape
the men (angels) sheltering in the house but simply
wanted to get acquainted with them or interrogate them
(this is false)
Lot would not have offered the mob his virgin daughters
for sex if the mob simply wanted to get acquainted with his
guests or interrogate them.
The similar Gibeah story
The story of the attempted rape of a visiting man at
Gibeah is very similar to the story of the attempted rape
of 2 visiting men at Sodom. The Gibeah story is told in
Judges 19:14-29. The details and implications of this
story are here.
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