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Edited on Thu Sep-08-05 05:53 AM by Coastie for Truth
The Biblical text In Genesis 19, the final episode in the story of Sodom is described as the angels visit Lot to warn him to flee: But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. (KJV) (In this context, "know" is often interpreted as a euphemism for sexual intercourse.)
Lot refused to give the visiting angels to the men of Sodom and instead offered them his two daughters. The men refused to accept this compromise. The angels saved Lot from an assault. Lot and his family were then instructed to leave the city, and Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with fire and brimstone by God.
It is often postulated that the sin of Sodom was homosexuality and rape.
It is not by chance that the passages preceding the events in Sodom have to do with Abraham's hospitality and the gifts of God bestowed on him for his gracious action. First we see hospitality and the way we should act, then inhospitality in that the people of Sodom seek to mistreat the newcomers. The biblical text itself seems to suggest that the sin is based in inhospitality to some (if not a major) extent:
Ezekiel 16:49-50: Now this was the sin of 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.
This idea is supported in the Gospels when Jesus compares an inhospitable reception to Sodom:
Matthew 10:14-15: If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
However, inhospitality was not the only sin:
Jude 7: Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Biblical scholars debate the proper English interpretation of this passage. Some scholars feel that the "strange flesh" is a reference to homosexuality, while other scholars feel that the "strange flesh" involved refers to the citizens of Sodom seeking to engage in sexual relations or the rape of non-mortals.
and
The view of Josephus
Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote:
"Now, about this time the Sodomites, overweeningly proud of their numbers and the extent of their wealth, showed themselves insolent to men and impious to the Divinity, insomuch that they no more remembered the benefits that they had received from Him, hated foreigners and avoided any contact with others. Indignant at this conduct, God accordingly resolved to chastise them for their arrogance, and not only to uproot their city, but to blast their land so completely that it should yield neither plant nor fruit whatsoever from that time forward." Jewish Antiquities 1:194-195
One seriously wonders if Woodland Hills Baptist Church and Pastor Bennett got beyond Bible Stories for Dummies? Certainly not the level and depth of Biblical knowledge of (to pick an educated pastor at random) Forrest Church. |
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