In this post I will attempt to answer whether or not the story of Sodom and Gomorrah proves homosexuality to be a sin. I have been putting off the responsibility of writing this post for a long time because their are so many elements to consider and so little information given. However, I have read several versions from several Bibles, read others’ ideas on the matter, and pondered this question for long enough that I now feel fully prepared to give my opinion.
The first thing I noticed while reading this story is that thus far there are no specific rules of conduct that are established to be followed. There are not commandments, nor any other lists of rules. The only thing that is certain is that God requires people to know, love, and obey him. Other than that we are given two clues to what God believes is sin. The first is in Genesis 6:5 which reads, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The second is in Genesis 6:11 which reads, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”
The second thing I noticed is that, although this story is usually told as if God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah based on what happened after the angels arrived, God actually made plans to destroy the cities and then sent the angels to determine if this was necessary. In Genesis 18:20-21 God speaks to Abraham about His plans when he says, “...Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it…” Abraham, knowing his nephew Lot lived there, became concerned and implored God not to destroy the city for the sake of the righteous men their. God promises, in Genesis 18:32 that if he can find even just ten righteous men he will not destroy the cities.
As the story continues we see that Lot meets the angels at the gate to the cities, offers them shelter in his home, and that night all the men of the cities demand that Lot allow them to “know” the angels. Subsequently, the angels agree that the cities are filled with wickedness and God destroys them, saving only Lot. If you believe homosexuality is wrong, of course you can read this to agree with your opinion. However, that’s much too presumptuous and leaves out too many factors.
First, Lot met the angels at the gate, which implies that he knew or recognized them somehow. Abraham knew these men and recognized them as angels who walked with God, so it is safe to assume that Lot also either knew them already or could see that they were angels. This would prove that he is a man of God and keeps company with God regularly as Abraham does. Because the other men of the city did not recognize these men or know them as angels this would imply that they have no relationship with God and are therefore not righteous men. Furthermore, when the men demand to “know,” or have sex with, the angels they are showing a lack of respect for God and his kingdom. There lack of respect seems more significant to me than in what form they chose it to be shown.
Since many people seem to overlook the fact that these men were showing violence and contempt towards angels, I’ll focus on the idea that these men wanted to “know” other men. Well, that may be true, but what they were really wanting was to rape these men. Calling raping a man homosexuality is like calling a square a rectangle. Yes, a square is a rectangle, but you are blatantly ignoring the fact that it is a very specific type of rectangle. Rape is a very violent act and God has already shown his contempt for violence. Now, you may want to jump in and say, “Well, what about Lot offering his daughters to be raped?” While this is true (and disturbing) there are two good reasons why this is different and does not prove that homosexuality is the wrong being committed. As I said before, Lot most likely knew these men were angels. I say this both because he met them at the gates and because he was not surprised at all nor did he question them when they delivered their message from God. Wouldn't you do almost anything to protect God and his kingdom or also to stay in God’s good graces? Secondly, even if you don't agree that Lot knew these men were angels, it is obvious that at this point in history men were valued exponentially more than women. A woman being sacrificed to save a man is not surprising at all.
For these reasons, I believe that this story proves only that violence against a man and/or contempt for God and his kingdom is seen as the ultimate wickedness/sin and that homosexuality, in and of itself, is not seen or commented on in this story. Therefore, I really don't believe this story alone could prove homosexuality is a sin.
I hope you enjoyed this exploration of the Bible and homosexuality and, if you did, please stay tuned for the next installment of this series!
