My Favorite Verses - Vol III (Aug 16 to Nov 16)
A collection of brief commentaries on some of the Bible’s most beloved (and least understood) passages, parables, verses & sayings
A collection of brief commentaries on some of the Bible’s most beloved (and least understood) passages, parables, verses & sayings
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Genesis 19 … The real sin of Sodom<br />
(08/<strong>16</strong>/20<strong>16</strong>)<br />
It is in Genesis 19 that we find the infamous tale of Sodom & Gomorrah -- a<br />
s<strong>to</strong>ry beloved by many a conservative Christian, and often used thereby <strong>to</strong> "prove"<br />
without a doubt that homosexuality itself is "sinful in the eyes of the Lord" ... And<br />
<strong>to</strong> be fair, it is easy <strong>to</strong> see why those over-eager evangelicals could make such a<br />
mistake, for the verses in question state: “But before they lay down, the men of the<br />
city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people <strong>to</strong> the last man, surrounded<br />
the house; and they called <strong>to</strong> Lot, and said „Where are the men who came <strong>to</strong> you <strong>to</strong>night?<br />
Bring them out <strong>to</strong> us, so that we may know them‟ … Then the Lord rained on Sodom &<br />
Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Genesis 19:4-5 + 24) …<br />
And yet, when we have the humility and the wherewithal <strong>to</strong> look more closely<br />
at the texts in question, a very different picture emerges …<br />
First of all, it is important <strong>to</strong> note that it was “all the people <strong>to</strong> the last man”<br />
who committed the sin that led <strong>to</strong> the destruction of those cities – men who were<br />
almost exclusively heterosexuals …<br />
Secondly, the sin in question was not homosexual love or homosexual<br />
relationships or homosexual marriage or even homosexual sex, but rather the<br />
intended RAPE of two fallen angels by a horde of heterosexual men. As such, the<br />
crime here was not a crime of passion at all, but rather the moral perversion of<br />
sexual assault – a crime of rage & power.<br />
Thirdly, and for Christians most importantly, the Bible itself (in Ezekiel <strong>16</strong>:49<br />
& Luke 17:28-29) makes it quite clear that homosexuality had nothing at all <strong>to</strong> do<br />
with the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah. Indeed, the book of Ezekiel notes<br />
that the cities were destroyed for not assisting the poor and the needy in their<br />
midst, while Jesus openly states that Sodom & Gomorrah were destroyed not due<br />
<strong>to</strong> the presence of homosexual lasciviousness, but rather because the inhabitants<br />
thereof were soaked in the sins of selfish glut<strong>to</strong>ny and rampant materialism. But<br />
don‟t take my word for it – just listen <strong>to</strong> the Bible itself:<br />
“This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she<br />
and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and<br />
prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and<br />
needy.” ~ Ezekiel <strong>16</strong>:49<br />
“Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot:<br />
they were eating and drinking, buying and<br />
selling, planting and building, but on the day that<br />
Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from<br />
heaven and destroyed all of them.” ~ Jesus Christ<br />
(Luke 17:28-29)<br />
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