Sodom and Orlando, and Why It Matters

It has been almost two weeks since the horrific mass shooting of the LGBTQ community in Orlando. It still weighs heavily on me, not just the tragedy itself but also many of the hateful reactions that have come in response, especially in the name of Christianity.

In our church, we are studying the book of Genesis together. These past two weeks we've been looking at the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. This seems especially relevant in light of what happened at the Pulse nightclub since many Christians have traditionally held the interpretation that the primary sin resulting in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was homosexuality. I wanted to take a look and see what the Bible actually had to say. I haven’t studied this in depth by any means, but here are a few quick notes on what I discovered.

 

1. Ezekiel 16:49 identifies the sins of Sodom as "pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." In verse 50 it says that they exalted themselves and “committed abomination.” Some think this refers to the verse in Leviticus about a man lying with another man. However, there is no evidence that this particular verse is being referenced, as there are many “abominations” listed in the Old Testament, such as sacrificing blemished animals, eating certain types of unclean meats, remarrying a former wife, greed, dishonest trade, etc.

2. In the actual story of Sodom and Gomorrah, where they threaten to rape the angels disguised as men, it says in Genesis 19:4 that "the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter.” The Hebrew word we translate as "men" here is really a more general word which can also be used to include both men and women, as seems to be indicated by the phrase at the end of the verse: "all the people." Even if the passage does refer only to men (which it seems improbable that all the men of Sodom were gay), it is strange that Lot would offer his daughters to them if they were all gay.

Thus, rather than being a story about homosexuality, it seems instead to be about men (and possibly women) with the intent to rape. This is, unfortunately, not an uncommon method for inflicting violence and humiliation on another person. There are countless cases of heterosexual men using rape against other men as a means to assert dominance over other men. In war, especially in ancient times, it was common for soldiers to rape their defeated enemy male soldiers. We also see this use of rape to dominate and humiliate in our world today, notably in but not limited to the prison system.

3. In Jude 7, it says that Sodom and Gomorrah had given themselves over to sexual immorality and had gone after “strange flesh.” Some have interpreted this to mean homosexual behavior. The word we translate as "strange" means "other, different" (ironically, the Greek word is heteros… so maybe the sin of Sodom was heterosexuality, right?). Actually, this is a somewhat obscure phrase with a variety of potential interpretations, most of which seemed lacking. However, there are some Hebrew words similar to this Greek one, which shed some light onto the translation. In passages like Judges 11:1-1 and Proverbs 7:5, the phrase “strange women” is used to refer to prostitutes, as in "other women," as in “other women than your wife.” This lends some credibility to the translation of the word "strange" as “other,” as in “other than what we are supposed to have” or “other than your spouse.” This could apply to any sexual deviation, including that which seems likely to be true of Sodom and Gomorrah: rape as a means of domination and humiliation.

In conclusion, from what I’ve found so far, the evidence for homosexuality as the reason for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is lacking at best, and likely nonexistent. Regardless of what you believe the Bible teaches about homosexuality, I think we’d all agree that it is important to be honest with the textual evidence. Too often we bring in our own cultural experiences and impose them over the actual context of a passage, usually without even realizing it.

Here’s why I think this matters. Sometimes this unawareness just leads to misinformation; other times it can lead to justification of misguided approaches to fellow human beings. This puts us more in line with the sins of Sodom listed in Ezekiel than we’d like to acknowledge. I know I’ve been guilty of this more times than I’d like to admit. But my hope is to keep learning and discovering more about what Jesus is really calling me to in life. I would welcome your company on this journey, whatever perspective you’re coming from, as we learn and grow and walk together.