It may have been destroyed, but it won’t go away!
by Larry Hallock
What about this town that was burned to the ground, yet still stands as a monument to the condemnation of homosexuals throughout the ages? It was a wicked place in its day and millenniums later its wickedness still emanates from the rubble, through destructive lies told from pulpits. Maybe we can put a few of those falsehoods to rest:
MYTH: Sodom had a larger than usual gay population.
Fact: There is no reason whatsoever to assume this, biblically or historically.
MYTH: It was a crowd of homosexuals who demanded to rape the angels.
Fact: There is no reason to believe the crowd wasn't representative of the city's general population—and mostly heterosexual. Lot must have presumed them to be heterosexual, as he offered them his daughters. (See sidebar below.) When the basic story line is repeated in Judges 19, the crowd does accept a woman in lieu of the males and rapes her to death. But the fact remains, the record does not say whether either or both of these crowds were homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual, or the normal mix of a population.
MYTH: The story illustrates that homosexuality is sin.
Fact: Lust and rape are sinful for heterosexuals and homosexuals alike. Even if the crowd were homosexuals, their behavior would not condemn "homosex-uality" any more than the behavior of the heterosexual rapists in Judges 19 condemns heterosexuality.
MYTH: God destroyed the city because of that incident.
Fact: No! God had already decided to destroy the city before the incident occurred. That's why the angels had come—to inform Lot that the city would be destroyed.
MYTH: God destroyed the city because of homosexuality.
Fact: This most blatant lie of them all is endlessly recited without the slightest justification. Far from being "the" reason, homosexuality is not even listed as one of the reasons. The Bible is very specific on the real reasons for Sodom's destruction:
• pride
• laziness
• too much food
• poor and needy suffered outside her door
• worshipped many idols
Ezekiel 16:49, 50, The Living Bible
MYTH: Ellen White says it was destroyed because of homosexuality.
Fact: She names many specific reasons for the city's destruction (see "The Destruction of Sodom" in Patriarchs and Prophets), but homosexuality is not one of them. Following scripture, she makes no connection between the vile passions of the infamous crowd and homosexuality, and never hints that the incident itself figured prominently in the city's wickedness or in its destruction.
Although nothing about the story hinges on whether the bad guys in Sodom were gay, it is interesting to note that the preponderance of extensive scholarship today suggests they were not. The reason the crowd declined the daughters and insisted on having the angels wasn’t about sexual gratification, but all about humiliating the unwelcome strangers. The most humiliating put-down of males in those days was to treat them as women. (Perhaps we see vestiges of that even today.) In this scenario, Lot offering them his daughters made sense, albeit unforgivable. Rightfully assuming they were straight, he offers them a treat in exchange for their not harming the visitors.
It's not right that the wickedness of Sodom should live on, in continued inhospitality toward those who may be strangers to the heterosexual "in" crowd. With the blinders of falsehood put to rest, may we now see the many valuable lessons the story of Sodom really holds.
And the next time anyone cites the Sodom story in connection with homosexuality, remind them that we don't have to guess about this, because the Bible is very specific about what made Sodom wicked. Ask them to read the list and point out where there is so much as a hint that homosexuality was a factor.
And if they suggest that the mere behavior of that crowd in Sodom condemns homosexuality as a sin, ask them whether the deadly heterosexual behavior of the rapists in Judges 19 condemns heterosexuality as a sin.
Don't let the wickedness of Sodom live on through lies that destroy people’s lives today.
Lot’s wife instantly turns into a pillar of salt when God kills her for glancing back at Sodom as they flee.
“When I said ‘Get out and don’t look back,’ I wasn’t just whistlin’ Dixie!”
