(TRIGGER WARNING – Th Sodom and Gomorrah story isn’t about LGBTQ folks. It’s about rape.)
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Some people have posted anti-LGBTQ memes in a desperate attempt to show that Sodom and Gomorrah is an anti-LGBTQ story in the Bible.
It most certainly is not. Sodom and Gomorrah has nothing to do with homosexuality as we know it. That story is about gang rape.
Two angels went to Sodom and a man named Lot invited them into his house. Lot did the right thing – he showed these strangers hospitality. He gave them a feast and they ate together.
But the men of Sodom saw the angels and demanded that Lot open his door so that the men would “know” the two angelic men.
Every middle schooler is aware that to “know” in the biblical sense is to have sex with someone. But what happens in the Sodom story is *not* homosexuality. It is not about two men in a committed same sex relationship based on love.
Sodom and Gomorrah is a story about rape.
And rape is a sexual perversion that is a violent abuse of power. The men of Sodom had a wicked desire to humiliate these strangers by raping them, thus showing these strangers that the men of Sodom were the boss of their town.
The sin of Sodom was not about homosexuality as we know it in the modern world. It is much more like modern prison gang rape.
The prophet Ezekiel wrote about the sin of Sodom and her daughter Gomorrah. Interestingly, Ezekiel never mentions anything about sex – homosexuality as an orientation wasn’t even on Ezekiel’s radar when discussing the sin of Sodom.
Ezekiel wrote that Sodom “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” (16:49-50)
The warning of Sodom and Gomorrah has nothing to do with homosexuality. This story never mentions two men living in a committed same sex relationship. It’s about the men of Sodom refusing to show hospitality to strangers and refusing to meet the needs of the poor and the marginalized.
Indeed, the story of Sodom is also a warning. It tells us that when we unite against vulnerable people we are going against the will of God.
Our LGBTQ siblings are vulnerable. If they are anyone in the Sodom and Gomorrah story, they are the angels in our midst.
When Christians misuse this story as yet another way to unite against our LGBTQ siblings, we are the ones acting like a bunch of Sodomites.
Christians who misuse this story by making it against our LGBTQ siblings need to repent. Otherwise, Christianity will deservedly go the way of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Check out these other articles explaining why Christianity leads us to be Open and Affirming of our LGBTQ siblings!
Open and Affirming Part 1: The Bible Leads to Full Inclusion of Our LGBTQ Siblings
Open and Affirming Part 2: The Misuse of Paul, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and the Heterosexual Agenda
Open and Affirming Part 3: Sodom and Gomorrah Is Not about Homosexuality.
Open and Affirming Part 5: Leviticus and My Bacon Eating Lifestyle
Open and Affirming Part 6: The Biblical Rainbow Is the Perfect Symbol for the LGBTQ Community