For the sake of those who assert that every word of the Bible is the literal word of God:
"I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your fortunes along with theirs." Ezekiel 16:53 (NRSV)
"Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered?" Ezekiel 16:56 (NRSV)
These passages come well after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and indicate that God will restore their fortunes.
You don't hear fundamentalist Christians quoting these passages.
Gay is for them a byword as Sodom was for Israel.
So don't take the literal passages that fundamentalists quote too seriously - they are selective - these passages and the passages about David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel indicate that God's attitude towards homosexuality is not as severe as they suggest.
And these are passages from the Bible.
[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]
I agree that we should not take the Bible as the literal word of God, but recent biblical commentators increasingly deny that the story of Sodom had anything to do with being gay.
ReplyDeleteOther references in the Old Testament indicate that the offense of Sodom was extreme lack of hospitality. The intended assault was not for sexual pleasure, but for domination. The use of the story to castigate gay people over the years seems to be a misuse of the story.
Thanks Tim,
DeleteI am aware of the modern interpretation of the story.
But Sodom was a byword in Israel.
And over the years has come to mean homosexuality.
I was pointing out that even Sodom was restored by God.