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God's Harbor Community Church
The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision.
"Lynn Lavner"
"The Bible Says..." How many times have you heard that phrase? Well, the Bible says a lot of things, and much of it is very important. The Bible even says things people don't want to hear because they would rather do whatever pleases them and not suffer any consequences. But did God give us the Bible just so we could have another book to read? If that were true, God would have done a better job by giving us a good murder mystery - maybe then more people would actually read God's Word. The point of having holy scriptures is not to simply know what they say, but to understand what the scriptures mean for our lives today and embody that meaning with our very lives.
In order to discover the truth and meaning contained in scripture we must go through a process of interpretation. Now some might say, "I don't believe in interpreting the Bible. I take its words at face value." Or they might quote that old bumper sticker, "The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it." Well, anyone who says these things is lying. Everyone interprets everything they read - it's impossible not to. You are interpreting these words right now. As we read the symbols on a page, our mind forms those symbols into words and perceives the writer's intent - we interpret the letters and words and form meaning.
As the opening quote from comedian Lynn Lavner points out, out of all the passages in the Bible only six have traditionally been used to condemn (or "clobber") homosexual people. I am convinced, as are thousands of scholars, theologians, authors, pastors, denominational officials, political leaders, and good old "salt of the earth" folk, that these passages have been misinterpreted and misused. But please, do not take my word for it - search the scriptures on your own and read what others on both sides of the issue have to say.
For too long, institutional religion has not fully trusted the Holy Spirit to guide us into "all truth," opting instead to tell people what to believe. While there is nothing wrong with seeking the insight of others, in the end you must form your own opinion. May the Word of God be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path, and may God's Word become written on your heart.
Have you ever walked past a person who was looking for a handout and totally ignored them? I hate to say it, but I know I have. If you have too, then, in a way, we are both guilty of the sin of Sodom. Let me explain. The sin of Sodom was not homosexuality, as has been taught: it was inhospitality. If there was a sexual component to the sin of Sodom, it was not male on male sex, it was rape and abuse. Now, how do we know this? First, we have to look at the rest of the story - the part that usually is not taught in Sunday School.
Here's a brief summary of the whole story. Abram had a nephew named Lot who eventually moved into the city of Sodom. In Genesis chapter 14, we read about four kings who go to war against five other kings. Two of the kings on one side of this war were the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah. As a result of losing the war, all the animals, people and valuables of the city are taken away as plunder, and Lot's family is among them.
Uncle Abram hears about this and comes to the rescue, bringing everyone and everything back home safe and sound. Naturally, the king of Sodom felt deeply indebted to Abram, so he offered to let Abram take whatever he wanted. But Abram refuses, saying, I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me - Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share. (Gen. 14:24). God sees that Abram doesn't take advantage of this situation and so God makes a covenant with Abram to give the land to Abram's descendants.
In Genesis chapter 18, three visitors (angels) visit with Abraham (in chapter 17, God changes Abram's name to Abraham) and the Lord tells Abraham they are on their way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because there are no righteous people living there; the cities are totally evil. Abraham knows Lot is living in Sodom, so he barters with God and gets God to spare the city if ten righteous people can be found. So the angels set off for Sodom with new orders - find 10 good people or else destroy the city.
Remember that Lot wasn't from these parts. He was an alien living in a foreign land. He dressed differently, looked different, acted differently, and to top it off, his uncle just saved the city and didn't ask for anything in return. Then, along come three strangers marching into town and where do they stay but at Lot's house. Don't you think the people would be just a little suspicious?
Sodom wasn't a very nice place to live. It was in the middle of the desert. There were tar pits, (Gen. 14:10) wild animals, wild people, kings fighting, etc. So staying outside at night in these parts could easily mean death. Also, at this time in history, the cardinal rule was to offer hospitality to any traveler or stranger who came to your door. This rule was so strict that you could not harm even an enemy who had been offered shelter for the night. When you took someone in, you were pledging yourself to protect them, no matter who was chasing after them, even if you had to fight for them. The whole system worked because of one simple principle - the person you save today might be the person who saves you tomorrow.
But that's not the greeting these three strangers get. No one takes them in, no one extends hospitality or mercy, no kindness is offered to these strangers by the people of Sodom; only the foreigner, Lot, takes them in. Next thing we know, we have an angry, suspicious mob banging on Lot's door, and that's when we come to the infamous verses in Genesis 19:4-5.
4But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house; 5and they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them." (emphasis added)
What does this have to do with homosexuality? Not much, really, as we will see. Since about the 12th century, this story has been used to condemn homosexuality. That's about the time the term "sodomite" came into use, and it refers to someone who engages in anal sex. From this time forward, the sin of Sodom was said to be male homogenital acts, and the thinking behind this Biblical account came to be that God destroyed the city of Sodom because of homogenital activity. But is that what really is going on?
To answer this question we have to understand what is meant by the phrase "...that we may know them." In the New Testament, "to know" sometimes means to have sex with. (Luke 1:34) In the Old Testament, the verb that is translated "to know" occurs 943 times. In 10 of those times, the word has a sexual meaning, and this passage from Genesis is one of those 10.
There is clearly a sexual reference here. But when a man rapes a woman, it has nothing to do with sexual gratification. It's all about power and control. So, is this passage talking about homosexual attraction, or is something else going on? First, if this passage was about a group of men wanting to have sex with a group of male strangers that had just came into town, it wouldn't make sense for Lot to offer his daughters as sexual objects to the mob. But that's what happens. By the way, nobody seems shocked and upset by this part of the story. When was the last time you heard a sermon about Lot's willingness to let his daughters be gang raped? But I digress.
During this day and time, Lot's daughters were his property. He could do whatever he wanted to them and with them. Some scholars believe the mob just wanted to learn more about the strangers and other scholars believe they wanted to have sex with them. Both are equally possible and unfortunately there is no way to ever know for sure which is right. But one thing we do know is that during this time the victorious side in a war would often rape the women, kill the children and insult the men by treating them like women - in other words forcing them to be penetrated. So this isn't a case of the men of Sodom wanting to make love to the strangers. They wanted to rape, humiliate and abuse them, which is a direct violation of the standing rule to offer hospitality and protection to strangers.
So what was the sin of Sodom if it wasn't sex? In its historical context, the story is about abuse and offense against strangers, insult to the traveler and inhospitality to the needy. In other words, being hard, cold, cruel, unloving, uncompassionate to someone in need. When you add the male-on-male rape issue, there is an additional offense of sexual abuse, gross insult and humiliation. The point of the story is not sexual ethics because there are none. This story is no more about sex than it is about pounding on a door. In this story, both the sex and the door pounding are incidental to the story. The main issue is abuse and assault in whatever form they take: male-on-male, male-on-female, and today we could add female-on-female but that wouldn't even have crossed their minds back then. In short, whenever this passage is used to condemn homosexuals, it is being misused.
In addition, there are several other similar Biblical passages that shed light on the sin of Sodom. In the book of Judges, chapter nineteen, there is a story of an Israelite from the tribe of Levi who was traveling with his servant and his concubine. They come into the town very late in the day and are looking for someone to take them in. Read Judges 19:16-30 (NRSV):
16Then at evening there was an old man coming from his work in the field. The man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was residing in Gibeah. (The people of the place were Benjaminites.) 17When the old man looked up and saw the wayfarer in the open square of the city, he said, "Where are you going and where do you come from?" 18He answered him, "We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; and I am going to my home. Nobody has offered to take me in. 19We your servants have straw and fodder for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and the woman and the young man along with us. We need nothing more." 20The old man said, "Peace be to you. I will care for all your wants; only do not spend the night in the square." 21So he brought him into his house, and fed the donkeys; they washed their feet, and ate and drank. 22While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the city, a perverse lot, surrounded the house, and started pounding on the door. They said to the old man, the master of the house, "Bring out the man who came into your house, so that we may have intercourse with him." 23And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, "No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Since this man is my guest, do not do this vile thing. 24Here are my virgin daughter and his concubine; let me bring them out now. Ravish them and do whatever you want to them; but against this man do not do such a vile thing." 25But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine, and put her out to them. They wantonly raped her, and abused her all through the night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. 26As morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was, until it was light. 27In the morning her master got up, opened the doors of the house, and when he went out to go on his way, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28"Get up," he said to her, "we are going." But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey; and the man set out for his home. 29When he had entered his house, he took a knife, and grasping his concubine he cut her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 30Then he commanded the men whom he sent, saying, "Thus shall you say to all the Israelites, 'Has such a thing ever happened since the day that the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until this day? Consider it, take counsel, and speak out.'"
Sound familiar? This story is very much like the Sodom story. Here the terrible thing that was done was rape, inhospitality to a stranger, abuse. In both stories it's not about who is having sex with whom; it's about the sexual assault, cruelty and abuse.
In the sixteenth chapter of Ezekiel, the prophet Ezekiel is railing against Israel because she has not kept God's law (Torah) and he's comparing her to a prostitute. To get a flavor of what he's saying, read Ezekiel 16:35-39:
35Therefore, O whore, hear the word of the Lord: 36Thus says the Lord God, "Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whoring with your lovers, and because of all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, 37therefore, I will gather all your lovers, with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated; I will gather them against you from all around, and will uncover your nakedness to them, so that they may see all your nakedness. 38I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, and bring blood upon you in wrath and jealousy. 39I will deliver you into their hands, and they shall throw down your platform and break down your lofty places; they shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful objects and leave you naked and bare."
The image conveyed here is that, because of what Israel had done, the nation would be stripped bare and forced to stand naked before an angry mob - an image not unlike Lot's daughters in Genesis and the concubine in Judges. Now read Ezekiel 16:49-50:
49This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 50They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.
The prophet clearly says the guilt of Sodom was arrogance, lack of concern, not helping the poor and nThe Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision.
-Lynn Lavner
"The Bible Says..." How many times have you heard that phrase? Well, the Bible says a lot of things, and much of it is very important. The Bible even says things people don't want to hear because they would rather do whatever pleases them and not suffer any consequences.
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