Does Sodom and Gomorrah Show that Homosexuality is Wrong?
When churches don’t self-reflect.
Sodom and Gomorrah
In Genesis 18:16-19:29, we hear about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. They excelled at sin and wickedness. If you ask people in the church today, “what was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?” most would say, “homosexuality.”
And church people have used the story of Sodom and Gomorrah to justify exclusion and violence against the LGBTQ+ community.
Was homosexuality the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?
In Genesis 18:20-21, God is talking with Abraham. God says their sin is so bad, he had to personally go down and see if it was as bad as he heard. Abraham suggested there must be a few righteous people in Sodom, and asks God not to wipe them out when he sweeps away the wicked. After a bit of haggling, God agrees not to flatten the city if they can find ten good people.
So, yeah, things must have been really bad in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Walking Through the Story
God decides to keep Abraham in the loop about what he’s doing. God tells Abraham (Genesis 18:20) that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah “is very grievous.” God doesn’t say what the sin was, but it was bad.
In chapter 19, God sends to angels down to see if the wickedness is as bad as everyone said. They end up staying at the home of Lot, Abraham’s intellectually dubious nephew.
Then, that evening (19:4-5), the men of Sodom surround Lot’s house and demand that Lot turn over his visitors, so that “they we may have sex with them.”
Clearly this was a horrific scene. Homosexual rape, like all rape, is always wrong. But it is never identified in the text as the “official sin of Sodom.”
Lot offered them his daughters (Lot was always a few camels short of a caravan). The men of Sodom try to force their way into the house (19:9-10), but the angels blind everyone. They then tell Lot to get his family and get out of the city. They say that God will be destroying the city as planned, but they still don’t identify the exact type of wickedness.
We get to the end of the story in verse 29, but the exact sin that was so grievous has not yet been identified.
But there is one place in the Old Testament that identifies the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The Sin of Sodom
In Ezekiel 16, the prophet savages the people of Judah, telling them that Sodom was better than they were. In 16:48, Ezekiel suggests that the people of Judah have done much worse things that Sodom. And then, the sin of Sodom is finally identified (16:49, NIV):
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
Well. That’s a little different than what the many church bodies have said.
But while some in the church would be quick to assume the sin of Sodom as homosexuality, virtually no one knows about Ezekiel 16:49, which literally identifies the sin of Sodom.
Why?
Why Don’t We Know about the Ezekiel Passage?
Why has the church—for centuries—used the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as a stick with which to hit people in the LGBTQ+ community? Even when there is clear evidence that the wickedness of Sodom is related to something else entirely?
A couple possible reasons:
No doubt, part of the reason was prejudice and hate. Some men who are personally uncomfortable with homosexuality (or perhaps more likely, uncomfortable with their own sexual orientation), quickly found a story as a way to confirm their own prejudices and biases. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah was misinterpreted, with malice and forethought. The LGBTQ+ community is an easy group to hate, because they don’t fight back. They just leave the church.
Another reason, clearly, is that the Ezekiel 16:49 passage strikes pretty darn close to home. Am I overfed? Definitely. Am I arrogant? Probably. Am I unconcerned? Most of the time. Do I care about the poor and needy? Not as much as I should. We tend to selectively forget information that accuses us. We’re much more comfortable pointing our fingers at “others.” Even though Jesus never mentioned homosexuality, and explicitly stated that you should love and care for those who are not like us, we still find ways to accuse others instead of ourselves.
Essentially, the story was easy to misinterpret in a way that allowed the church to have power over others. The church through the ages has sadly chosen the way of power rather than the way of servanthood. Sadly, the church has often victimized groups to maintain their own power. Christ sets the table and sends us out to invite others, but the church has often seen themselves as armed guards who can determine who to let in and who to keep out.
So Here’s the Point
The church has been guilty of being extremely resistant to self-reflection. When we don’t self-reflect, we can’t learn from our mistakes. When we don’t self-reflect, we lack the imagination to do new things in new ways. When we don’t self-reflect, we just keep doing the same thing that we’ve always done. And when we see that it isn’t working, we just try it harder.
And one of those things that we’ve always done is to blame others. We don’t point the light at ourselves, because golly, we’re just too busy finding fault in others.
So how should our churches respond?
Welcome people. Tell people that you welcome people. Put that information on your website. And when LGBTQ+ individuals visit, give them a high-five and warm embrace.
LGBTQ+ individuals have extremely high rates of depression and suicide ideation. This is made worse when they have been rejected by their friends and families when they have come out. Transgender individuals in particular are very vulnerable to suicide ideation, because of the abuse that has been heaped on them during their entire lives. Do something to reach out to those vulnerable individuals. Get them resources. Get them help. Build awareness. Create safe places for them. Engage with them. Build relationships.
We want to engage in ministry to them, for them, and with them…. But not because we are doing them a favor. We do further damage if we come off as the “Saviors to the LGBTQ+ community.” We serve them because we are them. All of us are all broken, all of us are all struggling, all of us are all needy. All of us need the relentless grace of God. And we have his grace because he gave us all His grace. When it comes to the praise of God and the ministry to others, we are all in this together.
If you liked this article, you might enjoy Help! I Want to Read the Bible. It’s a short, introductory book on the Bible and what it contains. Chapters include summaries of the Old and New Testament, basic messages of Scripture, and how the Bible came down to us through history.
* * * * *
More Bible and Church Resources
Read the Bible in a Year: 52 Introductions for a Chronological Journey through the Bible
Help! I Want to Read the Bible: A Beginner’s Quick Start Guide
Understanding Genesis: The Beginning of the Promise. A Bible Study
Youth Ministry: Ten Non-Group Models
Conversations at the Pearly Gates: Six Dramas for Lent
Holy Week at the Jerusalem Café: Six Dramas for Lent