When I first began attending to Internet newsgroup threads about homosexuality and the Bible, I held the conventional view: the Bible condemns it. I knew of ways to discount each of the standard texts; I thought a person could in a piecemeal way discount all
Part of a series of essays on the Bible and homosexuality. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 19 describes how two angels visited Sodom and were welcomed into Lot’s house. The men of the city gathered around the house and demanded that Lot send
Part of a series of essays on the Bible and homosexuality. The story of the Levite Judges 19 describes an event much like that at Sodom. This time, an unnamed Levite visited the town of Gibeah with his slaves and concubine. He met an old
Part of a series of essays on the Bible and homosexuality. Condemnation of the Sodomites Jude 7 refers to the people of Sodom as “giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh.” Strange flesh has been variously translated as perverted sensuality, unnatural lust,
Back to Index In summary: Homosexual activity in the temple by male prostitutes is clearly prohibited by the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Homosexual activity in general may have been prohibited at the time by the Holiness Code, but that code is no longer binding on
Through my long associations with various churches of different denominations, I have heard many things regarding homosexuality. Most of it was negative and the rest was, at best, indifferent. For many years I held to that indifferent attitude. I have come to know many people
Most people seem to “know” that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God because of homosexuality. Well, I haven’t been able to find the phrase, “homosexuality” anywhere in Genesis or Judges or anywhere else in the Bible refering to Sodom and Gomorrah.
Though several Bible texts deal with the sin of Sodom, only one text actually attributes a sexual sin to the destroyed city. That text is Jude 7. the fact that it took this long for a Bible writer to actually condemn Sodom for sexual reasons
Editor’s note: For more on this and the other “clobber passages” commonly used to justify scripture-based condemnation of homosexuality, you may also enjoy our essay series “The Bible and Homosexuality.” The supposed ‘Sin of Sodom’ The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is the biblical story
From The Ontario Centre For Religious Tolerance Many people have been taught during childhood that homosexual behaviour is condemned both by God and by their religion as unnatural and morally degenerate. If they discover later in life that they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual they