I had occasion to think about Sodom and Gomorrah tonight. The prophet Isaiah addresses the leaders and people of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, as “you rulers of Sodom, you people of Gomorrah.”
They must have been shocked, because then, as now, Sodom and Gomorrah smelled bad.
Though not for the same reason.
The modern mind equates S & G with gay sex. That’s been so for about 1600 years. (But not before that.)
According to Genesis 19, however, the men of Sodom were as willing to gang rape Lot’s virgin daughters as his strange visitors.
The issue is gang rape, violence against persons to whom is owed the sacred obligation of hospitality and the protection that comes with it.
It’s not homosexual people.
Ezekiel 16 is the only place in scripture that spells out the sin of S & G (the “you” addressed is Jerusalem):
This 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. They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it. Samaria has not committed half your sins; you have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed.
Ezek 16:49-51 (NRSV)
Sodom and Gomorrah were condemned for pride, selfishness, indifference to the suffering of the poor.
I know the arguments about homosexuals get hot and heavy. The prospect of gay marriage bothers many folk.
We live in a society that promises every individual “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” What’s more basic to human happiness than freedom to build a life with the person you love?
Jesus built his life on loving God and neighbor. Isn’t he more offended by loveless arguments and loveless lives than by who we choose to love?
Yes, there are a few “Thou shalts” and a few “Thou shalt nots.”
Keeping two people from promising to love each other, and no one else, for a lifetime, however, has nothing to do with “Thou shalt” or “Thou shalt not.”
It has to do with hate.
Which, last time I looked, is at the top of God’s list of “Thou shalt nots.”
Photo by Mary Fran
Are you actually suggesting that opponents of gay marriage are all driven, solely or in part, by hate? It couldn’t just be a divergent understanding of Christian sexuality in the Biblical witness and historical teaching of the Church?
And how is it possible to prevent two people from promising to love each other? I’m pretty sure two folks can do this without a Church or state-sanctioned ceremony.
I’m also not clear if your arguments are gospel based or American-based. These two are not the same. Should gay marriage be accepted based on an ethic of Jesus-love or of secular civil liberties? You seem to blend them here too easily.
Hello, North Carolina, Pastor Mack. Thanks for reading and taking time to respond.
I’ll dive into the fray, one paragraph at a time.
1) Are all driven by hate? Not individually. The culture which denies gay people status which others take for granted is hate driven, mostly, however, just as laws against interracial marriage and voter restrictions were part of a hate culture, as was the silence in all the white churches. There are the people who kill gays and picket AIDS funerals, and there are all the “nice” people who tolerate and contribute to an atmosphere of intolerance. Same as in race prejudice. If you go along with the culture, then maybe unconsciously you’re part of the hate machine.
2) You’ve got a point. You can’t keep two people from promising to love. But you can hinder them, put obstacles in their way, make fun of their commitment, etc. All the social incentives given marriage make a couple’s success more likely.
3) I am not a fan of American culture. I argued from a cultural basis “pursuit of happiness” as the bare minimum. I actually came to my views on gay sex from reading the Bible carefully. Yeah, there are passages that condemn homosexuals. But there are others that led me to accept all persons equally, and strive to live by the same sexual standards for all: no sex outside of monogamous lifelong union before God, and by the way agapé. For example:
Ezekiel 16:49-50; Isa 56:1-8 (quoted by Jesus); Luke 7:1-10; Acts 8:26-40; Acts 10; Gal 3:28. (You’ll find a full exposition of the issue in The Blue Book, there’s a link on the sidebar.)
I appreciate your comments. Thanks again for reading and writing.
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