Why do you think Sodom was destroyed?

Many people say that Sodom was destroyed because of homosexuality, but there's nothing in the Bible to support that.

Some people use Jude 1:7 (which says that the Sodomites "went after strange flesh") as evidence, but that verse actually contradicts that point. The original Greek word that is translated "strange" (ironically "heteras") is used elsewhere in the Bible solely to refer to foreigners. Proof: https://biblehub.com/greek/heteras_2087.htm

The Sodomites went after foreigners. This is consistent with Genesis 18:20 that says that there was a great outcry against Sodom. Were people crying out because the Sodomites are having consensual gay sex? No. Genesis 19 provides an illustration of the way that the Sodomites abused foreigners.

Two angels arrived at Lot's house, under the disguise of men. All the people in Sodom gathered outside the house, demanding for the angels to be let outside, so that the Sodomites could gang-rape them. Yes, the angels presented as male, but Lot was also male. Why did the Sodomites try to rape the angels, but not Lot? Because the angels were foreigners.

Ezekiel 16:49-50 says "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."

No reference to homosexuality. Some people say that "abomination" refers to homosexuality, but to me, it clearly refers to how they would commit GANG-RAPE, as illustrated in Genesis 19. I'm not denying that the Bible says male homosexual intercourse is a sin, but if you genuinely believe consensual homosexuality is a greater abomination than GANG-RAPE (whether homosexual or heterosexual), then I'm not sure you're worth arguing with.

Opinions?
Why do you think Sodom was destroyed?
I didn't read /OR/ I'm not familiar with the story of Sodom
Vote A
I'm Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. I believe homosexuality was the primary reason that Sodom was destroyed.
Vote B
I'm Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. I used to believe homosexuality was the primary reason Sodom was destroyed, but this post changed my mind.
Vote C
I'm Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. I don't, and didn't, believe that homosexuality was the primary reason Sodom was destroyed.
Vote D
I'm not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. I think that the Bible says that homosexuality was the primary reason that Sodom was destroyed.
Vote E
I'm not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. I used to think that the Bible said that homosexuality was the primary reason homosexuality was destroyed, but this post changed my mind.
Vote F
I'm not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. I don't believe, and didn't believe, that the Bible says homosexuality was the primary reason Sodom was destroyed.
Vote G
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Most Helpful Guys

  • First, why ask a question, then give your opinion, then give options, thus possibly swaying the vote? The preferred way is to wait and give your opinion after others give theirs (or put yours in "Additional details" right away if you don't want to wait).

    Scripture explains (or confirms) scripture. The best way to understand Genesis 6 is to read Jude 1: 3-16:
    "Dear friends, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

    5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

    8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams, these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”[d] 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.

    11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

    12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

    14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”[e] 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage."

    • How can you write such a long answer but when I do it says "Your answer is too long or too short"? I feel like I got "short" changed. :(

    • @AllieOops hmm I don't know. I've never had that happen to me (that my comment was too long).

  • 1) There was a dispute between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot. They resolved peacefully and lot chose to go Sodom.

    Genesis 13:12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

    Lot became a foreigner of Sodom, but was abused.

    2) Abraham bargained with God in attempt to spare Sodom. The result: there was not even 20 righteous: Genesis 18:31 ... And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.

    I don't suppose there are so many foreigners for an entire nation to abuse regularly.

    3) Lot, a foreigner, offered his virgin daughters but they refused. Genesis 19:8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes.

    From the above, foreigners is not the key reason (Lot, his herdsmen and family were foreigners). The Sodomites also refused foreign women. They wanted men. That was the issue.

    PS: as a nation, Sodom sure had sex with their wives, for otherwise there will be no offspring and the nation will fail. What was noted about them was homosexuality. They like that, as a nation with less than 20 men (including Lots family) are righteous in God's eyes.

    • How was Lot a foreigner? He lived there, and so did his virgin daughters. "They wanted men. That was the issue." They wanted to rape*. That was the issue.

    • Read Genesis 13 yourself. The dispute between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot made Abram called Lot to choose the land he will go, and Abram will go the opposite. Lot chose Sodom, hence Abram went to Canaan.

    • "They wanted to rape*." Yes, non-consensual homosexual sex with those men. Note: the Israel Tribe of Benjamin had a similar story. And that tribe was almost destroyed, due to homosexuality and violence too. (But that was another story.)

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Most Helpful Girls

  • You are right, you are not worth arguing about the fact that God calls homosexuality an abomination. A man should not lie with another man as he does a woman. God created Eve to be a companion. The word "Woman" means "From man" If He wanted man and woman to have sex outside of the two He crated He would have created a 3rd sex. The people in Sodom and Gomorrah were evil. God does not destroy people for being inhospitable. He destroyed them for being homosexuals. When they wanted to have sex with God's messengers it probably made God a bit angry. As far as Lot is concerned he was probably an old man and these homo's wanted young and fit looking studs. I'm sure Angels are not ugly but can take on other forms as the Bible says some have entertained Angels and did not know it. But people can keep believing that homosexuality is fine, as todays profaned churches say it is. These churches will be judged by God the same as the Great Whore which in the End Times is the church. It's not a sin to BE gay, but practicing gay sex is another story. If you practice such things ( as a life style) you shall not enter the Kingdom of God.

    • I didn't say the Bible doesn't say homosexual intercourse is sinful. I said there's no evidence that homosexuality was the primary reason Sodom was destroyed. You really think neighboring nations were crying out against Sodom because they were having consensual gay sex? "God does not destroy people for being inhospitable." Wanna bet? Check out 2 Kings 2. "23Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths."

    • What Bible are you reading? Baldhead? Goodness.

    • That was from the NKJV, but look up 2 Kings 2:23-24 in your Bible for yourself. Same moral of the story.

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  • Sodom was destroyed for many wrong doings being practised and not just in one aspect.
    We however don't know what those particular actions were.
    Homosexuality could be one of them, gang raping another. We don't know.
    All we know is that the citizens of Sodom sinned greatly.

    You're asking what sins we personally think were committed in sodom, amongst many others, I definitely do think homosexual activities are one of them, including rape. As for why they didn't rape Lot, we don't know that they haven't already plus I don't see a big problem with going to Lots house and demanding to have sex with the foreigners.
    They see Lot everyday have probably raped him before or whatever but them just wanting to sleep with the foreigners, I don't know how to explain it but it makes sense to me.

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What Girls & Guys Said

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  • Like most biblical stories it's a tail of morality. Whether it was homosexuality or gang rape it really doesn't matter, the while point then is to behave in a moral way. Even if somebody is gay they can still be very moral they can still have standards or acceptable behaviour.

    Sodom is a tail of people behaving in an imoral way and for that they were punished, if you believe the Bible, then you believe they were destroyed by God, but most scholars debate why.

    What they almost always fail to do is to look holistically at the Bible and to understand that each story within the Bible is part of a collection of tails of morality, how to behave towards each other and to understand that one way or another your behaviour determines your future.

    In other words then the Bible could be shortened to the following

    Don't be a dick

    Take responsibility for your own behaviour and accept there are consequences of your choices

  • I’ve always believed that it was destroyed because of attempted rape. Not homosexuality. Personally, I don’t believe that the Bible was meant to say anything about homosexuality at all. If you read the original Hebrew, you’ll realize that many liberties were taken in translation. The translators were prejudiced and assumed that the person who wrote the original text was too. They projected their own hate into the text.

  • Well today there are a lot more homosexuals than back then also i believe there are a lot of rapes and gang rapes that happen but still god hasn't destroyed anything.. Actually thinking that god would want to destroy something is kinda of a sin by itself the bible just likes to contradict itself a lot... I really don't mean to attack the bible that is my honest opinion and wouldn't mind any argument against please no hate people

    • The world is a better off without a city full of gang-rapists.

    • I actually wanted to ask you.. What is your view on homosexuality I'm kinda interested

  • I'm an atheist and I believe the scientific explanation it was struck by a mid air asteroid explosion. It was a random event that people tried to explain the best way they could at the time.

    • I have always been partial to the drunken bar fight theory over who had the largest goat herd that claims an oil lamp which was knocked over during the shoving match started the fire. Without a fire brigade the place being essentially a tinder box, it burned like an out of control California wildland fire.

    • A fire would have been quickly dealt with and wouldn't be spectacular enough to be fixed in people's minds. The same event could take place today over any city regardless of the inhabitants morality.

    • Have you been in a wildfire? I have. They move damn fast. Even when homes have tile roofs wildfires burn the shit out of everything fast. Especially once the winds kick up and they always do. Imagine all this wood roofs and nothing more than people with buckets to fight a fire where buildings are all close together. The meteor theory is fine and dandy, but even if it was just one piece breaking off and landing on a roof at night the chance of anyone being prepared to fight that fire is likely zero at that time. Hence the town going up in smoke.

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  • Well I know in the Torah it says they were destroyed because of their immoral behavior. Of course male homosexuality is condemned literally in Leviticus, but it all depends on how the Rabbis interpret the texts. Which is why Orthodox Jews take their interpretation from the Talmud, and Reform Jews have our way of interpreting those verses in light of modernity.

  • The idea that it was for homosexuality is absurd. First and foremost, the idea of forcibly taking some one for homosexual sex as an angry mob is a bit far fetched, even more so when the gender of the people they are demanding be sent out is completely unknown. But translations issues have always existed, that's why their are statues of moses with horns because the word for halo/light apparently is similar to that of horns and was as a result a translation error (I mean it was originally in Sanskrit, which later was translated into Hebrew which itself was translated into latin and greek, which was then later translated into English and every other language. That's why their are also so many references to unicorns in the English version when in fact it was actually referring to aurochs (a precursor to the modern cow)).

  • Go back and read the passage in genesis again and you will notice that when the sodomites want to rape the Angel's, Lot offers up his daughter instead, (and he was the good guy that god wanted to save)
    It never specifies homosexuality though, it's more just the fact that there were visitors and they wanted to rape them instead of being good hosts.

    • The daughters weren't foreigners

    • Yeah I know they aren't lot offers HIS daughter to the rapists to keep them from raping the angel, just trying to make the point that a lot of times the bible is not exactly a good moral compass.

  • Maybe God, like many of us, enjoys a clean slate. You destroy a city, flood a world, start over. If you've ever played a video game, sometimes you get to spot where things didn't exactly go the way you planned, so you hard reset and start over to create a better outcome.

  • I don't know, I read what you wrote but have paid little attention to that story. Interesting view.

    Lots of places are destroyed in the world and wasn't necessarily the cause of human behavior, just bad luck or fortune? Humans associate cause and effect when it may not exist. And people who looked upon Sodom with dissdain may have felt glad and thought they be well deserving of destruction.

    That has happened as people think about this virus, or the tsunami, etc..

    What is troubling as well is that many children would have been wiped out as well, no fault of their own.

    Given out society, gotta wonder if "God" is outletting wrath, then what we have coming. Not something I want to think about...

  • I think it's because Sodom was genetically unpure and still has the blood of fallen angels in them. It's what caused the animosity of raping foreigners because they were not of the same blood, the same with the potential homosexuality but that is a cause of the reason. I think God destroyed Sodom because there was no redeeming it. They were corrupt to their very life blood and spirit, so the Lord had no more use for them. The same reason He started the crusade against the promise land, it was to cull the nehphilem and fallen. The addition of the extra biblical books such as Jasher and Enoc paint a new light into the days of Noah and after. It gives perfect reasoning for why a God of love would be brought to massacre an entire city down to the animals they kept. Their genetics, blood, and spirit was corrupt with the sin of angels, so they had to go. There is no Nephesh for a half man half angel

    • The referenced abomination is the combination of the image of God and His lowly servants. Truly is it not an abomination to create something that the God of good and creation saw unfit to exist?

  • I am christian and i think that god loves all his children and homosexuality is probably not the real reason why god destroyed Sodom. God provably destoyed Sodom because there was a lot of violent involved, rape, murderer, criminality, stealing, praying to statues and getting behind God's back thinking that they are smarter than God.

    • Yea but the bible has verses that say homosexuality is wrong God loves all but the act is what he is against.

    • Yeah it ie the act that God doesn't like. For exemple it is not wrong to drink alcohol and get drunk but stay calm. But it is wrong if you get drunk and hit someone and destroy others stuff. It depends on how you act. Just like it is not wrong to have sex if you both agree, but it is wrong to rape.

  • Historical sources say Sodom was destroyed because they used pitch as a building material and the inevitable happened and the city lit up like Hugh Hefner’s birthday cake.

    It was also one of our earliest attempts at congregating all in one spot, with all the disease and resource (food) depletion that comes with that.

    The bible is just the narrative of one pissed of tribe trying to tell everyone their only slightly different way of living was infinitely superior to everyone around them and everyone else was infidels basically. It’s pretty poetry that gives some context for the time it was written down 3-400ad) and doesn’t tell you much other than that.

  • I am agnostic but a lapsed catholic so I have a shaky knowledge of the bible. My interpretation of the "Sodom" story was that the original bible writers were possibly speaking about Hedonism as a apparatus to create sexual dysfunction probably praising the family unit. This then can be taken to the extreme as a way to denigrate every form of sex except heterosexual marital sex for the purpose of procreation.
    To me this is akin to a food journalist saying "I had a lovely steak last night" , is he saying avoid all other types of food except steak which you must have for every meal for the rest of your life.
    I always took the bible to be originally meant as a guidebook, a list of suggestions rather than a hard and fast rule book.

  • Eh, Sodom and Gomorrah was primarily destroyed because of lack of care for poor but homosexual behavior is still sin (1 Corinthians 6)

  • With political correctness many are trying to reinterpret the bible. I can't say I think being gay is a sin if people are born that way. If its a choice then i could say its a sin. Much of science says people are born that way. I am live and let live, but with all the references to husband and wife in the bible I would lean to homosexuality but there were other sins as well by the area

    • It is not reinterpreting the bible. It is reading clearly what is there

  • I often wonder how many bible stories are based on something far less fantastic. Like the story of Noah could habe really been about how the Nile floods every few years, and one guy came up with the idea of putting all his stuff on a raft instead of completely relocating until the river subsided. 20 thousand years of people playing "teleohone" with this story, and it's about a purge. Sodom was probably just a gay farmer or something who wouldn't bone his neighbor, and his neighbor didn't want his secret getting out so he killed him (like in American Beauty) and salted his crops. 20 thousand years of telephone later and it's about another purge.

  • Sodom was probably destroyed for number of perverted reasons, but I like how the gays and SJWs try to dance around the issue and re-write the story.

    • It's not rewriting the story. It is looking at what is there. Where does the Bible say that Sodom was destroyed for homosexuality?

    • The guys there asked him to send the guy out for sex , so they could know him, that is his ass and mouth. He offered his daughter instead , since they were like cattle anyway back then,

    • The guys in Sodom were offered a choice, having a woman, or having the angel guys. They wanted the guys.

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  • Just a myth, no more true than Noah's Ark or the Exodus or the labors of Hercules.

  • The Quran has clear signs that the Sodomites were indeed punished for homosexuality/sodomy. This link has reference to all the verses regarding this.

    https://www. islamicity. com/science/QuranAndScience/destruction/GeneratedFilesNoFrame/ThePeopleofLutandTheCitywhichwasTurnedUpsideDown. htm

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