This week, I was introduced to two very similar stories that I had no idea existed. In my childhood, I was told all about Sodom and Gomorrah and how Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt–but never the lead-up to their demise. Who knew that there was such a controversy about gang rape in Genesis, AND that they taught it in Sunday school?
Reading the story of Sodom and Gomorrah at face-value is much different than the other interpretations out there, especially on the internet. Homosexuality in the Bible is a hot topic, one that I never knew was referenced much outside of Leviticus’ long-winded, fire and brimstone law book. Turns out, there are lots of discussions out there that made me wonder–was this really about the men wanting to “know” the other men?
No, it wasn’t. During class, it hit me more clearly that it didn’t even matter what sexuality these men were, or if that specifically is what made the city evil. It was a story of violence and rape, and total lawlessness that garnered the interference of God. The argument surrounding the nature of “abomination” that the Sodomites had committed was much more black and white to me than it had been after a few Google searches. I was reassured that indeed someone else thinks the gang rape of a woman is more pressing than the exact sexuality of an entire town.