If this lesbian goes to hell, here's why
I've written about Sodom and Gomorrah before, and each time I've said it's not a passage that condemns me as a lesbian. Over the weekend though, I realized that if I do end up in hell, this passage could very well have something to do with it.
The story of the destruction of Sodom Gomorrah is in Genesis 19. In a nutshell: Lot invites two angels to stay with him, an angry mob shows up at Lot's door and demands "to know" the angels, and Lot refuses to let the angry mob in. The angels end up yanking Lot back into the house to protect him and they strike the mob with blindness. Lot and his family left the city, and both Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed immediately after.
This is one of the clobber passages frequently used to condemn homosexuality. Even after having been through it hundreds of times, it's still not immediately obvious to me how this passage relates to homosexual orientation as we know it today.
Some Christians believe that because the mob that showed up at Lot's door was primarily male and demanded to have sex with the male angels and the city was destroyed as a result, that God is saying something negative about homosexual orientation. Angela and I don't call our gay friends and invite them out to the suburbs for a wild night of knocking on doors and demanding to rape our neighbors' same sex houseguests. Once again, I'll say that this has nothing to do with homosexual orientation. It has everything to do with inhospitality.
I left out the part about Lot offering his daughters to the angry mob. In Lot's culture, inhospitality was a greater sin than allowing one's own daughters to be raped. Lot opened up his home to the angels and in doing so silently vowed to keep them comfortable all costs, even if it meant sacrificing his own daughters. Even though the odd set of circumstances makes it hard to relate today, there is still a lot to be learned. Be hospitable.
Angela's family was in town over the weekend and they stayed with us. Her sister, nephew, and grandmother, drove in Friday night and her mom drove in Saturday. They've been coming to visit a lot lately for reasons that would only complicate this blog so I'll skip over them. But Saturday afternoon I got stressed. I worked Saturday morning and went to a lunch meeting after that, then hopped on the treadmill and was in the midst of thinking about a speech I had to give that night at the gay prom, when I found out that two family members might be coming back the very next weekend and staying for a week. My mind immediately went to my schedule and all of the work I have to do at the radio station and out of the house, and my reaction was unfavorable to say the least. Angela has regular office hours so she's gone during the day, and if I'm at home I'm working toward deadlines and don't want to take time out to entertain. I'll leave it at that.
We ended up talking about everything and it's all going to work out just fine, but my knee-jerk reaction was to be selfish and unwelcoming. It was all about me, when God would prefer that I have an attitude that is all about them. I recognized the mistake immediately and apologized, but it really caused me to think. Sodom and Gomorrah totally condemns me! The story came to mind right away and slapped me upside the head, like a big Bible-loaded, "Duh!" I'm not a Bible-thumper. I'm a Bible-thumpee. It smacks me around.
Genesis 19 does speak directly to me, but not with lessons about how wrong it is to be gay. It has nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with inhospitality, and that's the sin that I must deal with. Tea anyone?
The story of the destruction of Sodom Gomorrah is in Genesis 19. In a nutshell: Lot invites two angels to stay with him, an angry mob shows up at Lot's door and demands "to know" the angels, and Lot refuses to let the angry mob in. The angels end up yanking Lot back into the house to protect him and they strike the mob with blindness. Lot and his family left the city, and both Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed immediately after.
This is one of the clobber passages frequently used to condemn homosexuality. Even after having been through it hundreds of times, it's still not immediately obvious to me how this passage relates to homosexual orientation as we know it today.
Some Christians believe that because the mob that showed up at Lot's door was primarily male and demanded to have sex with the male angels and the city was destroyed as a result, that God is saying something negative about homosexual orientation. Angela and I don't call our gay friends and invite them out to the suburbs for a wild night of knocking on doors and demanding to rape our neighbors' same sex houseguests. Once again, I'll say that this has nothing to do with homosexual orientation. It has everything to do with inhospitality.
I left out the part about Lot offering his daughters to the angry mob. In Lot's culture, inhospitality was a greater sin than allowing one's own daughters to be raped. Lot opened up his home to the angels and in doing so silently vowed to keep them comfortable all costs, even if it meant sacrificing his own daughters. Even though the odd set of circumstances makes it hard to relate today, there is still a lot to be learned. Be hospitable.
Angela's family was in town over the weekend and they stayed with us. Her sister, nephew, and grandmother, drove in Friday night and her mom drove in Saturday. They've been coming to visit a lot lately for reasons that would only complicate this blog so I'll skip over them. But Saturday afternoon I got stressed. I worked Saturday morning and went to a lunch meeting after that, then hopped on the treadmill and was in the midst of thinking about a speech I had to give that night at the gay prom, when I found out that two family members might be coming back the very next weekend and staying for a week. My mind immediately went to my schedule and all of the work I have to do at the radio station and out of the house, and my reaction was unfavorable to say the least. Angela has regular office hours so she's gone during the day, and if I'm at home I'm working toward deadlines and don't want to take time out to entertain. I'll leave it at that.
We ended up talking about everything and it's all going to work out just fine, but my knee-jerk reaction was to be selfish and unwelcoming. It was all about me, when God would prefer that I have an attitude that is all about them. I recognized the mistake immediately and apologized, but it really caused me to think. Sodom and Gomorrah totally condemns me! The story came to mind right away and slapped me upside the head, like a big Bible-loaded, "Duh!" I'm not a Bible-thumper. I'm a Bible-thumpee. It smacks me around.
Genesis 19 does speak directly to me, but not with lessons about how wrong it is to be gay. It has nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with inhospitality, and that's the sin that I must deal with. Tea anyone?
posted by Jen Austin at 2:25 PM
3 Comments:
What about this from Romans 1..
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
I made a commitment earlier in the year to start reading the bible and I must say that the more I it the more I love it, but like you, it smacks me around all the time! :)
I'm sorry, I really am. I struggle with homosexuality myself.
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