Sodom and Gomorrah

A couple of passages in the Old Testament take a dim view of same-sex relationships. Those passages are Genesis 19 and Leviticus 18 and 20. Genesis 19 is the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which includes an account of a large group of men who approach Lot and want to “know” two men (actually angels) who have been welcomed into Lot’s home. The ringleaders say, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them!”

Image by Robert Crumb.  The Book of Genesis Illustrated (2009).

The visiting angels, for their part, pull Lot to safety in his house, and they blast the mob with “blinding light,” rendering them blind.

Leviticus 18:22 states, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Leviticus 20:13 is a rejoinder that man shall not lie with mankind - again an abomination.

There are also passages in the New Testament (Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6, and 1 Timothy 1) that describe homosexuality as not being what G-d intended.

Be all that as it may, if you look at the Bible in the original Aramaic, there is no reference to homosexuality as a sin. My friend Gary was a student at Bob Jones University, which was known for its vehement stand against gays of all sort. He had a job as assistant to one of the deans.

At that time Bob Jones had one particular Bible verse that they used to justify their stance against gays, and Gary was himself a closeted gay. As part of his studies he worked on translating Bible passages from the Aramaic. When he got to the key verse, he discovered that it had nothing to do with homosexuality.

Concerned, he went to the dean and reported what he’d found. The dean turned to him and said, “We know, Gary; that’s why we’re looking for a new verse.” Ba-doom ching!

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