dear liberal theologians, the bible clearly condemns homosexuality, but does that matter?
Sometimes I just cringe when I see liberal theologians perform mental acrobatics when the Bible clearly states that homosexuality is a sin, and they try to show how the Bible does not condemn homosexuality as a sin.
At some degree, they're right. Story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:1-30) isn't really about homosexuality. Yet people are intellectually dishonest and using this story to oppose homosexuality.
Abraham's son Lot, moved to Sodom because it was a city where it was good to grow food. However, God thought that Sodom should be destroyed if there were not at least 10 people who had not committed sins, it was a completely sinful place. The inhabitants hated Lot because he was one of the few who had not committed sins. God sent angels to inspect the city of Sodom so that he could weigh whether the city in question was worth destroying.
The angels met Lot at the gates of the city of Sodom. He greeted the angels and asked if they would like to come visit him at his home. At first the angels said you don't have to be so hospitable, we're out here. Eventually the angels accepted Lot's hospitality and they dined at Lot's home. Lot had two daughters, so they were also in the company of angels.
Do you remember when the people of Sodom hated Lot because he was one of the few sinless people in their city? These same people surrounded Lot's house. They were all men, old and young. They shouted to Lot from the yard of his house, "Where are his visiting angels? We would like to rape them."
Lot went out of the house, tried to calm the men, called them his brothers, and asked them not to harm them. Lot even offered his two young daughters, who were virgins, for rape. They did not want his daughters, but still wanted to rape the angels.
They attacked Lot and tried to break down the door. The angels caught Lot from behind and blinded the Sodomites with bright angelic light so they couldn't find the door.
The angels fled the house with Lot and warned him that God was now going to destroy this city, Sodom, along with Gomorrah. Bring your family.
Lot's sons-in-law did not believe the angels, but stayed in the city. Despite the doubts of the entire family, the angels took them out of the destruction and urged them to do nothing but run for their lives and not look back at the destruction of the city.
Lot's wife did not listen to the angels' commands and looked back at the destruction of the city. She feared so much that she turned into a pillar of salt before Lot's eyes.
Lot and his daughters survived the destruction. Lot's father, Abraham, went to see Sodom and Gomorrah and saw that there was nothing there but ruins.
Lot's daughters thought that there was no people at all after such a massive destruction. They thought that they will not find hundbands for themselves so they wanted to reproduce through their father. So they gave Lot wine to drink. After drinking he passed out. Lot's daughters went sleep with him.
Lot’s younger daughter gave birth to the ancestor of the Moabites, and his older daughter gave birth to the ancestor of the Ammonites. Lot became the ancestor of two nations.
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is not about homosexuals, but about rapists. I find it downright offensive to refer to this as a story that claims to be about homosexuality. What makes this comparison even more disgusting is that homosexual intercourse has traditionally been referred to as "sodomy" when it was still illegal in various Western countries. So someone is comparing an intimate moment between two loving people to the rapists of Sodom trying to rape angels.
However, there are other arguments that liberal theologians use, when they claim, that the Bible doesn't condemn homosexuality.