Truth Not Trickery Part 1: Sodom and Gomorrah
I’ve gotten a lot of emails lately all asking me the same question in different ways... the preverbal big question
“...so how does that whole gay/Jesus thing work?”
“How can you be gay AND christian?”
-Honestly - I sometimes think, “How can you not!?!”
Maybe that’s because after many years of research I've gained a true understanding of what the Bible does and does not say about homosexuality. I suppose, like anything in life once you understand for yourself no one can deceive you with a lie.
Maybe that’s because after many years of research I've gained a true understanding of what the Bible does and does not say about homosexuality. I suppose, like anything in life once you understand for yourself no one can deceive you with a lie.
...for example:
We all know and believe that the earth is round.
But if we were to time traveled few hundred years back we would find a society in which it was an understood “fact” that the earth was flat. These days if one went around saying the world is flat people would call you crazy.
What changed? The world? ...us? --Our perception?
Over the years we've gained knowledge and understanding about the realities of our planet, its orbit, and even other planets in our solar system. But in order for all that to have happened someone had to stop believing what everyone else was saying and attempt to figure out what was REALLY happening...
The same concept applies to matters of God - just because a large group of people believe something, doesn’t mean its true -
it simply means....
We all know and believe that the earth is round.
But if we were to time traveled few hundred years back we would find a society in which it was an understood “fact” that the earth was flat. These days if one went around saying the world is flat people would call you crazy.
What changed? The world? ...us? --Our perception?
Over the years we've gained knowledge and understanding about the realities of our planet, its orbit, and even other planets in our solar system. But in order for all that to have happened someone had to stop believing what everyone else was saying and attempt to figure out what was REALLY happening...
The same concept applies to matters of God - just because a large group of people believe something, doesn’t mean its true -
it simply means....
a lot of people believe it.
That’s it.
The Nazi era in German history proved that a lie, told enough times, begins to sound like TRUTH. The Nazi lie killed countless numbers of innocent people...gay and straight alike.
The Nazi era in German history proved that a lie, told enough times, begins to sound like TRUTH. The Nazi lie killed countless numbers of innocent people...gay and straight alike.
""Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
-George Santayana-
So the question now is... whether you can step outside of what you might have been taught as “fact” and -
LooK at the REAL FACTS.
-George Santayana-
So the question now is... whether you can step outside of what you might have been taught as “fact” and -
LooK at the REAL FACTS.
HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE BIBLE
Part 1. Truth or Trickery?
“God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their homosexuality!”
Trickery.
First we must address some common problems people have, which lead to a misunderstanding of the Bible are often as simple as neglecting context. Forgetting to consider the complexities of the situation or jumping to conclusions can lead to a gross misunderstanding of any story, therefore in-order to keep things perfectly clear we must examine the backstory -
Read the WHOLE STORY HERE: GEN. 19
Before the angels in the Bible were even
sent to Lot’s house, the Lord had a conversation with Abraham about the judgment
of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord said to Abraham, “How great an
outcry there is against Sodom and Gomorrah! How grievous is their sin! I
propose to go down and see whether or not they have don all that is alleged in
the outcry against them that has come up to me. I am determined to know.”
Now a conversation ensued between Abraham and the Lord- which was more like Abraham pleading to God for Sodom this conversation comes off a bit like a game of “Let’s Make a Deal” with God.
Abraham pleaded, and cried that there just had to be some righteous people in Sodom! He begged God not to destroy it if he found 50 righteous people there... the Lord graciously agreed. "40! 40 righteous people Lord" he again begs. 30, 20, Abraham butters Him up and begs to find less and less righteous people and still save Sodom- again and again the Lord mercifully agrees. They settle on finding merely ten righteous people out of BOTH the cities.
Now....Now a conversation ensued between Abraham and the Lord- which was more like Abraham pleading to God for Sodom this conversation comes off a bit like a game of “Let’s Make a Deal” with God.
Abraham pleaded, and cried that there just had to be some righteous people in Sodom! He begged God not to destroy it if he found 50 righteous people there... the Lord graciously agreed. "40! 40 righteous people Lord" he again begs. 30, 20, Abraham butters Him up and begs to find less and less righteous people and still save Sodom- again and again the Lord mercifully agrees. They settle on finding merely ten righteous people out of BOTH the cities.
The Lord sends two angels on His behalf to see if the land was worth saving, when the angles arrive they immediately prepare to spend the night sleeping in the city square, but Lot - (the only righteous man in the city) insists they spend the night in his home. So Lot invited them into his home, made them a meal and a place to sleep.
Not long after a mob of people from the city begins to gather in front of Lot’s home. The Bible depicts this scene vividly saying, “They had not gone to bed when the house was surrounded by the men of the town, the men of Sodom both young and old, all the people without exception. ”The crowd of people called out to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so that we may abuse them.” Lot of course refuses and even offers his two virgin daughters to the bloodthirsty mob but there is no pleasing them. They nearly break Lot’s door down but are confused and blinded by the angels. The angels then tell Lot to get his family to flea the city not to look back. So Lot, Lot’s wife and his two daughters run to a near by town. But while they running to the town Lot’s wife looks back at Sodom and is turned into a pillar of salt.
After the people in the small town heard of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Lot and his girls had to flea again to the mountains for fear of their lives. Time passes and one night Lot's oldest daughter says to the younger one...
“Last night [I got our father drunk] and slept with [our] father. Let us make him drunk again tonight, and you go and sleep with him. In this way we shall have children.” And the younger sister did so - Lot was so drunk he didn’t even know what happened.
Read the WHOLE STORY HERE: GEN. 19
So many times people get caught up in searching for deeper meanings to things that they miss what is right in front of them. But so much happened in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, sometimes it can be hard to sort it all out. You might ask yourself, “Why is THAT even in the Bible?” -- Well we really have to think back to the situation....
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah depicts a tale of what can happen when the ruthless, controlling portions of humanity go uncontrolled. This wasn’t a city full of loving, tender homosexuals that wanted to make passionate love to welcome the angles. This was a city full of vile men and women who wanted to gang rape and abuse these angles. After Lot discovers this he offers his two only daughters to the mob. - Now this is where context really comes into plat and begs the question:
If the mob had taken Lot’s daughters should God have spared them?
Regardless of one’s personal feelings about that situation, it really makes you think. It also makes you realize that this isn’t a story we can pull pieces out of and apply to our modern lives. This can again be seen in the end of the story when Lot’s daughters deceive their father into sleeping with them in order to have children. Imagine if we were to apply this incestual part of the story to our modern lives?
I’m not sure if you tried, but I can’t. And because I can’t I have to look at this story for what it is- a story. Telling a tale of a horrible city full of vile people who were destroyed because of their repeated sexual assaults on the people of the city and who attempted rape two of God’s angels.
Now I can’t make your mind up for you- and quite frankly I don’t want to. I challenge you to READ IT FOR YOURSELF and stop believing to what everyone tells you. I challenge you to close your eyes and pray, even if you don’t know what to say and ask God to show you who He really is and explain His love to you.
We all have questions, we all have things we don’t understand- we all cry, we all hurt, we all have bad and good times, and we all love- we may love differently but we love- and the bible says that, perfect love casts away all fear (1 John 4:18) - It also says that we all have sinned and fallen short of becoming as awesome as God is.
Most of us know John 3:16 (For GoD so Loved the world...) but John 3:17 says that Jesus wasn’t sent to condemn us- but to set us free and give us life. So take your freedom and don’t let anyone steal it away from you! People can tell you all types of things, they can steal from you, they can beat you up, call you names, even put you in prison - but they can never steal your salvation! It's yours to keep or to loose... but you alone must choose, I’m just here to say if your gay/lesbian or whatever that’s no excuse to run- because Jesus made you perfectly the way you are and He loves you- regardless of the trickery- YOU have to choose:
Most of us know John 3:16 (For GoD so Loved the world...) but John 3:17 says that Jesus wasn’t sent to condemn us- but to set us free and give us life. So take your freedom and don’t let anyone steal it away from you! People can tell you all types of things, they can steal from you, they can beat you up, call you names, even put you in prison - but they can never steal your salvation! It's yours to keep or to loose... but you alone must choose, I’m just here to say if your gay/lesbian or whatever that’s no excuse to run- because Jesus made you perfectly the way you are and He loves you- regardless of the trickery- YOU have to choose:
the TRUTH.
be blessed brothers and sisters,
and always be a blessing to others...
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Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind, it is abomination. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things
Leviticus 18:22, 24