Thread by @crazypastor

I just cannot with this continued evangelical misreading of the Bible when it comes to Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19).

#WakeUpWordUp

First off, read the story itself. The whole thing. Then tell me what the “sin of Sodom” is. Point to the verse that names it.

Anyone?

Turns out you gotta go to Ezekiel to see what the sin is. “…she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease…but didn’t aid the poor and needy” (16:49).

Or Jesus, that one guy, who, for Christians, should probably be our gold-standard when it comes to interpretation: he says it’s connected to inhospitality (Matthew 10:14; Luke 10:12).

But, still, we have an English word connected to Sodom that is related to men having sex with men.

Why in God’s name would Jesus connect that to people not welcoming his disciples when he sends them out two-by-two?

The “men of Sodom” who threaten to gang rape the angels who visit Lot are then offered Lot’s virgin daughters (classy move, Dad).

And like all rape, it’s not.about.sex. It’s about power.

Inhospitality was the ultimate sin in the ancient world. It’s hard for us to understand in 21st-century America, where we lock our doors and gate our communities.

But we see it all over the Bible — when angels visit Abraham and Sarah under the oaks of Mamre, the old man does everything he can to welcome them. It was expected.

When the resurrected Jesus makes to leave the disciples on the road to Emmaus, they urge him to accept their hospitality.

Hospitality is everything. It infuses the biblical narrative. For those who profess to be “bible-believing,” you’d think that would sink in after reading story after story about it.

So who are the sodomites? It’s not about penises. It’s about welcoming, accepting, being hospitable, no matter what.

Today, we see sodomites threatening Dreamers with deportation; sodomites in ICE rounding up people without documentation; sodomites demanding Latino names on voting rolls.

Sodomites screaming at black people and idiotically, hatefully telling them to “go back to Africa.”

Sodomites cowardly surrounding churches with tiki torches and saying, “Jews will not replace us!”

Sodomites refusing to bake cakes for same-sex couples, and then whining that their “lives are ruined.”

Sodomites telling women they can’t be pastors or prophets, shutting them up and telling them to go away.

So, no. Sodom ain’t about sexual orientation or gender identity. And many conservatives don’t care — they just need a reason to hate LGBTQ+ people. Sodom is an easy excuse.