WHY HOMOSEXUALITY ISN’T THE SIN OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH

WHY HOMOSEXUALITY ISN’T THE SIN
OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH:
BUT INHOSPITALITY IS

Ezekiel 16:48-50 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.
49 " 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
Christ and the Prophets support contemporary hermeneutics (interpretation) as evident in these passages---the position of Christ and the prophets on the sin of Sodom is that Sodom’s sin is primarily being one of pride and breaking the laws of hospitality as affirmed by a large majority of bible scholars is clearly laid out in these verses: (Ezekiel 16:48-58; Amos 4; Zephaniah 2:8-11; Matthew 10:11-15, 11:20-24; Luke 10:10-16).
Question: In Matthew 10:11-15, in what ways are Sodom’s sin compared to rejecting the disciples? Answer: Inhospitality not all forms of homosexuality including homosexuality in its legitimate un-sinful form: consensual monogamous same-sex matrimony.
Turning again to Genesis 19, one notices, in the first verse, the strangers that came to Sodom were two angels, who appeared in the form of human males. The verse in question commonly misinterpreted by homophobic Fundamentalist proof-texting and cherry-picked Pharasaical literalism and misconstrued as all forms of homosexuality is verse 5. It is clear from the context of the passage that the phrase “so that we may know them” is a form of sexual activity---but which form? Answer: From the context of the underlying Hebrew of the verse, one finds that the proper exegesis of the sexual nature of Sodom’s sin as being one of violent force and homosexual rape (yada-Strong’s # 3045---euphem.-sex/infer.-punishment) of two angels (Genesis 19:1) appearing in the form of two male strangers---over and against the fundamentalists’ eisegesis of Sodom’s sin being all forms of homosexuality including homosexual marriage. (Genesis 19:1-26; Judges 19:1-30; Jude 7).
Comparing Genesis 19:1-26 with its mirror text Judges 19:1-30, what are the similarities between the two texts? Answer: Gang rape as the inverse of hospitality.
Question: How is gang raping Lot’s daughter, in Genesis 19, any more moral than gang raping the two angels? Also, in Judges 19, how is gang raping the man’s daughter and ravishing the concubine to death any more moral than gang raping the male strangers? Answer: Neither one are moral, because both cases break the laws of hospitality.
What are these laws of hospitality and why are they so important? According to Victor H. Matthews’ MANNERS & CUSTOMS IN THE BIBLE pgs. 41-42: pastoral nomadic peoples (in the Middle East) had an overriding legal custom of hospitality, which was mutual between both parties and wasn’t taken lightly. These laws had individual, national and international implications especially in the form of treaties. Hospitality and communion go hand and hand for it is stated that those that break bread or share a meal together are equals.
Accordingly, the Bible mentions these hospitality laws in various passages such as: Genesis 18 as well as these results from BibleGateway.Com---
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Romans 12:13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.Romans 12:12-14 (in Context) Romans 12 (Whole Chapter)
Romans 16:23Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.Romans 16:22-24 (in Context) Romans 16 (Whole Chapter)
1 Timothy 5:10and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.1 Timothy 5:9-11 (in Context) 1 Timothy 5 (Whole Chapter)
1 Peter 4:9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.1 Peter 4:8-10 (in Context) 1 Peter 4 (Whole Chapter)
3 John 1:8We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.3 John 1:7-9 (in Context) 3 John 1 (Whole Chapter)
Results from Gospel.com
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Topical index results15 Results
ALIENS » Hospitality to, required by Jesus (Matthew 25:35,38,43)
ALIENS » See HOSPITALITY
EGYPTIANS » Hospitality of, to Abraham (Genesis 12:10-20)
GUEST » See HOSPITALITY
SHUNAMMITE » A woman who gave hospitality to Elisha, and whose son he raised to life (2 Kings 4:8-37)
FAITH » INSTANCES OF » Rahab, in hospitality to the spies (Joshua 2:9,11; Hebrews 11:31)
GUEST » Abraham's hospitality to » See HOSPITALITY
INHOSPITABLENESS » INSTANCES OF » See HOSPITALITY
JOY » INSTANCES OF » Of Paul and Titus, because of the hospitality of the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 7:13; with8:6; Romans 15:32; 1 Corinthians 16:18)
STRANGERS » Hospitality to » See HOSPITALITY
More results from Nave's Topical Bible

Similarly, a Google search wields various results: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GWYE_enUS262US262&q=hospitality+in+the+bible ---
When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
— Leviticus 19:33-34 is the primary Biblical text used for discerning the principles of the Israelite hospitality laws. http://www.practicingourfaith.org/prct_hospitality.html ----------
"To welcome the stranger is to acknowledge him as a human
being made in God's image; it is to treat her as one of equal worth
with ourselves - indeed, as one who may teach us something out of
the richness of experiences different from our own."
— Ana Maria Pineda
The need for shelter is a fundamental human need. None of us ever knows for sure when we might be uprooted and cast on the mercy of others. But how do we overcome our fear in order to welcome and shelter a stranger? The Christian practice of hospitality is the practice of providing a space to take in a stranger. It also encompasses the skills of welcoming friends and family to our tables, to claim the joy of homecoming.
Strangers, Guests, and Hosts in the Bible
In the Bible, offering hospitality is a moral imperative. God's people remember that they were once strangers and refugees who were taken in by God (Deuteronomy 10:19). How might this memory make someone respond to a stranger or a refugee? What would it mean to "love the alien as yourself" (Leviticus 19:34) in your own community or nation?
The Greek word xenos means "stranger", but also "guest" and "host". From xenos comes the New Testament word for hospitality: philoxenia means a love of the guest/stranger or enjoyment of hosting guests. Recall a time when you experienced the enjoyment of being a host... when you were the guest of a gracious host.
Do you notice how whenever Jesus shares meals with others, "guests" become "hosts" and "hosts" become "guests"? Contemplate the role reversals that occur in the story of the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-11). What happens when Jesus is 'hosted' by Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10)? When Jesus comes as a guest to Martha (Luke 10:38-42), what does he teach her about hosting? How might guests end up as hosts, giving us the gift of their presence? What happens when an act of hospitality not only welcomes strangers, but also recognizes their holiness?
Becoming a Hospitable People
How are strangers welcomed to your neighborhood? To your faith community? Can you identify individuals in your midst who seem to practice hospitality especially well? What do the physical spaces in which you live "say" to strangers and newcomers? How are strangers invited to share their gifts within your home ... your workplace ... your congregation? What architectural features - doors, furniture, accessibility ramps, gathering spaces - speak welcome, or don't?
Hospitality is made up of hard work undertaken under risky conditions. How might the effectiveness of individual gestures of hospitality be bolstered through the strength of community? How can being part of a Christian community help us overcome fear of being a host or a guest? How might corporate worship shape our moral imaginations and nurture a civic climate characterized by hospitality to the strangers in our midst?
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See also: http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/1439/Hospitality.htm as one more example of the importance of hospitality.
In conclusion, sodomy and sodomites are outdated and outmoded expressions for homosexuality and homosexuals as the sin of Sodom has clearly been shown to be homosexual gang rape as the inverse of hospitality as affirmed by a large majority of Biblical scholars including the ones who edited the Harper Collins Study Bible (NRSV) of which a photocopy of their notes on Genesis 19 has been provided below.
Side Note: (It should also be noted that even Billy Graham no longer uses Genesis 19 to condemn all forms of homosexuality).
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The following photocopies of commentaries, which support the interpretation that the sin of Sodom was gang rape as the inverse of inhospitality and not all forms of homosexuality are of:
Pgs. 118-121 of Peter C. Craigie’s commentary of Ezekiel from William Barclay’s The Daily Study Bible Series---a more neo-orthodox type of commentary (from 1983)
Pg. 232 from The Abingdon Bible Commentary---a more modernist type of commentary (from 1929)
Pgs. 18-19 of the New Bible Commentary (21st Century Edition)---a more conservative/fundamentalist/traditionalist type of commentary (from 2000)
Pgs. 82-85 of John C. L. Gibson’s Genesis Volume 2 commentary, also, from William Barclay’s The Daily Study Bible Series (from 1982)
Pgs. 162-165 of Walter Brueggemann’s commentary from the CBF supported Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching---a more moderate to liberal/postmodernist type of commentary (from 1982)
Pgs. 216-219 of Gerhard Von Rad’s commentary on Genesis from The Old Testament Library---a more scholarly type of commentary (from 1972)

See http://www.rdrop.com/~jimka/sodom.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Baptists for additional resources.