Tag Archives: Sodom

Bible, False teachers

Jude 7 and “other flesh”

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The Book of Jude is a phenomenally accurate take-down of the “Christian” Left.  In only 25 verses it describes these false teachers perfectly.  One of their lies is that the “sin of Sodom” was just in-hospitality.  They quote part of Ezekiel to justify this and ignore all other references to Sodom, including the primary Genesis account.  Sadly, most people don’t bother to read the Bible themselves and are all too happy to swallow the worldly and un-biblical view of these wolves.

Jude 7 is one of the passages they ignore or twist to their ends:

just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Kevin DeYoung has a great response to this in What Does Jude 7 Mean By “Other Flesh”?:

Having said all that, I still see good reasons to accept the traditional interpretation and conclude that Jude 7 is a reference to the sin of homosexual behavior.

1. This interpretation is in keeping with prevailing Jewish norms in the first century. Both Josephus and Philo not only condemn relations that are “contrary to nature,” they explicitly understand Genesis 19 as referring to homosexual acts.

2. As a striking example of sexual immorality, it would certainly be more relevant in a first century Greco-Roman context to warn against homosexual behavior as opposed to the non-existent temptation to have sex with angels (cf. 2 Peter 2:6).

3. It would be strange to refer to attempted sex with angels as pursuing other “flesh.” Of all the ways to reference angels, the very physical, human, and earthly sarx seems an odd choice.

4. The men of Sodom did not know they were trying to have sex with angelic beings. Even if sarkos heteras could be taken to mean a “different species” (and I don’t think it does), the men of Sodom had no idea that that is what they were pursuing. Isn’t it more likely to think they were guilty of pursuing sex with other men (as they saw them), then that they were guilty of pursuing sex with angels (which they did not understand)?

5. If pursuing “unnatural desire” is a reference to seeking out sex with angels, how do we make sense of the beginning of verse 7 which indicts Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities of this sin? Were Admah and Zeboim guilty of trying to have sex with angels? It makes more sense to think that Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities all had a reputation for sexual immorality and that one flagrant example of such sin was homosexual practice. This is why the parallel passage in 2 Peter 2:7-8 can depict Lot as greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of these cities. They had a reputation for lawlessness which did not rely on angels to be manifested.

In short, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole region was not just a one-time attempted gang rape of angelic beings, but, according to Jude a lifestyle of sensuality and sexual immorality, at least one aspect of which was exemplified in men pursuing the flesh of other men instead of the flesh of women

 

Uncategorized

The “Christian” Left gets Sodom wrong — twice!

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The “Christian” Left likes to ignore passages like Jude 7 and 2 Peter 2 and pretend that the “sin of Sodom” was just being inhospitable — as if God is in the habit of obliterating two cities because of bad manners.  They cherry-pick a passage in Ezekiel that they think proves their point.  They like the first verse but ignore the “abomination” reference in the second.

Ezekiel 16:49–50 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.

But it gets worse.  As Jude 7 notes,  not only were their sins homosexual in nature (“unnatural desire”) but the punishment represented an eternal punishment, something the “Christian” Left explicitly denies.

Jude 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Also see 2 Peter 2:6–10:

. . .if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones . . .

Once again they seem incapable of getting even the simplest concepts right.  Even when the twist scripture to prove or ignore a point, they don’t realize the logical consequences of their arguments.  I pray that when they are abusing the Bible that God removes the scales from their eyes and opens their hearts and minds to the truth of his word.

Exposing the “Christian” Left Facebook page

Politics, Sexuality

The New Jersey issue is bigger than the Duck Dynasty issue

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The Duck Dynasty / Phil Robertson topic has received tons of attention, and deservedly so.  But the bigger issue is how the pro-LGBTQ groups aren’t satisfied with merely redefining marriage in an anti-biblical way, but how they won’t rest until they have completely stamped out religious freedom and forced churches to affirm their activities.  The A&E issue is a sad commentary on our society, but the New Jersey issue is about the power of Big Government to suppress religious freedom.

Via Duck Dynasty Star Fired Over Remarks on Homosexuality:

Earlier this week state Senate Democrats in New Jersey pulled from consideration a bill that would write gay marriage, already legal in New Jersey by court order, into the law books. The reason: the bill contained religious exemptions.  Loretta Weinberg, the Senate Majority Leader, said she pulled the bill after pressure from an LGBTQ legal group, Lambda Legal.

“They don’t want any kind of religious exemption, so out of respect for that, I will (pull the bill),” Weinberg said.

Re-read that carefully: They don’t want any kind of religious exemption.  None.  It isn’t about their freedom to do what they want.  They’ve had that for years.  No one is preventing their relationships and/or promiscuous sex, or even doing anything to stop 62% of men who know they are HIV-positive who have unprotected sex with men.  This is about silencing Christians and forcing them to violate their religious beliefs.

“There’s a disparate group of people and it’s hard to follow what they want, so I’m following Lambda Legal.”

The decision by New Jersey Democrats and A&E are similar. When pressured by LGBTQ groups, organizations and politicians will choose to silence Christians who oppose the normalization of homosexual behavior.

Many Christians have assumed that they would be allowed reasonable exemptions and accommodations based on religious liberty. But LGBTQ activists have made it clear (and have said so from the beginning) that unconditional acceptance of homosexuality is the only option. Normalization and public support, rather than mere legal recognition, is the end goal.

Religious believers who think they can avoid the issue are deluding themselves. While we may not have a hit reality show that we can get fired from, we will be pressured in numerous ways to make it clear that we will not speak or act publicly in a way that supports the biblical view of homosexuality. The objective of the activists is to marginalize Christian views on sexual norms until they can be outlawed in the public square. Many Christians have already and will continue to gleefully work to ensure this becomes a reality. But for faithful Christians, allowing our biblical witness to be silenced is not an option. Like Phil Robertson we must all say, “My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the Bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together.”

Make no mistake: Satan won’t rest until he has silenced Christians.  That will never happen completely, of course, but there is a rocky road coming up.  Many of us have warned of these logical consequences for years, but too many Christians thought they could sit on the fence.  There is no fence.

But be encouraged!  God always wins in the end.  Don’t be afraid to stand up for the truth.

Politics

Final election thoughts

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I’m predicting a moderate-sized Romney win, but the Democrat’s intimidation tactics and destruction of Republican registrations are already well-documented and could swing the results.  Given how Obama used your tax dollars to buy votes from millions of people I’m amazed that it could be a Romney victory at all.  But I’m encouraged that even with the seemingly non-stop Obama (free) infomercials from the mainstream media that enough people see how he is actively destroying the country and how a second term would be step functions worse.  He’ll be as unrestrained as the blind men of Sodom.

And a Romney win will be just as huge of an impact.  With some natural business cycle improvements plus Romney/Ryan policies they would sail to re-election in 4 years based on the dramatic improvements in the economy.  It would be the easiest campaign ever: “We promised, we delivered.  Want some more?”

But it gets better than that.  The Clinton Democrats will throw Obama under the bus before the Romney inauguration and keep him there permanently.  The Liberal extremists would be damaged for a long time.

Will I still have joy if Romney loses?  Of course.  That is my birthright as a Christian to have joy and contentment whenever I choose.

But will there still be something to mourn about?  Of course.  While I’m a huge fan of God’s sovereignty and how we shouldn’t act as non-Christians do when it comes to mourning or celebrating the wrong things or in the wrong way, there is nothing wrong with lamenting a Romney loss.  And as one blogger noted, there is no reason you’d tell a Romney supporter, “no big deal, God is sovereign!” any more than you’d say that to someone going through a medical issue.

As I responded on a Facebook thread, I definitely agree that our hope should be in Jesus. Mine is. And we need an eternal perspective. But taking that to an extreme would also mean that the “love your neighbor” command isn’t a big deal. After all, this life is just a short blip, right? But if I love my neighbors, I want them to have religious freedom, I want them to have jobs, I don’t want them to be killed just because they are unwanted, I don’t their minds poisoned with sexual perversions in public schools, etc. And this election deals with all of those things.

The lesser of two evils is still less evil.  We aren’t voting for a religious leader.  We are electing someone to govern us with the values most approximating a biblical worldview, and our choices are limited.  Even if a self-proclaimed Christian ran you can never be 100% sure he is legitimate.  Remember, Obama claims to be a Christian.

And remember, it isn’t just about the President.  While the incumbent has violated the Constitution at will, most Presidents don’t.  So the Congress is crucial.  When people long for the “Clinton years” what they are really longing for is a conservative Republican Congress.  And the “Bush years” that Obama blames the most were the “Democrat Congress years.”

So get out and vote Republican if you haven’t already!  And remind Democrats that until their platform is changed, they are officially pro-abortion: No restrictions of any kind plus taxpayer-funding.

Bible

The Sin of Sodom

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The sin that resulted in the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah has traditionally been viewed to be homosexuality (hence the term sodomy). 

But many pro-gay theology apologists now try to say that it was due to inhospitality or other reasons, but definitely not homosexual behavior.  They point to some verses that appear to support their view but ignore many others.

Check out this excellent piece for a thorough analysis supporting the traditional view —  Stand to Reason: What was the Sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?

Piecing together the biblical evidence gives us a picture of Sodom’s offense. The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was some kind of activity—a grave, ongoing, lawless, sensuous activity—that Lot saw and heard and that tormented him as he witnessed it day after day. It was an activity in which the inhabitants indulged the flesh in corrupt desires by going after strange flesh, ultimately bringing upon them the most extensive judgment anywhere in the Bible outside of the book of Revelation.

Here’s an example of the flawed theologically liberal reasoning.  Some claim that the punishment was because the men of Sodom tried to rape the angels in attendance, but that doesn’t make sense.

Was the city destroyed because the men of Sodom tried to rape the angels? The answer is obviously no. God’s judgment could not have been for the rapacious attempt itself because His decision to destroy the cities was made days before the encounter (see Genesis 18:20). Further, Peter makes it clear that the wicked activity was ongoing (“day after day”), not a one-time incident. The outcry had already been going up to God for some time.

The inhospitality claim also falls flat.

. . . are we to believe that God annihilated two whole cities because they had bad manners, even granting that such manners were much more important then than now? There’s no textual evidence that inhospitality was a capital crime. However, homosexuality was punishable by death in Israel (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13). Does God ignore the capital crime, yet level two entire cities for a wrong that is not listed anywhere as a serious offense?

Read the whole article and bookmark it for the inevitable objections you’ll get from theological liberals.  It is a great example of how to properly analyze biblical texts, and especially so for controversial or difficult passages.

Also see Responding to Pro-Gay Theology, which addresses the most common biblical fallacies of the movement.