The Sin of Sodom

With his usual critical acumen, Chris Heard explains the sin of Sodom, which according to Gen 19 isn't about homosexuality but sexual cruelty.

"The 'sin of Sodom' per Genesis 19 has to do with using sexual cruelty and violence to oppress and demean outsiders. It has nothing to do with homosexuality in the modern sense of sexual desire oriented toward members of one’s own biological sex, and certainly has nothing to say about the appropriateness or inappropriateness of loving, committed, sexual relationships between members of the same biological sex. This does not, of course, mean that the Bible as a whole is necessarily silent on that topic. Both Jim [West] and Joe [Cathey] pointed to relevant texts in Leviticus 18 and Romans 1, and those deserve discussion in any comprehensive attempt to form a 'biblical perspective on homosexuality.' Genesis 19, though, depicts and condemns something rather different."

It should go without saying that attempts to whitewash homophobia out of the bible are misguided (Rom 1:18-32 will be in the canon forever, unfortunately), but at the same time there are texts, like Gen 19, which don't target sexuality in the way most people think.