The sin of Sodom? That’s obvious, isn’t it?

No, it’s not.

The Bible does tell us what the sin of Sodom was . . . and it’s not what you’re thinking!

In the book of Ezekiel, God says:

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. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. (Ezekiel 16:49–50)

There you have it. The Bible says that the sin of Sodom was arrogance, overindulgence, indifference, lack of charity for the poor and needy, and haughtiness. It’s all about self-centeredness and lack of love for the neighbor. Not a word about homosexuality.

Oh, yes. It also says that they “did detestable things.” And though Old Testament law does say that sex between two men is detestable (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13), it says that dozens of other things are detestable too, such as:

• Making an idol (Deuteronomy 27:15)
• Sacrificing an imperfect ox or sheep (Deuteronomy 17:1)
• Eating the meat of camels, rabbits, hyraxes, pigs, or any other mammal that does not have cloven hooves and chew the cud (Deuteronomy 14:3–8)

If the sin of Sodom were homosexuality, the Bible would have been more specific about it! In fact, the Bible never mentions homosexuality in relation to Sodom. (Though Jude 1:7 is sometimes mistranslated as if it did, a careful study of the context and the original Greek words shows that it is referring to something else.)

You can think whatever you want about homosexuality. But it’s sloppy Biblical scholarship to claim that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 is about the evils of same-gender sex. Such claims also display an ignorance of Biblical and Middle Eastern culture.

Let’s take a closer look at the story, and see what it’s really about. Though many people avoid the shocking story in Genesis 19, it does offer powerful insights for our everyday life.

For more on Sodom and Gomorrah, please click here to read on.