Part of the reason why God destroyed Sodom is that its male residents attempted to rape the angels.
Homosexuality Is Not a Sin
God was not angered by the possibility that some or most of the men of Sodom were homosexuals; God was angered by the fact that the men of Sodom were so enflamed by wickedness that they wanted to rape the angels who were guests in Lot's home. The act of rape is completely different that the act of homosexuality. Rape is an act of violence; homosexuality is a type of sexuality. When a rape occurs, one person exerts forcible, complete control, and dominance over another person who is helpless. On the other hand, homosexual intercourse is a sexual act between two consenting adults. While rape can occur between two people of the same gender or of the opposite gender, homosexuality (like heterosexuality) merely describes a person's sexual attraction to the same (or opposite) sex. Homosexual relations are consensual; rape is not consensual. Thus, rape is not the same as homosexuality and vice versa.
This statement, "If rape is a sin and homosexual rape is a sin, then homosexuality also must be a sin" follows the same logic as this statement, "If rape is a sin and heterosexual rape is a sin, then heterosexuality also must be a sin." Of course, this second statement is ludicrous, and yet it follows the same logical path as the first statement. Unfortunately, some Christians use this erred logic to support their belief that God destroyed the city of Sodom mainly because the men of Sodom were homosexual.
Although rape is not specifically mentioned as a sin within the Ten Commandments, rape is not looked favorably upon in the Bible, as evidenced by Deut. 22:25"But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die" Deut. 22:25 ESV. in which a rapist faces death by stoning, Deut 22:23-24If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst" Deut 22:23-24 ESV., in which the victim and rapist face death by stoning (there is an inference that the victim wasn't truly raped), and Deut. 22:28-29"If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days" Deut. 22:28-29 ESV. in which the rapist was forced to marry the victim, pay a fine to the father, and could never get a divorce. This law was placed to protect the honor of the woman (a large amount of importance was placed on a woman's virginity back then, to the point that a woman who lost her virginity would be considered unfit for marriage, see 2 Sam. 13:11-20). Hence, a rapist was always punished for the rape. Obviously, rape goes against the Torah commandment "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18 ESV). Thus, rape was viewed as a sin as well.
There is no question that the Sodom men were very wicked, as stated in Gen. 13:13"Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD" Gen. 13:13 ESV., 18:20"Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave . . ." Gen. 18:20 ESV.; Jude 1:7"(J)ust 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" Jude 1:7 ESV.; and Ezek. 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." Ezek. 16:49-50 ESV.. The Sodom men's sins were very serious and very great. Their sins were so great that God had decided to destroy the city before Sodomites attempted to have sexual relations with the angels, as stated in Gen. 18:22-33"And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked" Gen. 18:22-33 ESV. and Gen. 19:13"For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it" Gen. 19:13 ESV.. Thus, the major sin of Sodom was an ongoing, serious offense which angered God to the point that he had decided to destroy it, Himself, despite the Sodom men's actions (see Gen. 19:24"Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven" Gen. 19:24 ESV.).
Although modern society views rape as a serious crime, the Bible listed it in the Old Testament as a serious crime worthy of the death penalty only if a man raped a betrothed woman in open country (Deut. 22:25-27"But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death.
For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her" Deut. 22:25-27 ESV.) or if a man raped a betrothed virgin in the city, in which case both participants were to be put to death, (Deut. 22:23-24"If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst" Deut. 22:23-24 ESV.) because the betrothed virgin did not cry for help (it was believed that if a woman cried for help in the city, then someone would hear her cries and rescue her).
Instead, Lev. 20:13"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:13 ESV. cites the sin in which "a man lies with a male as with a woman" as always punishable by the death penalty. On the other hand, if a man raped a virgin in the open country, the man must marry the woman, pay her father fifty shekels of silver, and never divorce her (Deut. 22:28-29"If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days" Deut. 22:28-29 ESV.). This law was placed to protect the honor of a woman; a large amount of importance was placed on a woman's virginity back then, to the point that a woman who lost her virginity would be considered unfit for marriage, see 2 Sam. 13:11-20"She answered him, 'No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing. As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.' But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.
Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, 'Get up! Go!' But she said to him, 'No, my brother, for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.' But he would not listen to her" 2 Sam. 13:12-16 ESV., Exo. 22:16-17"If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins" Exo. 22:16-17 ESV., & Deut. 22:28-29"If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days" Deut. 22:28-29 ESV.. At any rate, we know from the above passages that not all rape was punishable by death, unlike all homosexual activity.
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By: L. Jelle