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What Does Lot Have to Teach Us?
While I was growing up I heard the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah many times. I still remember the visual impression in my Bible story books. It looked like a nuclear explosion. It seemed very serious. Serious enough for the Lord himself to come down to bargain in person with Abraham. The scene looks quite a bit like some I remember in Tijuana, with them bickering back and forth about just how many righteous souls that the Lord wanted to see before raining it with sulfur and fire from heaven. The Lord was merciful and finally came down from an initial figure of 50 righteous souls, all the way down to 10. At the end, evidently, there remained as pure enough, just the nuclear family of Lot, his wife, and two daughters. The final visual is of the unrighteous wife, who looked back at the home she was leaving and was turned into a pillar of salt for the sin of not being able to "let go." It wasn't until I was older, and read the entire story in context, that I realized that Lot was the good guy, because he spontaneously and eagerly offered his two virgin daughters to be gang-raped by the crowd that came to the door in order to protect the angels that were staying with the family. He evidently did not have faith that they were capable of their own protection and proceeded to strike the men, young and old with blindness. As a teenage girl, I found the text painful and couldn’t understand why it was referred to so often. It is a complicated scenario, with behavior that no one would support nowadays. After their rescue for being "so righteous," Lot and his two daughters go to a cave, get drunk, and commit incest. The whole story is abominable. I can’t imagine, as a parent, using this example to teach my children sexual morality. Chuck Currie’s blog has had some interesting reading on the subject of homosexuality and the Bible recently. One of the postings, which takes a thoughtful look at the other Biblical references to homosexuality, was an excerpt from Homosexuality and the Bible by Walter Wink, the author of some of my favorite books, such as: Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination and Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way.
Dear Dr. Laura: Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination... End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them. 1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians? 2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her? 3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense. 4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is, my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them? 5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it? For more of the issues that can create quite a quandary for sincere Christians in today’s world, click here.
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