# God and the Gay Christian

## Metadata
- Author: [[Matthew Vines]]
- Full Title: God and the Gay Christian
- Category: #books
## Highlights
- Decades ago, biblical scholars on both sides of the issue dismissed the idea that homosexuality was the sin of Sodom. Yet that belief still pervades our broader cultural consciousness, fueling negative attitudes toward gay people among Christians and negative attitudes toward the Bible among gay people. ([Location 939](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F1W0RD2&location=939))
- Christians generally hold that any sin, no matter what its earthly consequences, is equally effective in separating us from a holy God. In practice, though, Christians often honor a hierarchy of sins. Gossip, gluttony, and selfishness tend to attract little negative attention. But sexual sins—especially when they are known publicly—are likely to be met with vocal opposition. This might begin to explain why it’s difficult for some Christians to accept that the sin of Sodom had far more to do with a lack of hospitality and a bent toward violence than with any sexual designs the men had on Lot’s visitors. It’s hard for many of us to work up a great deal of energy in opposing arrogance, a lack of generosity toward the poor, and inhospitality. ([Location 980](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F1W0RD2&location=980))
- Of the thirteen references to Sodom in the Old Testament following Genesis 19, Ezekiel 16:49–50 offers the most detailed description of the city’s sins. In that passage, God stated, “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.”4 ([Location 998](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F1W0RD2&location=998))
- Sexuality goes unmentioned, both in the Ezekiel passage and in every other Old Testament reference to Sodom following Genesis 19. If Sodom’s sin had indeed been same-sex behavior, it’s highly unlikely that every written discussion of the city for centuries following its destruction would fail to mention that. ([Location 1002](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F1W0RD2&location=1002))
- The fact that no Jewish writings on Sodom prior to the first century connected the city’s sins to same-sex behavior may surprise modern readers. But the original understanding of the story, focusing on oppression and inhospitality, has a much stronger basis in the text. ([Location 1012](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F1W0RD2&location=1012))
- That fact is made clear in the Bible, in a passage in Judges 19 that is remarkably similar to the Sodom story of Genesis 19. In the Judges story, a Levite and his concubine rested from their travels in the city of Gibeah. Inns were rare in those days, so most travelers depended on the hospitality of strangers for food, lodging, and basic protection.8 ([Location 1018](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F1W0RD2&location=1018))
- What Lot and the old man did not say was just as revealing as what they did say. Neither Lot nor the old man of Gibeah said, “Don’t do anything to these men, because that would be a same-sex act.” Instead, they both expressed the concern that the visitors had come under the protection of their homes. The men were their guests, and the “sacred duty” of hospitality (as one modern scholar described it) was paramount.9 ([Location 1041](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F1W0RD2&location=1041))
- Interpretations of the Sodom story that focus on same-sex behavior lack a sound basis in the text. Just as in the Old Testament, the New Testament focuses on general evil and a lack of hospitality as the sins of Sodom. Sexual sin is mentioned twice, but same-sex behavior is not specified. ([Location 1064](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F1W0RD2&location=1064))
- In fact, the phrase “strange flesh” likely refers to the attempted rape of angels instead of humans. ([Location 1081](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00F1W0RD2&location=1081))