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W
HY WAS
Sodom de–
troyed? Immorali–
-even
homosexua~i
ty-was common 1n
othcr cities of the world at the
time. Yet , unlike Sodom and Go–
morrah, they were not destroyed.
Why?
A Facade of Material Well-being
Sodom and Gomorrah were prosper–
ous cities. Their citizens were build–
ing, buying and selling- good eco–
nomic indicators (Luke
17:29-30).
Because of the availability of the
whirl of materialism and pleasures,
and continuing prosperity, the inhab–
itants of these cities were blind to
grave social sicknesses.
lnside these two boom towns and
othcr nearby cities, the number of
individuals having knowledge of and
respect for the true God and His laws
was almost ni!. There were not even
1O
men of good character in the city
(or plain) or Sodom (Genesis
18:32).
Apparently only Lot, a nephew of
Abram- the father of the lsraelites,
Jews and Arabs-was deeply grieved
March 1980
SODOM–
The
Untold
Story
Who hasn't heard of the fiery judgment on
the ancient people of Sodom and Gomorrah?
Yet how many understand that homo–
sexuality was not the so/e cause of God's
judgment on those cities? Read here the fu/J
story and its warning for civiliza/ion today.
by
Oonald O. Schroeder
by the social values and practices of
Sodom.
The Lif e-style of Sodom
Sodom was infested with many mor–
al, social and spiritual evils. Ezekiel,
a prophet in Israel centuries later,
warned his nation against the sins
that cost the lives of the inhabitants
of Sodom. "Behold, this was the
iniquity of ... Sodom,
pride,
fulness
of bread ...
idleness
was in her and
her daughters, neither did she
strengthen the hand of the poor and
needy. And they were
haughty
and
committed abomination
befare me:
therefore I took them away as
1
saw
good" (Ezekiel
16:49-50).
There you have it! The whole
social fabric of these cities had rot–
ted. In Sodom it was chic to boast of
one's life-style, especially if one was
involved in the latest absurd fad or
practice.
1
t was avant-garde.
It did not shock sensibilities if one
was lazy, heedless of the needs of the
impoverished or engaged in idola–
trous worship of the most licentious
type. All of these life-styles and
practices were tolerated. "Do your
own thing," was the boast and attrac–
tion of Sodom, "and be proud of
it."
But the Creator God of heaven,
the Judge of all, saw matters differ–
ently. As He looked down from the
throne of the universe He saw a
Sodom that had degenerated to a
bottom line society in every social
responsibi lity. The Sodo!Jlites had
utterly perverted everything that was
decent and good.
The sexual and social values of
Sodom were not bounded by any
stable spiritual, legal or social rules.
Life-styles and goals could be what–
ever individuals wanted them to be.
Rules and values could be broken as
easily as they were made. One did
not have to be concerned if his
thoughts were base or wrong. After
a ll , who could say what was "right"
and what was "wrong"?
In that social atmosphere sex
abuse, depersonalization, alienation
and lack of responsibility for one's
actions were the result.
1t
was not only the "swinging" or
"gay" life, it was the "get" life-"1'11
get what l want." Contrast this free-
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