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human life and sex. God ordained
marriage and set laws in motion
governi ng wholesome, faithful
marital and sexual relationships
between a husband and wife. But
humans want to ignore, reject or
ridicule God's laws. They can't.
his laws was almost nil. There were
not even 1O men of good character
in the city (or plain) of Sodom
(Gen. 18:32).
Apparently only Lot, a nephew
of
Abram~the
father of the Israel–
ites, Jews and Arabs- was deeply
styles and practices were tolerated.
"Do your own t hing," was the
boast and attraction of Sodom,
"and be proud of it."
But the Creator God of heaven,
the Judge of all, saw matters differ–
ently. As he Iooked down from the
AIDSVictims in Cases Since
1980
throne of the universe he
saw a Sodom that had
degenerated in every so–
cial responsibility. T he
Sodomites had utterly
Severa! cases actually occurred in 1979, but were no t report ed unti l 1980.
Total deaths-597. All figures as of June 7, 1983.
perverted everything that
was decent and good.
Homosexual
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ttemophiliacs
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values of Sodom were not
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cases cases cases cases cases
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were base or wrong. After
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who could gy whM
was " r ight" and what was
"wrong"?
In addition to the United States, other countries have reported a total of 112 cases of
AIDS. Those countries are Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, West
Germany, Haití, Ireland, Italy, J apan, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain,
Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.
1n that social atmo–
sphere sex abuse, de–
personalization, alienation
and lack of responsibility for one's
actions were the result.
God's laws are not mocked.
In the pages of the Bible, God
has left us with examples of socie–
ties that have rejected or failed to
live by God's laws.
Who hasn't heard of the fiery
judgment on the ancient peoples of
Sodom and Gomorrah? Yet how
many understand t hat God's j udg–
ment on those cities is a warning
for today?
Sodom - The Untold Sto ry
The societies of Sodom and
Gomorrah were destroyed for far
more than their c raven sexual
morality.
Sodom and Gomorrah were pros–
perous cities. Their citizens were
bui lding, buying and sell ing- good
economic indicators (Luke 17:28-
30). Because of the avai labil ity of
materialism and pleasures, and con–
tinuing prosperity, the inhabitants
of these cities blinded themselves
to grave social sicknesses.
1n these two boom towns and
other nearby cities, the number of
individuals having knowledge of
and respect for the t rue God and
16
grieved by the social values and
practices of Sodom.
The Life-s tyle of Sod om
Sodom was infested with many
moral, social and spiritual evils.
Ezekiel, a prophet in Israel centu–
r ies later, warned his nation against
the sins that cost the lives of the
inhabitants of Sodom: "Behold,
this was the iniquity of ... Sodom,
pride,
fu lness of bread ...
idleness
was in her and in 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"
(Ezek. 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.
It
was avant-garde.
It did not shock sensibilities if
one was lazy, heedless of the needs
of the impoverished or engaged in
idolatrous worship of tbe most
· licentious type. All of these life-
lt was not only the "swinging" or
"gay" life, it was the "get" life–
"1'11 get what
1
want." Contrast this
freewheeling life-style with the laws
of God that govern the social, the
spiritual, the sexual life of humanity.
God's laws give boundaries to right
and wrong actions and attitudes.
They give direction and protection to
the achievement of wholesome
human, social and spiritual needs
and goals.
End-of -the-Road Socie ty
Most noteworthy of Sodom's con–
tribution to human experience was
their "code" of sexual ethics. The
incident of Lot and his visitors only
shows the tip of the social climate
prevalent in Sodom.
Promiscuity was so universal and
base that the males of Sodom,
young
and old a/ike
(Gen. 19:4), tried to
force perverted sexual relations on
total newcomers to their city.
It
was not just the refuse and
scum of a bad section of town that
threatened Lot an d his guests.
The
PLAIN TRUTH