Sodom and Gomorrah, Countdown to a Massacre
In our story today, Abraham tries to save Sodom from the wrath of God. He fails, but he does try. His bargaining with God over the fate of a city he doesn’t live in, is his personal moral high point. This one act easily outshines his earlier life. It is,in fact,the sole high point of this entire myth, for there is little other mercy, care or love. It’s all downhill, baby. The annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah is another of those biblical passages so difficult to take with modern moral sensibilities. With this atrocity, God continues his fall from whatever grace man created him with. His reputation, severely tarnished by the genocide of the flood, dropped yet another notch. Divinity or not, this was murder most foul. Damn that righteous bastard. If I get up there he has a lot to answer for.
Anyway, let’s get literal!
One day Abraham was lounging in the shade of his tent when he spied three men. His finely honed sycophantic instincts told him that these boys were important, damned important. Sure enough, it was God and two angels on their way to Sodom to see what the hell was actually going on there. Apparently, Abraham’s tent lay on the way and they decided to stop by. The servants killed a steer, baked some bread and rounded up a bit of cheese, and Abraham waited on the three as they relaxed under a tree.
Yahweh debated with himself over whether he should tell Abraham that as God he was going to check out Sodom and probably obliterate it. Deciding in the affirmative, he says to Abraham “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave,that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.” To put it succinctly, they are screwed!
I still find it fascinating when God doesn’t just know stuff. Evangelicals strenuously teach (and I know, for I used to be one) God’s perfection, omnipotence, and omniscience . Yet, here is another case where God doesn’t know what any all-knowing being should. He heard an outcry about the city on the prayer hotline and had to go and check on it? WTF? In addition, he even debates with himself about whether to tell Abraham his intentions. He’s not even sure what he himself thinks? Come on dude! All-knowing means you know shit, all the shit, all the time. It’s in the definition. There is a frightfully large amount of not knowing here. My suspicion grows.
Then Abraham starts bargaining for Sodom saying “Would you destroy the city if there were just fifty good men there. What about forty-five? ” All the way down to just ten people. At every question God answers “No, for the sake of X number of innocent people I would not destroy it.” At ten good men God quickly leaves before old Abraham could get it down to a single decent dog.
Now, the way I understand this passage is that God and Abraham have an agreement here. If there are ten innocent people the city will not be destroyed. But I ask, who really looked? Abraham isn’t mentioned any further in relation to Sodom and Gomorrah, The two angels don’t look when they get into the city, and Lot doesn’t have a chance. Did anyone? Was that covenant ignored?
A common answer to this is that since all the townspeople turned out to rape the angels there could have been no innocents left. Really? None at all? As with the genocide of the flood, were there no children? No babes in arms? No unborn? Anywhere in the entire city? Did these people spring fully grown and sinful right from the ground like the orcs or cylons. In a time when children were born at tremendous rates to make up for all who died (yet, another difficulty I have with the old man upstairs) even a small city should have been packed with them. How could anyone include them with the guilty? Oh, I am well aware of the potential for divine punishment to the seventh generation. But is this truly right? In emulating God’s law should we kill the grandchildren of murderers, rape the grandchildren of rapists. Fornicate with the grandchildren of fornicators? Uh… Well, if they’re of age, that one’s not too bad. But the rest, I think not. Seriously though, this very notion of Biblical justice makes me shudder in horror. This is not a moral example because all things considered, we can safely infer two facts here. There were innocents in Sodom, and God murdered them with the rest.
Which of course brings us to the next point. Why does a supposedly all-powerful god have to use such grandiose weapons of mass destruction? A world-wide flood? City razing beams of light? A god who cares for every hair on my head should not have to use the equivalent of a thermonuclear weapon. It’s like using a howitzer to target jaywalkers, effective, but hell on the guiltless, and a bit of an over reaction. Doesn’t he have anything a little more selective. Couldn’t he just stop the hearts of the guilty, sparing the others. Obviously, these divine extravaganzas are more about putting on a show than protecting the innocent. But even if he wanted a gruesome show why destroy the innocent? Why not have the guilty burst into flame or explode. Oooh! Oooh! How about having them implode, pulling into themselves by degrees until all that is left is a rather large bloodshot blinking eye. Now that would teach a real lesson… and, of course, be cool!
Hell, we could blow up an entire city 65 years ago. Big deal! Today, we have smart weapons that are far more selective. Where are God’s smart weapons? Where are his laser guided sin destroyers? Is it simply that he’s a shitty aim? Can’t hit the broad side of a sinner with a lightning bolt? Or does he not care? Precisely targeting the guiltiest would have the added benefit of warning those on the edge of sinning. You’d straighten your act up a bit if a booming voice spoke out from the clouds and the guy next to you turned inside out. But did God do anything like that ? Nope! Just slaughtered them all, and it’s a little understood fact that when you kill everyone there’s no one left to learn any lessons.
So what’s the lesson we are supposed to learn here? Damn! Again, I don’t know. How about this. All you innocents out there better remember that if you happen to be in the same city as guilty people when that big old invisible guy in the sky decides to whack ‘em. He’s probably going to get you too. Your mom always warned you that the people you hung out with would get you in trouble. Now it’s biblical!
God’s definitely into collateral damage. Hmm. I almost called it friendly fire, but friendly, it certainly isn’t.
On being human:
http://thinkpoint.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/what-in-the-world-is-wrong-with-us/
Thinkpoint, I just read your linked post. What a load of gobbledygook. >yawns<
There’s a whole book to be written on the subject of collective punishment and the Bible – or at least the Old Testament. The book is replete with such episodes. The ten plagues of Egypt, and especially the last,with the killing of the first born,sons in order to persuade the pharoah to free the Israelites.
Then there’s the story of the great flood with its inevitable drowning of manys innocents – children at least (one wonders what the age of criminal responsibility is as far as God is concerned).
I was taught the stuff about Moses and the plagues of Egypt as a young child, and as we are prone to at that age, treated it uncricially. It’s only in later life some of us start trying to understand the meaning. Modern religous revisionists tell us to treat these as metaphorical (although for what, I don’t know) or justify it, as I see on several sites, as “collective responsibility”. That is a bit tough if you are a 5 month old infant.
From my perspective it’s clear that these are essentially myths and stories created as a means of welding together a people, in a period when existence was a deal more brutal than most of us are lucky enough to experience these days.
In no sense do I think the Old Testamant invented the notion of collective punishment, but one wonders what it has been used for as justification. Until very recently indeed the Catholic Church held the Jewish people responsible for the death of Christ. Collective punishment was used as an instrument of war, and was justified by the Church in medieval times, largely on the basis of the Bible (just as it ws used as a justification for savery).
In our own, more recent times, even greater mass slaughter of innocents has occured, although I think we are less likely to justify this on the basis of religion and more on grounds of expediency. Think of the numbers killed in the bombing of Japan and Germany in WWII. Now these may be justified, but at least we now tend to think of these as a failure of humankind and something to be avoided. The bombing of Dresden had such an effect on people that no campaign medal was struck for the crews of RAF bomber command. In contrast, these slaughters of innocents (although not Soddom and Gomorah) are almost celebrated.
We also, I think, now know to stop when our ends are met. I hope we no longer indiscriminately slaughter the inhabitants of cities following a battle, as once was the norm.
nb. Pat Robertson alluded to collective punishment when he associated the various sufferings of the Haitian people to a pact with the Devil.
Good answer! Damn good answer! You basically summed up my entire planned course through this biblical study. You jumped far ahead of me though. Personally, I can’t wait to get there. The plagues of Egypt was one of the major pushes in my life for me to give up my “born again” status and enter reality.
I would point out that as humans bombing Germany and Japan we were limited in the accuracy of our technology as we are today. It would be great if we had a weapon that just hit the assholes. Unfortunately, our tech capabilities lag a bit here. But assuming an all-powerful god, that capability is, by definition, present. If it is not used, logic would dictate that it is not used by choice.
Let us not forget Bubbles and Trixie (aka Lot’s virgin daughters) who are offered to the mob on this occasion and have other godly events still to come. I will assume that your oversight was unintentional. Unlike god, I do not always assume the worst.
elisaphant
Ottoman
Bubbles and Trixie Theological Institute
I always thought that sodom and gomorrah sounded like a really cool place to have a stag night!
Umm, sure, I guess. If your idea of a good night is being gang-raped by the townsfolk, then go right ahead. Not my first choice tho.
Tommy, what a blessing your tenitmosy is. You and Kandi are an inspiration for your dedication to the Lord and your trust in HIM in your trials. We have kept you in our prayers since February 2008 when your Father and Mother requested prayer for you at the Smoky Mountain Gospel Jubilee in Pigeon Forge. We love you all and will continue to pray.
“Can’t hit the broad side of a sinner with a lightning bolt?”
Okay, I’m on my own, its 6:50AM and I just laughed out loud. Am I disturbed in some way? Should I worry?
There’s something very ‘Terry Pratchett’ about that line. (I’m still giggling)
Anyway, the next page beckons …
You wrote, “Just slaughtered them all, and it’s a little understood fact that when you kill everyone there’s no one left to learn any lessons.”
Aaaah, but there IS someone left to pass on those dreadful consequences. The winners of all wars get to write history. We get the vantage point of the survivors of Sodom and Gomorrah – Lot’s ancestors to remind us what happened there so that we can overlook half of the story, which is about rape and a righteous man who offers his own daughters up for sexual consumption to protect the strangers in his home.
The half of the story we choose to recall as a society drunk with our own prejudice is the part about “sexual immorality.” We unfairly draw parallels between a loving homosexual relationship and this dreadful story of gang rape. In those days raping a man was the ultimate form of demeaning another human being. In contrast, raping a woman was okay.
HELLO! Grow up people. I just left a church that was divided over this very story. What is wrong with us?
When is it EVER right to demean another human being? I have been a ravenous reader of Bishop John Shelby Spong’s books following the destruction of my old church. I highly recommend his books and lectures for the Christian who longs to redefine what it means to be a Christian today. I’m not an atheist, but I’m not longer a theist in the sense that it’s traditionally understood. I thank God for that
That must have been a tough situation. Did you leave the church, or did the church actually fall apart over that issue? Good for you, sticking by your moral guns instead of biblical literalism! I followed Joseph Campbell (Masks of God–read all 4 twice) out of the dark. Which was fine for me, until I had children. Then I started to worry–what do I do? How do I raise them to be ethical, caring, thinking, moral people without the church safety net? Finding Dale McGowan’s books (Parenting Beyond Belief) and blog was a huge relief–yeah, I knew that. I *do* know what to do, what to teach, mostly better than what’s in the bible. In fact, I can do that much more easily, since I don’t have to twist myself into knots trying to explain why Pharoh got cursed because Abraham lied to him (“So–it’s OK to lie?”), Lot’s daughters (“so, gang rape is OK sometimes? And getting your father drunk and having incestous relations with him?”), why it’s ok to kill everybody if you’re God, but not if you’re Hitler….
I don’t mean to pry, but I’d be interested to hear both sides of the argument over the Lot story–what was said in defence of it, particularly.
This is easy, the way humans are designed we spirtually inherit our orevious generations designs and genetically we do the same. Therefore many of the children of Sodom and gorrmah would have been raised a certain way and destined to behave like their parents. The sins of parenst tend to carry 4 generations as god designed.
God removed the only people he considered safe to continue to live on earth (For Example LOT). He pretends not to know what is happening everywhere because otherwise the Angels would be out of a job. He is also sovereign and has the highest IQ of all beings.
Destroying Sodom and Gomorrah was necessary, a god of love would not do this unless necessary and he did not enjoy killing his own creation then or indeed at the flood.
I watched a movie about an infection wiping out america, the only cure to destroy all those that had been infected to protect the rest of civilisation. All other methods and attempted cures had failed.
God repeatedly ends the lives of the wicked so the righteous can have a chance at life. Sharing the earth and our personal lives alongside them is unpleasent and indeed creates much suffeing for us.
Look at the present society has done the same thing as sodom and gorrmah welcoming the same agenda Homosexuality and immorality. It is causing the healthy hetrosexual christian problems in their lives being surronded by such wickedness.
It woould’nt surprise me if yet again a similar judgement came on earth once more and wiped out these vile people. What they are doing is evil and wrong and the evil goverments in place have taken the side of the wicked homosexual agenda. It a matter of time before the lord does a bigscale judgement to protect the righteous and ends the lives of all homosexual beings.
They are evil and it is demonic activity in the earth.
In the end we all are suffering death because we all sin, it is the consequences of Adam and Eve losing immortality. They would have given birth without pain, without monthly periods or death, immortal perfect children in the garden of eden.
When they sinned against god they brought the curse of mortality and various troubles and punishments on our entire race.
More important than how we each die (Including Sodom and gorrmah) is the fact we all tend to die death is a punishment for sin so sooner or later we will all have to face it.
Where do we go after that? Are we headed to heaven or hell, more important than anything else. Hell is a real place it wouldn’t have been put in the holy books from god so much otherwise.
There are many hard to answer questions about god and this current world and indeed about our history and his dealings with us in the present and the past. But the answers are there for those who can perceive truth.
All I can tell is things will change in the future, the bible speaks of a new earth far superior in every way with god managing it as The Boss instead of mankind.
And a New Heaven
so the people upstairs already get a better heavenly realm.
(I bet its pretty nice already so the upgrade is going to be awesome).
An end to suffering and no more tears is promised as well…
This is a POE, right? Please tell me it’s a POE.
Sick! Just … sick! I’m not sure which is worst; a supposedly loving god who would design such a principle into the world, or people would espouse such barbarity.
You mean Lot, who was willing to let the mob gang-rape his daughters rather than let them get at two angels, who could probably have looked after themselves anyway? (And aren’t angels s’posed to be sexless? Let’s not grapple with that conundrum!). The fact that he’s considered a man worth saving tells me all I need to know, both about the putative god and the people who portrayed Lot as ‘righteous’. If this god existed, I’d spit in his face.
Ah, nice to see you referencing serious works of scholarship and philosophy! What’s next, Jerry Lewis on existentialism? Hammer House Of Civil Rights? Norman Bates’ school of Comparative Religion?
I really really hope this was a POE.
What is a POE?
Poe’s Law.
It’s when a parody of extremism is so good that you can’t tell it’s a parody. Can’t for the life of me think why I typed it in caps.
Ah! I see! Thanks so much!
Verily, verily, POE cries out to be taken as an acronym for ‘Parody of Extremism’.
Zing!