Sin of Omission

A recent comment on a post of mine related to homosexuality sparked a realization related to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis.

On the one hand, what conservatives do in making that story into ammunition against homosexuals is disturbing enough. There is no reference anywhere to the people of that city having had the custom of engaging in same sex relations prior to divine judgment coming upon them – that is something they add. Indeed, texts which mention the sins of Sodom focus on their haughtiness and lack of concern for the poor. And so the fact that people who are engaging in the real “sin of Sodom” use the text not to motivate themselves to repentance, but to condemn others, is sadly ironic.

But on the other hand, conservative Christians and conservative legislators are notoriously unconcerned with what the story actually does depict: an attempted gang rape. This should disturb us even more. Here is a clear text which depicts people (who are already under condemnation for their lack of concern for others) trying to commit an act of violence by raping strangers among them – people who have no local allies and support and so can easily be mistreated. The text is as obvious an anti-rape text as one could want. And yet I cannot remember conservative Christians ever taking to the streets with placards mentioning Genesis 19 to stand against such acts of violence. Yet I have seen them with placards opposing the right of people to marry.

What conservatives add to Genesis 19 is disturbing. But their omission – the fact that they show little concern for what the story actually depicts – seems to me equally disturbing, if not indeed more so.