Many Bible scholars believe that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), condemns rape, not homosexuality, since Rape is a violent act and irrelevant to loving same-sex relationships. What do you think?
Answer
While rape may be included in the sin of Sodom, it is not the only sin. In this case it is clear that it is not normal rape that was under consideration, but homosexual rape. Verses 4-5 indicate that the men of the city desired to “know” the men who had come into Lot’s house. I don’t think this was in the sense of sitting down over a coffee and learning their history. Since Lot calls it doing “wickedly” in verse 7, it appears they wished to “know” the men in the carnal sense. Yes, they wanted to rape them, but if it were mere heterosexual rape, they would have come after Lot’s daughters, not the visitors who appeared to be male humans.
If there were not other passages condemning homosexual acts, then it might be said that the passage merely condemns homosexual rape. In the light of other scriptures, though, it becomes obvious that homosexual acts were among the sins for which Sodom was destroyed.