scared of going to hell?

[luminum]

Here's what Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian from the time of Christ has to say about S & G:

"Now, about this time the Sodomites, overweeningly proud of their numbers and the extent of their wealth, showed themselves insolent to men and impious to the Divinity, insomuch that they no more remembered the benefits that they had received from Him, hated foreigners and avoided any contact with others. Indignant at this conduct, God accordingly resolved to chastise them for their arrogance, and not only to uproot their city, but to blast their land so completely that it should yield neither plant nor fruit whatsoever from that time forward." Jewish Antiquities 1:194-195

I did just look it up in the bible too, it's Genesis 18 for the curious, and all it says is "because their sin was very grave." It says nothing about them getting it on. When Lot's there trying to save people and they surround the house, the crowd says "send the dudes out so that we may know them". People get hung up on the biblical "to know", as in Adam knew Eve. But you'd have to be an idiot to get "Send them out so we can rape them" out of the english mistranslation of "to know". Maybe they did want to rape them, as in the very next sentence Lot offers to send out his virgin daughters. What the fuck does that say? That's not an inequity to be punished in the eyes of God, sending out your daughters, your two VIRGIN daughters, to be raped? I woulda burned Lot right there and left the city, but that's just me, judging an ancient Canaanite moon/mountain god by modern standards.

For that, my professor explained as the following:

Yes, the men of Sodom want to rape the two travelers in Lot's house. He sends out his daughter and before any harm can come to her, the two travelers reveal themselves int heir glory and end the whole incident.

Normally, the misconception is that these men are punished for the wickedness in wanting to have sexual relations with these two traveling men.

However, there exists a near parallel story in Judges where a man is demanded to send out the Levite so that the men may have sexc with him. Instead, the Levite sends out his wife/concubine and she is raped to the point of death.

The difference is not the homosexuals men (meaning it does nto stand out and probably is not intended to stand out), but rather the fact that in one case, violence/sexual violence befalls those under his care and in the other, it does not.

 

[Kulindahr]

First, to CGHJ: your treatment of the Bible is cavalier and flippant -- a little actual STUDY instead of tossing bits and pieces about would do you some good. You mention Phelps; your approach to the Bible is very much like his -- you play with it on the surface, and never look at the substance.

Second, to luminum: that's an intriguing bit of interpretation of scripture, the thing about eunuchs; it almost works. If nothing else, it's a good reminder that what we think something is about on first read isn't necessarily what's going on.

Finally, to jn0125: as for being afraid of hell... if you are, it'll show up; meanwhile, don't sweat it. Read through the threads about this in the religion forum and think about it all. As for your brother... I say come out indirectly, like mentioning something you've done that makes it obvious you're gay. And if he blows a gasket, well, remind him of the fruit of the Spirit, and the Great Commandment.

 

[cliffified]

as long as you are a good person...you're not going to hell..at least..
define good person- people who don't kill,rape,steal,rob...etc ...
and i don't understand why people keep saying that gays must go to hell..
as long as two persons with soul in love with each other and WILLING to have sex( the so called against the nature ass fucking)..why should they go to hell..
if so, a lot of straight couples nowsaday include butt fuck in their sexual activity..should they go to hell then?

 

[DevinO]

Wow, there are a lot of very confused people responding to this. My best friend recently came out. His mother has been preaching to him non-stop and he several times mentioned to me that he'd probably go to hell. Here's what I read to him. http://www.agcmcc.org/pdfs/whatthebiblesays.pdf
It's a very thought provoking read. It seemed to really give my friend peace of mind.

 

[conrad]

Welcome to the discussion! You did right by your friend. Too many folks these days concentrate on the minor points of faith and ethics and forget the major thrust of the Bible. The Bible tells us we must love God with all our heart soul and mind (yes, the idea is we have to use our brains); we can't be satisfied with parroting the acquired prejudices of unthinking folks. And, through it all we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Read Paul's I Corinthians 13; think about it's insights for your own life situation. And, try to be patient with those who can find only trouble for you and your friend in the sacred book.