By Thomas King
Regarding the sin of sodomy: What every Jew and Christian should know
This is an issue that has been hotly debated amongst professing Jews and Christians. Instead of resorting to popular worldly opinion, I will discuss things purely from the perspective of the Old Testament (Tenach) and the New Testament. I hope all those who profess belief in either Judaism or Christianity will consider this carefully, since we are from the same source of spiritual learning and heritage. No Old Testament (Tenach) also means no New Testament either and vice versa. As true Abrahamic religions, it is important we consider what both have to say regarding this particular sin.
OLD TESTAMENT (TENACH)
The foundations of both Judaism and Christianity find their source in the Tenach/Old Testament. Hence, it is important that we start there first:
Genesis 13:13: “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.”
What is the nature of their wickedness? Jehovah as the One Who personally visits Abraham along with the other 2 men, (an indication of the Trinity since Abraham addresses them in the singular: “My lord“, rather than plural), tells Abraham that the reason He is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah is for this reason:
Genesis 18:20: “And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;”
We are given more details of the wickedness of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah, when the other 2 members of the Trinity in the form of men, decide to go and rescue the nephew of Abraham, Righteous Lot. They come to his house in Sodom and Lot receives them into his home, since he feared what the men of Sodom would do to them. Sure enough, the men of Sodom come at night at the door of Lot and state their evil desires:
Genesis 19:4-8: “4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.”
Here they state that they want to “know them“, indicating clearly sexual knowledge, to which Lot asks them to desist from this evil behaviour and even offers his daughters to satisfy their lusts. They not only refuse, but also threaten to treat Lot even worse than the 2 men, that is they are willing to rape and kill Lot too! This is the last straw for them, since now they want to commit sodomy with God Himself as the 2 men.
These men were made blind temporarily so that they could not find the door in Genesis 19:10, 11. After this, we read the following:
Genesis 19:12-15: “12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”
Jehovah, the Holy Trinity, was not only determined to wipe out Sodom and Gomorrah, but also to save Lot and family from being destroyed with it, and thus had get them out of there. Interesting note: One Jehovah in heaven was raining down fire from heaven, whilst the other Jehovah was on earth also carrying out in conjunction, thus indicating strongly Jehovah is a Trinity.
Genesis 18:24-29: “24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:
28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.”
If we think that this is an isolated incident, then we are mistaken since Jehovah gives the following commands to Moses and thus to Israel regarding sodomites/homosexuals and how they are to be dealt with:
Leviticus 18:22-25: “22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” [Note: God also describes both homosexuality and bestiality as worthy of condemnation and states to the children of Israel that the land of Canaan vomits up even the Canaanite inhabitants because of their participation in it along with other sins]
Leviticus 20:13: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” [Note: the same penalty is also given to those who commit sexual acts with animals too in v15]
Deuteronomy 23:17, 18: “17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” [Note: even sodomites are called dogs and are considered an abomination not to be brought into the house of the Lord, that is the Temple in Jerusalem, and today, both the synagogue and the church house].
Sadly, when Israel was in a state of anarchy, they did that “which was right in their own eyes” and thus had a repeat of the Sodom and Gomorrah situation in Judges 19:22-30. This resulted in civil war in the house of Israel between the tribe of Benjamin (the guilty party) and the tribe of Judah and the rest of the other tribes of Israel in Judges 20 and 21. A solemn warning to the West which has inherited the blessings and teachings of the God of Israel!
Notice the following verses as a sign of not only the anarchy that was going on Israel, especially under godless kings, but more specifically, how sodomites/homosexuals were linked to this state of anarchy who thus had to be dealt with by more righteous kings.
I Kings 14:24: “And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.”
I Kings 15:12: “And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.” [This verse is talking about King Asa of Judah, who was more righteous than his father, Abijam, and was willing to make amends before God by getting rid of the sodomites and idolatry in Judah]
I Kings 22:46: “And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land.” [This is talking about righteous king, Jehoshaphat, who succeeded his father, Asa, and also did something about the sodomites too].
II Kings 23:7: “And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.” [This is describing the actions of another righteous king, Josiah, who destroyed the sodomite dens which were blasphemously put alongside the Temple].
The Talmud also makes this statement regarding the sin of sodomy since the days of Noah and how Noahides (righteous non-Jews/Gentiles) behaved:
Talmud Bavli, Chulin 92a–b:
עולא אמר אלו שלשים מצות שקבלו עליהם בני נח ואין מקיימין אלא שלשה אחת שאין כותבין כתובה לזכרים ואחת שאין שוקלין בשר המת במקולין ואחת שמכבדין את התורה
“Said Ulla: There were thirty commandments that Noahides accepted, but they keep only three: not to write a ketuba for males; not to weigh dead human flesh in the market; and to show respect for the Torah.”
The Babylonian Talmud, whilst going more into depth of Sodom and Gomorrah’s other sins of brutality and cruelty to both visitors and also the beggars, also gives this hint:
“Our Rabbis taught: The men of Sodom have no portion in the future world, as it is written, But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly wicked — in this world, and sinners — in respect of the world to come. Rab Judah said: [They were] wicked — with their bodies [i.e., immoral] and sinners — with their money [i.e.. uncharitable]. ‘Wicked — with their bodies,’ as it is written, How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?…” (Sanhedrin 109a) [Note: Here the Rabbis before going into the other sins of Sodom and Gomorrah in accordance with Ezekiel 16:49, 50 which state clearly what Sodom and Gomorrah’s sins were, which begin with pride, idleness and lack of compassion to the poor to the last being that they were haughty and then “committed abomination” before me. All these sins along with the final abomination of homosexual acts brought God’s punishment. Note that first came the other evil sins and then finally this one. Notice that the Rabbis in the Talmud also hint at this particular sin by stating: “Wicked-with their bodies,’ as it is written, How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”. Clearly, the Talmud saw the sin of homosexual acts as part and parcel of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah along with the others!] [Emphasis mine]
Also note what the Midrash states regarding the sins of sodomy as the cause for the Great Deluge and also as the cause of punishment for Canaan and Sodom and Gomorrah:
“The generation of the Flood was not wiped out until they wrote marriage documents for the union of a man to a male or to an animal.” (Midrash Rabbah Genesis 26:9)
“What did they do? A man married a man, and a woman married a woman, and a woman married two men.” (Sifrah Aharei Mot 8:8-9) [Discussing both Canaan and Sodom and Gomorrah]
In confirmation of the above, the Midrash has this to state:
“Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Joseph, ‘The generation of the Flood was not wiped out until they wrote גמומסיות (either sexual hymns or marriage documents) for the union of a man to a male or to an animal.’” (Genesis Rabbah 26:5; Leviticus Rabbah 23:9)
In addition to the above, we have the testimonies of Philo of Alexandria regarding the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, besides listing their brutality and ill treatment of the poor and beggars, as well as their pride and arrogance, also mentions their filthy sin of same sex perversion:
“(133) And what is signified by this is indicated in a most evident and careful manner by the events which ensued. The country of the Sodomites was a district of the land of Canaan, which the Syrians afterwards called Palestine, a country full of innumerable iniquities, and especially of gluttony and debauchery, and all the great and numerous pleasures of other kinds which have been built up by men as a fortress, on which account it had been already condemned by the Judge of the whole world….(135) As men, being unable to bear discreetly a satiety of these things, get restive like cattle, and become stiff-necked, and discard the laws of nature, pursuing a great and intemperate indulgence of gluttony, and drinking, and unlawful connections; for not only did they go mad after women, and defile the marriage bed of others, but also those who were men lusted after one another, doing unseemly things, and not regarding or respecting their common nature, and though eager for children, they were convicted by having only an abortive offspring; but the conviction produced no advantage, since they were overcome by violent desire; (136) and so, by degrees, the men became accustomed to be treated like women, and in this way engendered among themselves the disease of females, and intolerable evil; for they not only, as to effeminacy and delicacy, became like women in their persons, but they made also their souls most ignoble, corrupting in this way the whole race of man, as far as depended on them. At all events, if the Greeks and barbarians were to have agreed together, and to have adopted the commerce of the citizens of this city, their cities one after another would have become desolate, as if they had been emptied by a pestilence.” (On Abraham, XXVI: 133, 135, 136) [Emphasis mine]
“(137) But God, having taken pity on mankind, as being a Saviour and full of love for mankind, increased, as far as possible, the natural desire of men and women for a connexion together, for the sake of producing children, and detesting the unnatural and unlawful commerce of the people of Sodom, he extinguished it, and destroyed those who were inclined to these things, and that not by any ordinary chastisement, but he inflicted on them an astonishing novelty, and unheard of rarity of vengeance; (138) for, on a sudden, he commanded the sky to become overclouded and to pour forth a mighty shower, not of rain but of fire; and as the flame poured down, with a resistless and unceasing violence, the fields were burnt up, and the meadows, and all the dense groves, and the thick marshes, and the impenetrable thickets; the plain too was consumed, and all the crop of wheat, and of everything else that was sown; and all the trees of the mountain district were burnt up, the trunks and the very roots being consumed. (139) And the folds for the cattle, and the houses of the men, and the walls, and all that was in any building, whether of private or public property, were all burnt. And in one day these populous cities became the tomb of their inhabitants, and the vast edifices of stone and timber became thin dust and ashes. (140) And when the flames had consumed everything that was visible and that existed on the face of the earth, they proceeded to burn even the earth itself, penetrating into its lowest recesses, and destroying all the vivifying powers which existed within it so as to produce a complete and everlasting barrenness, so that it should never again be able to bear fruit, or to put forth any verdure; and to this very day it is scorched up. For the fire of the lightning is what is most difficult to extinguish, and creeps on pervading everything, and smouldering. (141) And a most evident proof of this is to be found in what is seen to this day: for the smoke which is still emitted, and the sulphur which men dig up there, are a proof of the calamity which befell that country; while a most conspicuous proof of the ancient fertility of the land is left in one city, and in the land around it. For the city is very populous, and the land is fertile in grass and in corn, and in every kind of fruit, as a constant evidence of the punishment which was inflicted by the divine will on the rest of the country.” (On Abraham, XXVII:137-141) [Emphasis mine]
The first century Jewish historian, Josephus, had the following to say about Sodom and Gomorrah:
“1. ABOUT this time the Sodomites grew proud, on account of their riches and great wealth; they became unjust towards men, and impious towards God, insomuch that they did not call to mind the advantages they received from him: they hated strangers, and abused themselves with Sodomitical practices. God was therefore much displeased at them, and determined to punish them for their pride, and to overthrow their city, and to lay waste their country, until there should neither plant nor fruit grow out of it….3. When Abraham heard this, he was grieved for the Sodomites; and he rose up, and besought God for them, and entreated him that he would not destroy the righteous with the wicked. And when God had replied that there was no good man among the Sodomites; for if there were but ten such man among them, he would not punish any of them for their sins, Abraham held his peace. And the angels came to the city of the Sodomites, and Lot entreated them to accept of a lodging with him; for he was a very generous and hospitable man, and one that had learned to imitate the goodness of Abraham. Now when the Sodomites saw the young men to be of beautiful countenances, and this to an extraordinary degree, and that they took up their lodgings with Lot, they resolved themselves to enjoy these beautiful boys by force and violence; and when Lot exhorted them to sobriety, and not to offer any thing immodest to the strangers, but to have regard to their lodging in his house; and promised that if their inclinations could not be governed, he would expose his daughters to their lust, instead of these strangers; neither thus were they made ashamed. 4. But God was much displeased at their impudent behavior, so that he both smote those men with blindness, and condemned the Sodomites to universal destruction. But Lot, upon God’s informing him of the future destruction of the Sodomites, went away, taking with him his wife and daughters, who were two, and still virgins; for those that were betrothed to them were above the thoughts of going, and deemed that Lot’s words were trifling. God then cast a thunderbolt upon the city, and set it on fire, with its inhabitants; and laid waste the country with the like burning, as I formerly said when I wrote the Jewish War. But Lot’s wife continually turning back to view the city as she went from it, and being too nicely inquisitive what would become of it, although God had forbidden her so to do, was changed into a pillar of salt; for I have seen it, and it remains at this day. Now he and his daughters fled to a certain small place, encompassed with the fire, and settled in it: it is to this day called Zoar, for that is the word which the Hebrews use for a small thing. There it was that he lived a miserable life, on account of his having no company, and his want of provisions.” (Antiquities of the Jews, Book I, Chapter 11:1, 3, 4) [Emphasis mine]
We even find the Jewish non-canonical work of 2 Enoch discussing this peculiar sin as the cause to bring the Great Deluge in the time of Noah along with all the other sins of idolatry, violence and so on:
“For I know the wickedness of mankind, how they have rejected my commandments and they will not carry the yoke, which I have placed on them.
They will cast off my yoke, and they will accept a different yoke. Nor do they sow the seed which I have given them, but they will sow worthless seed, not fearing God and not worshipping Me, but they began to worship vain gods, and they renounced My Uniqueness. They will reject My Sole Rule and all the world will sin by injustices, crimes, adulteries, and idolatries.
All the world will be reduced to confusion by iniquities, wickedness and abominable fornications, that is friend with friend in the anus, and every other kind of wicked uncleanness, which is disgusting to report, and the worship of the evil one.
This is why I shall bring down the flood onto the earth, I shall destroy everything, and the earth will collapse in great darkness.” (2 Enoch 34:1-4) [Emphasis mine. The longer manuscript translation has been used here]
“[Regarding those in the place of punishment in hell] And those men said to me: This place, O Enoch, is prepared for those who dishonour God, who on earth practice sin against nature, which is child-corruption after the sodomitic fashion, magic-making, enchantments and devilish witchcrafts, and who boast of their wicked deeds, stealing, lies, calumnies, envy, rancour, fornication, murder, and who, accursed, steal the souls of men, who, seeing the poor, take away their goods and themselves wax rich, injuring them for other men’s goods; who being able to satisfy the empty, made the hungering to die; being able to clothe, stripped the naked; and who knew not their creator, and bowed to the soulless and lifeless gods, who cannot see nor hear, vain gods, who also built hewn images and bow down to unclean handiwork, for all these is prepared this place among these, for eternal inheritance.” (2 Enoch 10:3) [Emphasis mine]
Therefore, we can see very clearly from the Old Testament (Tenach), the Talmud and the Midrash along with Jewish writers and historians and even non-canonical Jewish sources, that the sin of sodomy is odious and an abomination before God. Therefore, it is not something to be regarded lightly, no matter what the fashion of this godless world dictates. The standards of God for humanity in morality is a non-negotiable.
NEW TESTAMENT
In the New Testament, our Lord Jesus Christ, who as the 2nd Person of the Trinity, and the Jehovah Who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, gives this simple solemn warning to the wicked generation of today:
Luke 17:32: “Remember Lot’s wife.”
Lot’s wife looked back to Sodom, despite being commanded not to, and thus was turned to a pillar of salt. This should be a warning to anyone who wants to even entertain the sodomites. The Blessed St. Paul describes both the male sodomites and the female sodomites (lesbians) as a sign of rebellion against God, worthy of His wrath:
Romans 1:26, 27: “26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.”
In the categories of people that will be excluded from the kingdom of God, the Blessed Apostle Paul notes amongst the many the “effeminate” and “abusers of themselves with mankind”, both of which describe the sodomites in 2 categories: those men that effeminate themselves and those that actually go around committing sodomy. Please note this in the following verses:
I Corinthians 6:9-11: “9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
If people think this is a laughing matter, then think again since the Blessed St. Jude, in his epistle to the Church, reminds them regarding Sodom and Gomorrah, that not only did they lust after “strange flesh” (referring to their sodomite behaviour) but also notes that they are burning in hell as an eternal warning to false teachers and heretics that advocate their sins and other sins and heresies:
Jude 1:7: “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
Finally, the last book of Holy Scripture, the Apocalypse/Revelation of the Blessed St. John, states in no uncertain terms who will not enter the New Jerusalem, not to mention heaven. In it he includes “dogs”, which is the term for sodomites as discussed earlier. It is also a reference to heretics and false teachers in the Church. Furthermore, since sodomites are in the category of the “abominable”, they are also in that category of those excluded from the New Jerusalem:
Apocalypse/Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Apocalypse/Revelation 22:14, 15: “14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”
A number of the Fathers and Saints also had to say the following in regards to the evil sin of homosexuality/sodomy:
St. Athenagoras of Athens: “But though such is our character (Oh! why should I speak of things unfit to be uttered?), the things said of us are an example of the proverb, ‘The harlot reproves the chaste.’ For those who have set up a market for fornication and established infamous resorts for the young for every kind of vile pleasure – who do not abstain even from males, males with males committing shocking abominations, outraging all the noblest and comeliest bodies in all sorts of ways, so dishonoring the fair workmanship of God.” (A Plea For the Christians, Chapter 34)
Tertullian: “[Regarding sodomy]But all the other frenzies of passions–impious both toward the bodies and toward the sexes–beyond the laws of nature, we banish not only from the threshold, but from all shelter of the Church, because they are not sins, but monstrosities.” (On Modesty, Chapter 4)
Eusebius of Caesarea: “[God in the Law given to Moses] having forbidden all unlawful marriage, and all unseemly practice, and the union of women with women and men with men.” (Demonstratio Evangelica, Book 4, Chapter 10)
Saint Jerome: “And Sodom and Gomorrah might have appeased it [God’s wrath], had they been willing to repent, and through the aid of fasting gain for themselves tears of repentance.” (Book 2, No. 15)
Saint John Chrysostom: “But if thou scoffest at hearing of hell and believest not that fire, remember Sodom. For we have seen, surely we have seen, even in this present life, a semblance of hell. For since many would utterly disbelieve the things to come after the resurrection, hearing now of an unquenchable fire, God brings them to a right mind by things present. For such is the burning of Sodom, and that conflagration!…
“Consider how great is that sin, to have forced hell to appear even before its time!… For that rain was unwonted, for the intercourse was contrary to nature, and it deluged the land, since lust had done so with their souls. Wherefore also the rain was the opposite of the customary rain. Now not only did it fail to stir up the womb of the earth to the production of fruits, but made it even useless for the reception of seed. For such was also the intercourse of the men, making a body of this sort more worthless than the very land of Sodom. And what is there more detestable than a man who hath pandered himself, or what more execrable?” (Homily IV, Romans 1:26-27)
“All passions are dishonorable, for the soul is even more prejudiced and degraded by sin than is the body by disease; but the worst of all passions is lust between men… There is nothing, absolutely nothing more mad or damaging than this perversity.” (Of the Epistle to the Romans Homily IV)
Saint Augustine: “Those offences which be contrary to nature are everywhere and at all times to be held in detestation and punished; such were those of the Sodomites, which should all nations commit, they should all be held guilty of the same crime by the divine law, which hath not so made men that they should in that way abuse one another. For even that fellowship which should be between God and us is violated, when that same nature of which He is author is polluted by the perversity of lust.” (Book III, Chapter 8, No. 15)
Saint Basil of Caesarea: “The cleric or monk who molests youths or boys or is caught kissing or committing some turpitude, let him be whipped in public, deprived of his crown [tonsure] and, after having his head shaved, let his face be covered with spittle; and [let him be] bound in iron chains, condemned to six months in prison, reduced to eating rye bread once a day in the evening three times per week. After these six months living in a separate cell under the custody of a wise elder with great spiritual experience, let him be subjected to prayers, vigils and manual work, always under the guard of two spiritual brothers, without being allowed to have any relationship… with young people.” (St. Basil of Caesarea, in St. Peter Damien, Liber Gomorrhianus, cols. 174f.) [Note: Punishments for sodomite priests and monks as well as paedophiles is clearly prescribed here!]
Saint Gregory the Great: “Sacred Scripture itself confirms that sulfur evokes the stench of the flesh, as it speaks of the rain of fire and sulfur poured upon Sodom by the Lord. He had decided to punish Sodom for the crimes of the flesh, and the very type of punishment he chose emphasized the shame of that crime. For sulfur stinks, and fire burns. So it was just that Sodomites, burning with perverse desires arising from the flesh like stench, should perish by fire and sulfur so that through this just punishment they would realize the evil they had committed, led by a perverse desire.” (Morales sur Job, Part III, Vol. I, book 14, no. 23)
Saint Peter Damian (1007-1072): “The miserable flesh burns with the heat of lust; the cold mind trembles with the rancor of suspicion; and in the heart of the miserable man chaos boils like Tartarus [Hell]…. In fact, after this most poisonous serpent once sinks its fangs into the unhappy soul, sense is snatched away, memory is borne off, the sharpness of the mind is obscured. It becomes unmindful of God and even forgetful of itself. This plague undermines the foundation of faith, weakens the strength of hope, destroys the bond of charity; it takes away justice, subverts fortitude, banishes temperance, blunts the keenness of prudence.
“And what more should I say since it expels the whole host of the virtues from the chamber of the human heart and introduces every barbarous vice as if the bolts of the doors were pulled out.” (Book of Gomorrah, Pierre J. Payer, trans., (Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1982), pp. 63-64)
Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274): “Given the sin of impiety through which they [the Romans] sinned against the divine nature [by idolatry], the punishment that led them to sin against their own nature followed…. I say, therefore, that since they changed into lies [by idolatry] the truth about God, He brought them to ignominious passions, that is, to sins against nature; not that God led them to evil, but only that he abandoned them to evil….
“If all the sins of the flesh are worthy of condemnation because by them man allows himself to be dominated by that which he has of the animal nature, much more deserving of condemnation are the sins against nature by which man degrades his own animal nature….
“Man can sin against nature in two ways. First, when he sins against his specific rational nature, acting contrary to reason. In this sense, we can say that every sin is a sin against man’s nature, because it is against man’s right reason….
“Secondly, man sins against nature when he goes against his generic nature, that is to say, his animal nature. Now, it is evident that, in accord with natural order, the union of the sexes among animals is ordered towards conception. From this it follows that every sexual intercourse that cannot lead to conception is opposed to man’s animal nature.” (Super Epistolam B. Pauli ad Romanos, Cap. 1, Lec. 8)
Saint Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380): [Our Lord Jesus Christ addressing her states the following:]
“But they act in a contrary way, for they come full of impurity to this mystery, and not only of that impurity to which, through the fragility of your weak nature, you are all naturally inclined (although reason, when free will permits, can quiet the rebellion of nature), but these wretches not only do not bridle this fragility, but do worse, committing that accursed sin against nature, and as blind and fools, with the light of their intellect darkened, they do not know the stench and misery in which they are. It is not only that this sin stinks before me, who am the Supreme and Eternal Truth, it does indeed displease me so much and I hold it in such abomination that for it alone I buried five cities by a divine judgment, my divine justice being no longer able to endure it. This sin not only displeases me as I have said, but also the devils whom these wretches have made their masters. Not that the evil displeases them because they like anything good, but because their nature was originally angelic, and their angelic nature causes them to loathe the sight of the actual commission of this enormous sin.” (St. Catherine of Sienna, The Dialogue of the Seraphic Virgin (London: Burns, Oates and Washbourne, Ltd., 1925), p. 255)
Saint Bernardine of Sienna (1380-1444): “No sin in the world grips the soul as the accursed sodomy; this sin has always been detested by all those who live according to God.… Deviant passion is close to madness; this vice disturbs the intellect, destroys elevation and generosity of soul, brings the mind down from great thoughts to the lowliest, makes the person slothful, irascible, obstinate and obdurate, servile and soft and incapable of anything; furthermore, agitated by an insatiable craving for pleasure, the person follows not reason but frenzy.… They become blind and, when their thoughts should soar to high and great things, they are broken down and reduced to vile and useless and putrid things, which could never make them happy…. Just as people participate in the glory of God in different degrees, so also in hell some suffer more than others. He who lived with this vice of sodomy suffers more than another, for this is the greatest sin.” (St. Bernardine of Siena, Sermon XXXIX in Prediche volgari, pp. 896-897, 915.)
Saint Peter Canisius (1521-1597): “As the Sacred Scripture says, the Sodomites were wicked and exceedingly sinful. Saint Peter and Saint Paul condemn this nefarious and depraved sin. In fact, the Scripture denounces this enormous indecency thus: ‘The scandal of Sodomites and Gomorrhans has multiplied and their sins have become grave beyond measure.’ So the angels said to just Lot, who totally abhorred the depravity of the Sodomites: ‘Let us leave this city….’ Holy Scripture does not fail to mention the causes that led the Sodomites, and can also lead others, to this most grievous sin. In fact, in Ezechiel we read: ‘Behold this was the iniquity of Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance, and the idleness of her, and of her daughters: and they did not put forth their hand to the needy, and the poor. And they were lifted up, and committed abominations before me; and I took them away as thou hast seen’ (Ezech. 16: 49-50). Those unashamed of violating divine and natural law are slaves of this never sufficiently execrated depravity.” (St. Peter Canisius, Summa Doctrina Christianae, III a/b, p. 455)
CONCLUSION:
It is clear with the testimonies of both Old Testament (Tenach) and the New Testament along with the clear teachings of the Rabbis of both the Midrash and Talmud along with the combined testimony of early Jewish writers and non-canonical Jewish writings; as well as the Fathers and Saints of the Church, that sodomy/homosexuality is an abomination before God and worthy of death in both this world and the next. It is an abomination to God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit and those who partake in this sin or even approve of it, cannot hope to have eternal life, even if they are within the Church nor can they expect to have a portion in eternal bliss nor the world to come. Those who genuinely subscribe to Judaism or Christianity should take note of the above and seek to correct the illness in our churches and synagogues of the promotion of this abomination.
God bless.
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