quote:
Originally posted by Matter-eater Man:
OK heres an example of the other way to interpet the Bible. The sin of Sodom wasn't homosexuality but inhospitality. That might sound silly but in it's historical setting & what actually happens it's the logical conclusion. As the story is referenced throughout the Bible it's not about sex but about how you treat strangers. Back then in the harsh desert climate you were supposed to take travelers in, even enemies. Raping the strangers would be as inhospitable as you could get. A common practice of armies at the time were to rape the losers. The term sodomy later came to mean anal sex. In the story it was at best male rape, a very different thing from homosexuality. So a story that was supposed to stress the importance of taking strangers in is commonly used against people who are thought to be strange (queer)

The book does a better detailed job but hopefully my attempt to paraphrase a bit of it didn't mangle it to much.
Now see, that to me is a complet lack of understanding and manipulation of scriputre. I've read what DTWB said and I agree with him so I don't feel I need to add anything.