Sodom and Gomorrah: Unpacking the Context and Misinterpretations in Modern Christianity

For generations, Sodom and Gomorrah have been used as Exhibit A for what God hates most. And somehow, that list always looks suspiciously like the people Christianity isn’t known for liking very much.

But if we’re being faithful to the text—not folklore—then we have to read what Scripture actually says.

Because Genesis 19 tells us WHAT happened.

Ezekiel 16 tells us WHY it happened.

“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.” - Ezekiel 16:49

That’s not my interpretation.

That’s Scripture.

Notice, He didn’t say, “They had too many pride parades.”

He said, they had too much PRIDE.

They were consumed with excess.

Drunk on comfort. Blind to injustice.

Religious in form, but rotten in heart.

Even the “men at the door” in Genesis 19 weren’t seeking intimacy—they were seeking domination.

The Hebrew word yada (“to know”) in that passage refers to a homosexual act used as violence—a tool of humiliation and public power, not desire or love.

This was a mob demanding to dehumanize outsiders.

That’s why prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah compared NATIONS to Sodom—not people groups.

Sodom symbolized a system that exalted itself and exploited others. A culture so morally bankrupt that God’s mercy could no longer penetrate it.

So yes—America may look a lot like Sodom.

But not for the reasons the fundamentalists keep shouting about.

Because Sodom cheered while the vulnerable suffered.

It used religion to justify cruelty.

It protected the powerful, excused corruption, and mocked compassion as weakness.

It draped arrogance in piety and called it holiness.

And tell me that doesn’t sound familiar.

It’s not the drag shows or the pronouns.

It’s the greed. The arrogance. The apathy.

The way we use God’s name to bless systems that oppress the very people He came to save.

We beg God to judge evil.

But only when it’s not ours.

Maybe we’re not praying for revival.

Maybe we’re just asking God to torch someone else. For more discussion on this topic, please join the conversation on Facebook.