S5, Ep. 6 Philo's Link

Mandi shares what the New Testament says about Sodom & Gamorrah and discusses the way Philo changed the biblical interpretation of this story.

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Transcript

Mandi: Mandi A. here welcoming you to my podcast - Find Your Beautiful: Life Through the Eyes of a Christian Disabled Woman.  

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Mandi: I typically try to keep my episodes pretty standalone, but since this season is completely based on one theme, then many of the episodes will build on each other. This is especially true for this episode because I'm sharing about last week's story of Sodom and Gamorrah through the lens of the New Testament and then telling you how that story was reinterpreted as a condemnation of same-sex relationships.

I want to put a trigger warning here again as the story of Sodom & Gamorrah highlights violence and sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised.

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Mandi: Sodom and Gamorrah is mentioned 8 times in the New Testament. In Matthew 10:14-15 and Luke 1010-12, Jesus promised judgments worse than that of Sodom's. What do you think could be the justification for such judgment? If you said sexual immorality or homosexuality, you'd be 100% wrong. Jesus said in these verses that a judgment worse than being destroyed by fire and brimstone would come upon any home or town that did not welcome his disciples. That's right, the sin of inhospitality. 

Most of the other references to these 2 cities in the New Testament do not identify their specific sins. Instead, the verses refer to general sin. However, non-affirming Christians may want to point out that there are, in fact, 2 verses that speak about sexual sin. Peter 2:7 tells us that Lot was "greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked" and Jude 7 says that the people of Sodom and Gamorrah "indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh." The first verse does not specifically tell us what "sensual conduct" was being committed by the "wicked" people of Sodom and Gamorrah. We can speculate, but not necessarily determine that this is any reference to same-sex relations. As for the verse in Jude, we need to consider what "strange flesh" means. In some translations, this has been presented as "perversion" and "unnatural desires." However, the Greek phrase that was written is sarkas heteras, which more directly translates to "different flesh."  When understood with the direct translation from Greek, we can see that Jude actually argues that the people of Sodom and Gamorrah went after flesh that was too different, not too the same. In Jude 6, Sodom's sins are compared to the sins described in Genesis 6 in which angels slept with humans. This caused God to be angry just before the flood. With this verse as support, it is more likely that Jude 7's reference to strange flesh had more to do with the fact that the men were attempting to rape angels than it does to any same-sex behavior.

There is definitely evidence to support that biblical writers did not view same-sex relations in a positive light. We'll explore this more in future episodes, but it is important to understand that there is no biblical reference to Sodom and Gamorrah's sins being linked to same-sex relations. So that begs the question, how did the link between these 2 cities and homosexuality develop? 

Allow me to introduce you to Philo. Philo was a Jewish philosopher who lived during the first century AD. He lived in Alexandria, Egypt and was the first biblical interpreter to link Sodom's sins to same-sex relations. Philo's interpretation of the bible, at it's shortest distance, is at least 600 years from the actual events that occurred in Sodom. This is a late interpretation and it didn't become Christian standard until the fifth century AD. Additionally, Philo still never discussed same-sex relations in the context of sexual orientation. Like the writers we discussed last week, Philo references overindulgence, gluttony and drunkeness. These sins, in Philo's world, could be temptations to anyone, just like same-sex desires.

As I mentioned, even though Philo linked the story of Sodom and Gamorrah to same-sex relations in the first century AD, many Christian writers continued to hold to the original interpretation of this story, that it highlights the sins of inhospitality, violence, and arrogance. This is supported by third-century writer, Origen, second and third-century writer, Tertullian, and even Jerome, known as a church father who lived during the fourth century. None of these ancient writers link Sodom to same-sex relations. However, we start to see this link that Philo made starting to be adopted in the fourth-century by writers like the monk John Cassian, the Greek bishop Basil, John Chrysostom and Paulus Orosius, By the fifth century AD, Augustine also supported Philo's interpretation and by the Middle Ages, same-sex relations replaced the true sins of Sodom and Gamorrah.

While we can't really determine what it was about Philo's writing that truly started the shift in the interpretation of this story, there is evidence that this isn't the first time that there was a shift in the interpretation of historical biblical stories. It is helpful to look at another story that shares a similar interpretive change. Stay tuned!

    

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Mandi: If you listened all the way through, thank you! Whether you're listening to prove me wrong, or because you are seeking how you can reconcile your faith with affirmation of the LGBTQIA* community, I'm grateful for your time. 

If you find value in my podcast, please leave a review on my on my website at mandiboxbeauty.com. You can also connect with me on Instagram and Facebook at MandiBox Beauty. 

[Mandi voiceover to 'Compton' music]:  In next week's episode, we'll explore the story of Onan! ‘Til next time Beauties.