Originally posted by: return_to_hades
The story of Lot comes in all three Abrahamic religions. I've addressed questions over this story in previous posts as well.
Reflect on the passage you cited: Would it have been OK to approach women in lust instead? Would it have been OK for Lot to offer his daughters to the people? Would it have been OK for the people to violate Lot's daughters.
The original Hebrew account of Lot does not ask the people of Sodom why the choose men over women. It asks the people of Sodom why they wish to abuse the angels. The version you site is in later modified editions. In my opinion the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is about God condemning sexual abuse and unwanted sexual advances. Should one narrowly interpret the passages to be condemning homosexuality, then one implicitly accepts that it is OK to rape women then.
I am responding from the point of view of Islam strictly limited to what I understand. Firstly the word lust here is not exactly what lust is perceived as in today's world. DESIRE would be a more apt word when we see the actual Arabic word. (refer http://quran.com/27/55-58)
Hetrosexuals lust/desire the opposite sex and according to Islam the correct way to achieve this is marriage.
We need to understand that in translation sometimes the gist of the message is lost. This story of Lut is used is to demonstrate Islam's disapproval of rape and homosexuality.
When he offered his daughters it was for marriage and not for violation as you mentioned. The message being conveyed here is that the best effort was made to make the people of Sodom and Gomorrah realize that they are on the wrong path and chance was given to them to redeem themselves.
When prophet Ibrahim offered his son for sacrifice does not mean that everyone has to sacrifice their kids or that it is justified, its just a point in reference to convey that the Almighty is supreme and when he commands we should be prepared to let go even our most preciously prized possessions. Similarly when Lut offered his daughters for marriage that dosent mean daughters need to be offered but symbolizes the the highest level of chance for redemption being offered to the extent that the prophet of the time is offering his daughter for "marriage".
I cant comment on hebrew version as I believe Islamic version is correct and Quran is the only book that is unchanged since the past 14 centuries and there have been no additions, subtractions or editions of Original Arabic Quran. Translations do differ since the choice of words and sentences used by the translators differ. Hence it is always recommended the best way is to learn Arabic.
Would really love to know what is your religion since you go around giving your POV on all religions without acknowledging your own. So if you are debating from a religious POV it would be fair if we know which religion we follow. For the record if its not clear enough already I follow Islam.
Coming back to homosexuality even from scientific point of view it is a health risk.
Edited by Bottom_Line - 12 years ago
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