How do non-believers explain the destruction of Sodom & Gomorah?

Question

'Archaeologists found that buildings used to bury the dead were burned by a fire that started on the roof.
What would cause every structure in the cemetery to be destroyed in this way? The answer to the mystery is found in the Bible. "Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah -- from the Lord out of the heavens" (Genesis 19:24).'

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a007.html

great answers so far lol

'The ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah have been discovered southeast of the Dead Sea.'

volcanoes are rules out, i watched this on the history channel last night and the 'experts' say there are no volcanoes near sodom and gomorah

Answer 1

Nikki, you could travel back in time with them and witness it first hand sweetie and they still would not believe. Some people simply do not have it in them to believe in anything intangible.

Answer 2

The archaeological evidence shows that both cities were destroyed by fire at or near the same time period. There is no evidence concerning the origin of the fire. There are many events that could occur to cause such a fire to "fall from the sky" that are known to be natural events to us today but likely would have been thought to be the "wrath of God" by the ancients. It could have been a meteorite, it could have been a volcanic eruption, it could have been lightning.

The point is, it could have been anything. The ancients interpreted the world around them through what they knew. To them, there were gods and spirits everywhere and in everything. Anything out of the ordinary that occurred was commonly considered to be of supernatural origin because that was all they knew.

Although the written legends that the ancients left behind often give us good reliable clues that something happened, just because they said it was caused by supernatural means that does not mean that they were correct.

Answer 3

Two geologists think they know how the infamous biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Graham Harris and Tony Beardow argue in the Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology that the land near the Dead Sea on which the cities may have stood literally liquefied in an earthquake, swallowing them up ca. 1900 B.C. A similar event, in which loosely packed, waterlogged soils liquefy under seismic force, destroyed an area of nearly 30,000 square miles in China in 1920. Harris and Beardow admit that the "analysis of a past earthquake event, especially one for which there is a lack of data, or even credible eyewitness accounts, is difficult," particularly "when the event is speculative and occurred in the dawn of history." But they suggest that a tidal wave caused by the earthquake might have stranded a large block of salt on shore, inspiring the tale that Lot's wife, ignoring God's command not to look back at the burning cities, was turned into a pillar of salt. Few scholars are likely to believe this hypothesis. "This is Noah's Ark stuff," says ARCHAEOLOGY Contributing Editor Neil Asher Silberman. "The real challenge for biblical archaeologists today is not to search for long-lost cities, but to understand why the ancient Israelites formulated these powerful myths."

Answer 4

Volcanic activity will do exactly what you described,it very well might have happened to Pompeii except that the volume of ash was so great as to encase the entire city in moments,literally freezing things in place. The ash and debris however are extremely hot and would easily do what you have just described. Volcanoes are one of the most powerful forces on earth,do not underestimate their potential,when one volcano went up in recent times,I'm pretty sure it was Krakatoa,the volume of ash was so great that it literally turned the surface of surrounding ocean water into sludge stranding ships in place until the water could dilute it sufficiently. That's what is truly called raw power,we are fleas to the earth that can be kicked off any time.

AD

Answer 5

the answer to this mystery is NOT found in the Bible.

How can you explain the great fire of San Francisco, or London, etc....Fires happen because of natural events. Using the Bible to show "proof" that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorah was supernatural is an excercise in futility.

Which sounds more likely:
A)a drought was followed by a lightening storm
B)it was arson by a human being
C)an imaginary being rained sulfur therefore destroying the city

.....2 of these things have been shown to happen, one of them hasn't, you figure out which is least likely to be true. There is no EVIDENCE from the archeology that it was "raining sulfur" that destroyed the city

Answer 6

by the way there is a really great talk on this subject you can hear from the creation supercamp on sermon audio.com

http://www.answersingenesis.org/AnswersMedia/searchProcess.aspx?pg=1&rpp=50&of=length&od=d&mediaType=1
see the talk by Bryant Woods on SOdom and another good one was on Jericho... botth very itneresting

there is evidence fire started on the roof, possibly an earthquake that caused an oil field to go KABOOM raining fire everywhere

Answer 7

Could be that a volcano coincided with this and or a wildfire that got out of control.

Why does there have to be such an 'attitude' in posts both believers and non-believers seem to need to put subtle digs at the other side. Non-believers in WHAT ? Is there an inherent difference between 'believers' and 'non-believers' ?

Answer 8

Or maybe the Flying Spaghetti monster dropped an extra spicy meatball on the roof and set it alight... sounds just as retarded. Obviously there is a logical explination and if this event happened in modern times when you have crime scene investigators who use science (not a bible) to determine the causes of fires, etc.

Answer 9

Wow, you found evidence of sodom and gomorrah on a xian website? How amazing!

A. If these 2 cities were destroyed by "fire from the sky" there are plenty of natural explanations.

B. If you believe that god did it, aren't you horrifed that hundred of babies and children were burned to a crisp by your all-loving god?

http://www.archaeology.org/9607/newsbriefs/sodom.html
"Two geologists think they know how the infamous biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Graham Harris and Tony Beardow argue in the Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology that the land near the Dead Sea on which the cities may have stood literally liquefied in an earthquake, swallowing them up ca. 1900 B.C. A similar event, in which loosely packed, waterlogged soils liquefy under seismic force, destroyed an area of nearly 30,000 square miles in China in 1920. Harris and Beardow admit that the "analysis of a past earthquake event, especially one for which there is a lack of data, or even credible eyewitness accounts, is difficult"

There are many possibilities, god is not the answer to everything.

Answer 10

Gosh, you're right! Well, I guess that proves there really is a God, doesn't it! Because there is just no other way to explain how an ancient city was destoyed thousands of years ago, since all the other ancient cities are still around today. And whenever you have something that you can't explain, that's absolute, undeniable proof for the existence of God!

Answer 11

Lots of ways things could burn down. Meteorites, forest fire and wind, you name it. What did the archaeologists think it was from? You were very careful not to mention it.

Taking one little thing and trying to say that because it is similar to something that may have happened in a myth really doesn't mean much. They managed to find Troy using Homer's description, does that mean we should all bow down to Zeus now?