In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, was Lot's house surrounded by homosexuals?

Question

Some use this story as "proof" that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah due to the homosexuality of the inhabitants. Lot's house was surrounded by the men of the towns who wanted the angels to come out of Lot's house so the men could know them. So Lot offered his daughters to the men if they would leave the angels alone. If the men 'round about the house were all homosexuals, why would Lot offer his daughters rather than himself? What homosexual would be interested in a female? It would appear that Lot viewed the crowd as heterosexuals whom he enticed with women in order to prevent them from raping and humiliating his angelic male guests.

Answer 1

From a Mormon point of view, I think this could be answered with a couple of cross-references. The original Hebrew would, most likely, explain it in more detail, but as I do not know Hebrew yet I will go to references you can probably find on your own, in English. The easiest cross-reference to find is in Jude 1:7 in the New Testament. This is coming from the King James version of the Bible. It says the sin of Sodom and Gomorrha included, "giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh." Fornication means having physical relations with someone you are not married to. The word "strange" does not refer merely to a stranger, but to something that is forbidden by God. There are other references describing what "strange" is in the Bible. Some other verses include: Exodus 30:9 and Leviticus 10:1. Sometimes "strange" really does just mean "different," but let's look at Exodus 30:9 and Leviticus 10:1 to see what else it could refer to.
"Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon."
And in Leviticus:
"And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not."
The concept of "strange fire" goes back to the heathen fertility cults, of passing children, even babies through "the fire to Molech." For this reference see Leviticus 18:21. There is yet another reference to "strange wives" in Ezra 10:11, 18. It says that some men who belonged to the tribe of Levi, that is, the tribe which performed the ordinances associated with the priesthood, had gone and married wives from strange, or heathen nations. Now you have to study what the religious practices of heathen nations were like, in order to understand why the Lord forbid intermarrying. Here are some quotes from W. Cleon Skousen's book, "The Fourth Thousand Years."
"There were two characteristics of heathen worship whcih made them far more abominable than simply bowing down to images of wood and stone. One was the use of esoteric fertility rites in which drunkenness and acts of immorality were utilized as sacramental offerings by the heathen worshipper. The other was the slaughtering of human beings, particularly children and virgins, as forms of sacrifice. Only when these facts are understood will the Bible reader comprehend the vehemence with which the Lord and his prophets denounced "the groves," the phallic symbols and all other aspects of heathen worship associated with idolatry." page 277.
"In addition to immorality the rapacious heathen priests highlighted certain festivals wtih human sacrifices, especially of children. This included such fiendish practices as those followed in the worship of Moloch (spelled either Molech or Moloch). The metal image of this god had a furnace inside with roaring flames which heated the metal statue to a glowing hue. When the metal was red hot the priest placed a tiny infant in the cradled arms of the image where it was instantly roasted...the Bible is plain that the curse of child sacrifices to Moloch was one of the abominations which Israel borrowed from the heathens...Not only were children sacrificed but so were some adults, especially virgins who refused to submit themselves to the vile immorality of the heathen ritual." page 325.
So with these verses, you can see that it wasn't just a matter of engaging in immorality by itself, that anyone who had become involved in heathen fertility cults like those of Moloch and Ashtoreth had no scruples against raping or killing anyone they wanted to, of any age or any gender.
As a Mormon, I believe that there are more records which explain things that happened both in the Old World and the New World. In my opinion, the Bible does not accurately explain the true motives of Lot. However, it is up to you to study those sources for yourself and decide if there is more to the story than meets the eye. My sources with a different Bible translation include the following account:
Genesis 19:9-15
"And they said unto him, Stand back. And they were angry with him.
"And they said among themselves, this one man came in to sojourn among us, and he will needs now make himself to be a judge; now we will deal worse with him than with them.
"Wherefore they said unto the man (Lot), We will have the men, and thy daughters also; and we will do with them as seemeth us good.
"Now this was after the wickedness of Sodom.
"And Lot said, Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man, let me, I pray you, plead with my brethren that I may not bring them out unto you; and ye shall not do uunto them as seemeth good in your eyes;
"For God will not justify his servant in this thing; wherefore, let me plead with my brethren, this once only, that unto these men ye do nothing, that they may have peace in my house; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
"And they (the men of Sodom/Gomorrha) were angry with Lot and came near to break the door, but the angels of God, which were holy men, put forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house unto them, and shut the door."
If you read carefully, you see that Lot never offered his daughters to the men, but he was extremely concerned by the threats the men had been making against his ENTIRE household. He was hoping to plead with the mob to leave the entire household in peace by appealing to the Jewish customs of treating strangers politely and hospitably, and he also hoped to convince the mob that his daughters were absolutely not fair game for any of their perverted practices which they had been imitating from the heathen fertility cults.
I have read yet another book that the real reason the flood was sent to destroy the people during Noah's time also included sexual immorality and "friend lying with friend." However, I don't have a reference to that book on hand at this time. God only permits the destruction of peoples who have committed gross acts of immorality against the innocent on such a long-term basis that the practices have become too ingrained to repent of, and the men of Sodom and Gomorrha had definitely become involved in practices they should not have done, because "strange flesh" means they were involved in using people in ways which were strictly against the commandments of God. You can study the history of fertility cults in more detail on your own, as the other details are too disgusting to write here.
Have a happy day, and I send you a gummy bear.

Answer 2

The men of the town wanted to "know" the angels in the Biblical sense of the word, to be sexually intimate with them. This was unacceptable to the point that Lot was willing to offer his virgin daughters for their satisfaction in order to protect the angels. The men were insistent until eventually the angels smote the men with blindness and ordered Lot and his wife and daughters to leave the town. The town was then destroyed. Prior to this event, Jehovah debated with Abraham over how many good people would be needed to save the town. God agreed to save the town if ten good people could be found. Ultimately, only four, Lot's family, were found so the city was destroyed.
Was the town full of homosexuals? Apparently there was a good population of them, perhaps a majority.

Answer 3

The first example involves the faithful patriarch Abraham and the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. When Jehovah heard “the cry of complaint about Sodom and Gomorrah,” he did not immediately destroy those cities and all their inhabitants. He first made an investigation. (Genesis 18:20, 21) Two angels were sent to Sodom, where they took up dwelling in the house of the righteous man Lot. On the night of the angels’ arrival, “the men of the city . . . surrounded the house, from boy to old man, all the people in one mob,” desiring to have homosexual intercourse with the angels. Clearly, the debased condition of the city’s inhabitants proved that it deserved to be destroyed. Yet, the angels told Lot: “Do you have anyone else here? Son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and all who are yours in the city, bring out of the place!” Jehovah opened the way to save some residents of that city, but in the end, only Lot and his two daughters escaped destruction.—Genesis 19:4, 5, 12, 16, 23-26.

Now, let us go back to the time when Jehovah revealed his intention to inspect the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was then that Abraham pleaded: “Suppose there are fifty righteous men in the midst of the city. Will you, then, sweep them away and not pardon the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are inside it? It is unthinkable of you that you are acting in this manner to put to death the righteous man with the wicked one so that it has to occur with the righteous man as it does with the wicked! It is unthinkable of you. Is the Judge of all the earth not going to do what is right?” Abraham used the expression “it is unthinkable of you” twice. From his experience, Abraham knew that Jehovah would not destroy the righteous together with the wicked. When Jehovah said that he would not destroy Sodom if there were “fifty righteous men in the midst of the city,” Abraham progressively reduced the number until it reached only ten.—Genesis 18:22-33.

Would Jehovah have listened to Abraham’s pleas if they were out of harmony with his own view? Obviously not. As “Jehovah’s friend,” Abraham apparently knew and shared His viewpoint. (James 2:23) When Jehovah turned his attention to Sodom and Gomorrah, he was willing to consider Abraham’s petitions. Why? Because our heavenly Father “does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.”

Answer 4

With all respect, I must disagree. Some of the men in Sodom and Gomorrah had to be straight, or at least pretending to be, as Lot's older daughters had married. I think these men who came to the house were gay and Lot offered his daughters because he knew the angels were sent by God and for some sick reason, would rather have his daughters violated than the angels. He was a bad parent, and because he wasn't separated from the world, he and his family paid the price. He lost his daughters in fire and brimstone, his grand kids, his wife turned into a pillar of salt and he committed incest, rather unknowingly, w/his druthers. It just proves we need to be separated from the world and its sin. God did destroy the place because of its sinful, vile, wickedness, and only saved Lot because of his uncle.

Answer 5

Here's the real reason Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed according to the bible...

Ezekiel 16: 48-50 (Contemporary English Version)
As surely as I am the living LORD God, the people of Sodom and its nearby villages were never as sinful as you. They were arrogant and spoiled; they had everything they needed and still refused to help the poor and needy. They thought they were better than everyone else, and they did things I hate. And so I destroyed them.

Answer 6

I may be wrong, but I always understood the story of Sodom and Gomorrah to be about the destruction of cities filled with laziness, debauchery, gambling, prostitution, coarse behaviors, crudeness, no love or kindness, all manner of filthy behaviors. Not to mention a complete disregard for God.

Answer 7

The people in the towns were full of all kinds of sexual sin, women,men, animal, etc. their hearts and minds were darkened and depraved.

They actually wanted "new meat" so to speak, and Lot had kept his daughters pure (virgins).

Now, as to why he would offer his daughters in place of angels who could very easily take care of themselves is another story, but for this question, the people were beyond simply hetero or homosexuality. Anything and everything was fair game.

Answer 8

Jude 1:7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

Answer 9

That Place was full of Violence and all kinds of other sins too.
GOD wouldn't of Destroyed it IF IF IF there had been ANYBODY worthy of saving---(in other words, nobody would of Ever Turned Back to GOD and followed HIM again, they had gotten too Evil and Wicked.

GOD puttem' out of their Misery.
Mercy.
Sin destroys Human Beings up and past the Point of them ever turning back and becoming a Human Being again.
Ditto.

Answer 10

The refusal of Lot's daughters just showed that the men were not bisexual, they were homosexual and would not vary from that, but under any condition sex out of wedlock is sin. Wedlock can only take place between a man and a woman..

Answer 11

i hate when people say it's about homosexuality. it isn't.

the text translates as the men saying they want to "know" the angels. ONLY in the english language does the word know have sexual connotations. the form of "know" that was used in the original is a different word than other things in the bible that are translated as "know" and were meant to mean sex.

the men wanted to know the angels merely because all of a sudden two strangers have come into their town. if two strangers moved into your neighborhood, wouldn't you be curious about them? in an effort to protect the angels (because, yes, the men of sodom were corrupt), lot offers up his daughters as a sort-of bribe to get the men to leave.

the bible says in other places that the men of sodom were destroyed for being lazy and greedy, and for not helping others and for only caring about themselves. it does not mention sexuality at all. see ezekiel 16:49--"behold, this was the inquiety of thy sister sodom, pride, fulnes of bread, and abundence of idleness was in her and her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." lot and his daughters were saved because of the sacrifice that lot was willing to make to save the angels. because they were men of god, he had to protect them at all costs. the other men were not saved, for the reasons seen in ezekiel.

this passage never once mentions homosexuality.