Why was it okay to level Sodom and Gomorra?

Question

Look at cities like Las Vegas and Amsterdam and Bangkok. Population 550,000, 750,000 and 7,000,000. However, no matter how full of vice these cities are, no sane person would contend that these cities contain many innocent babies and children. If one of those cities were completely destroyed the world would mourn the loss of many innocent lives.

So, for anyone who contends that God was perfectly justified in destroying those two cities as it says in the Bible, what of the children and babies?

sisterzeal: what a callous and cold answer. Pay attention to brother_manuel's answer, too.

"Spiritual gunslinger": aside from the fact that you have an overall IQ of about 95, do you think the babies of 2 months were evil? The babies that were a year old, perhaps? Can't have a large city without babies, you know.

solarcide: that is an interesting claim. Got anything to back it up with?

Answer 1

Funny man doesn't read the whole story....Remember Abraham asking the very same question? what about the innocent God, would You let them accuse You of such wickedness? What if there was a 100 people.

Ok...says God, for 100 I will spare..

Abraham, being the sharp cookie he is, renegotiates and renegotiates again.

He settled for 10 because he counted on his own family to have the numbers....Lot, wife, 2 daughters, their husbands to be..that's six...surely he can find 4 more....whoops...shouldn't have counted those two husbands, and still couldn't find 4 others any way.

Yeah...what about the innocent? Better question, WHERE WERE THE INNOCENT? *grin*

Answer 2

It is ok to level it obviously - look at all the mess with Katrina, refusing help and then jackholes going on tv and saying they deserved it and that the hurricane looked like a fetus and it was repayment. I mean honestly, I think had American intentionally destroyed the whole city of New Orleans, THAT would be different. But as far as acts of Gods go - that was pretty evident that SOME (note some before you go all ape-%$^& and call me a bigot) think it is perfectly ok - no matter how many innocent people there are in the town.

However living in Vegas - sans the babies and all - the city itself - it would take me some effort to feel bad about it's destruction. I hate this town!! LOL. (j/k - sort of)

Answer 3

Hey, HypnoPope!

You're my fav. character on Y!A by the way...

Back to the question:

Sodom and Gomorra were told of their impending destruction through Lot, Abraham's nephew. The people didn't listen and leave, and Lot kept asking God to not destroy the cities if there were at least 10 good people. Little by little the numbers diminished of good people, and God had not choice but to destroy the city.

Like in life today, if adults who have the care of their young in their hands but don't listen to good advice or become decadent in their lifestyles...the children also pay the price, they mimic the adults, or the adults just don't put the kids to safety or take them away from evil because they just don't think that what they're doing is bad.

I lived and was married in Vegas, and in defense of Las Vegas being a Sodom and Gomorra...there is a very large amount of Christian and just plain good people in Las Vegas living righteously. I'm sure that if a prophet of the Lord warned them of their city being doomed to destruction in a certain amount of time, they'd leave and take their innocent children and babies with them.

Answer 4

dont be indignant with me if im incorrect. yet sodom and gomorra have been 2 corrupt cities in biblical circumstances. God despatched moses i think into the city to discover people who weren't corrupt. First he asked for like a hundred, and moses ought to not discover any. then like 10, then like a million. because moses ought to not discover any human beings of ethical charachter, god destroyed the cities with hearth from the skies

Answer 5

God told Abraham that he had heard "the cry of complaint" against these cities. He was going to see if this complaint was true. Before destroying anyone/place, God always checks to see if it merits destruction.(Genesis 18:20)

From Genesis 18:22-33 Abraham asks God if he would sweep away the righteous with the wicked. You will find that in each instance God says that the cities would not be destroyed if the number Abraham suggested was there. Remember that Abraham finished asking about 10 righteous people being in the city. How many escaped Sodom/Gomorrah? Only three-Lot and his two daughters. God was therefore right in destroying these cities because not even 10 righteous persons were there.

Now as to your question about the babies. Remember the choice God put before the Israelites? He wanted them to choose life/obedience to him for themselves and their offspring.(Deuteronomy 30:19,20) God holds parents responsible for how they bring up their children. The parents of both cities were bringing up their children to imitate their sinful ways. The parents bear the blame for the children's deaths, not God. He knows who to keep alive/resurrect. Humans do not. It is his decision and those who trust him respect his decision.

Answer 6

It was another of many stories of wanton destruction and genocide by the ever merciful and loving god of the bible.

For those claiming that the babies would have grown up corrupt: Then abortion should be forbidden for Christians only? Who cares whether an evil atheist or irreligious person aborts their child, right?

For those claiming that it is not up to us to judge god: Wrong. I DO judge him, and my judgment is that he is the most muderous, temperamental, insecure, callous fictional character ever.

Answer 7

Well, seeing as how the destruction of those two cities was caused by a volcanic eruption of Santorini at roughly 1628 BC by modern research, and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah was created in an attempt by a primitive human mind to make sense of such destruction without the benefit of a scientific method for discovering truth, I'd say that you might as well ask if it was okay to level New Orleans. (God huffed, and he puffed, and he blew the city down)

Edit: Thanks for calling me up on that. I've gotten so used to arguing with people that just spout dogmatic rhetoric that it's apparently rubbed off on me. I first got this idea from the History Channel's documentary called "Exodus Decoded", which is a very good source of info and puts the evidence into perspective, as it pertains to this monumental event caused by a major shift in the tectonic plates of the region, which caused volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, the shaping of the Dead Sea, and, indirectly, the Plagues of Egypt (They also show some footage of an archaeological dig of a city suspected to be Sodom, in which many bodies were preserved as they were covered in salt from the reaction between lava and the sea, which threw "fire and brimstone", and also salt, over a great distance. Dr. Pellegrino's "Unearthing Atlantis" is also a good source.
From there I did some research of my own. There were many civilizations that were destroyed by this cataclysm that never made it into the Biblical stories. Most of that research is gone (although I have since learned to back my hard drive up :)), But I can point you to some resources that lend credence to my opinion. Of course, no amount of evidence will ever satisify a religious mind if it contradicts its programming, but I'll leave it to you to decide for yourself. Some very good sources come from Science Magazine, but they are pay-per-view, so, as those links won't work, I have not included them. This first link sums up a lot of what I found independently (note: this is not my personal blog, just one I've found that is relevant to the issue), followed by links that lend supporting evidence.

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-GwPugmEna68hF1IBfjyfOw--?cq=1&p=3

http://biblesearchers.com/catastrophes/catastrophes3.shtml

http://members.aol.com/magnu96196/god.html

http://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi58.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060429124854.htm

http://www.thecreativeuniverse.org/MOSES.htm#4

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/10/031008070909.htm

http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/chronololy/irishtreeringandaneventin1628bc/view

http://www.decadevolcano.net/santorini/minoaneruption.htm

http://www.prophecyinstitute.com/ExpandedEarth2007.html

http://www.interfaithforums.com/showthread.php?t=7383&page=2

If you want more sources, I'll gladly provide them. I'm too tired to tie them all together (I've just ended a 12 hour shift going on 3 hours of sleep, and I've just hit a wall :) ), but I know from your postings that you're intelligent enough to put the evidence together. I'd be interested to hear what you think of this, as I'm always re-examining what I "believe" when I find new evidence, or if someone provides rational evidence to the contrary. If I didn't have this attitude of admitting that I might be wrong about what I believe, I would still be a Christian ( I know my postings don't always refect this attitude... I guess arguing with the Fundies has made me act like them more often than I'd care to admit). Again, thank you for making me re-examine this issue.


Edit: I find it funny that PrincessLeia's omnipotent deity "had [no] choice but to destroy the city". So much for omnipotence. I'm not even going to point out how some of the others are contradicting themselves with what they're saying (like how "evil" babies somehow got into heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior)... I'll let someone else do that today.

Answer 8

I think the answer is that the god of the bible is a cruel and unforgiving bastard (or would be, if he were real). No wonder so many of us just don't believe in such garbage. Maybe if someone had written a better book saying that god was nice to everyone and gave them all ponies and ice cream cones it would be easier to believe. But that wouldn't be very realistic either, would it?

Answer 9

What is really interesting is when people try to justify what is right and wrong according to the bible. The story of Sodom and Gomorra is centered around Lot, Lot is this stories hero ...and WHAT a hero!

Here is a man who tries to save his city from the wrath of God...because we all know how God feels about butt sex, he thinks its naastay. but God wasn't having any of it because if there is one thing that pisses God off it's sex of anykind. Anyhoo, He sends some angels to visit Lot, (I guess they had a hankring for unleavened bread or something) the angels must have been HOT because the men in the city were pounding on Lot's door trying to get some sweet lovin' from the angels.

He comes my favorite part! Ready for it??

Lot...God's righteous man tells the sex crazed croud "look ya sicko's you can't have my guests but I'll give you my two virgin daughters...you can do whatever you want with them." I'm paraphasing but look it up for yourself dudes. Genesis19:8

This story represents what God thinks of women apparently because my second favorite part is when Lot's wife (we don't know her name because chicks don't matter) get's turned into a pillar of salt for looking back on the burning city...still don't see how that was a crime but she's like the black extra in movies, if their is a woman around you know somethings gonna happen to her.

Then Lot gets drunk off his *** and sleeps with his daughters and the both concieve sons (wouldn't you know it) Girls are never born or concieved in the bible. The bible says that the daughters MADE him drink wine and he had no idea that they had sex with him...riiigghhht.

So in response to your question. Does it sound like this is the inspired word of an all knowing all seeing creator of the universe, or more like some royaly pissed off guys with a penchant for violence?

Don't know if I blame them, it was hot, no t.v. nagging women on the rag with no midol.

Sigh.

Answer 10

You do not know what happened to the souls of the innocent. They are most likely with God. You must realize that we cannot judge divine things with human understanding. All we can do is know that God loved the people of Sodom and Gomorrah more than we could love any one person. So, entrust to him the souls of those who were destroyed and know that God took care of each one in the manner they deserve.

There are worse things than human death. God has a perspective that we do not have and cannot have. He asks that we trust him and obey him even when we cannot comprehend all things.

As far as Las Vegas, Amsterdam, etc...we only know that for a time, following the death and resurrection of Christ, we have a grace period so to speak. This is the time in which we wait for the return of Christ. We pray for mercy and salvation of all. Judgment day is coming.

Answer 11

Because God is God and he is not judged by men.

edit:

What God did to Sodom and Gomorrah were for an example to the vile, but also to those who are unbelieving and do not receive the truth, because the bible says in Luke 10:

10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
12 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.