Sodomy: A History of a Christian Biblical Myth
by Michael Carden
Book Description
The book is a study of the reception of
Genesis 19, Sodom and Gomorrah, together with the parallel story in Judges
19-21, the outrage at Gibeah, in both Christian and Jewish traditions from
antiquity through to the Reformation period. The book sets out to detoxify the
dominant homophobic interpretation of Genesis 19, in which Sodom and Gomorrah
serve as an archetypal story of divine antipathy towards same sex love and
desire, by showing it to be a Christian invention, emerging in the first few
centuries of the Christian era. The Jewish traditions concerning Genesis 19, in
which Sodom and Gomorrah are associated primarily with inhospitality, xenophobia
and abuse of the poor, provide an alternative perspective on the story and one
from which Christianity diverged. Together with the reception of the parallel
Judges story, this Jewish understanding is employed to highlight the
inconsistencies and ethical problems inherent in the dominant Christian
homophobic interpretation of Genesis 19. By demonstrating the wide plurality of
readings of this narrative over time, the book further relativizes the Christian
homophobic understanding. The book makes very important contributions to
contemporary debates on sexuality in Christianity and Judaism. The book will
also serve as a valuable resource for a great many readers of both Genesis and
Judges.
About the Author
Michael Carden teaches biblical studies and comparative religion at the
University of Queensland. He has published a number of essays on Bible,
sexuality and religion, including contributions to the anthologies Queer
Commenatry and the Hebrew Bible (2001), Redirected Travel: Alternative Texts,
Readings and Spaces in Biblical Studies (2003) and Popular Spiritualities: The
Politics of Contemporary Enchantment (forthcoming 2004). Michael is also a
contributor to the internationally collaborative queer Bible commentary project,
The Bible in Translesbigay Perspective.