IMPURITY-Whatever I thought I knew about morality and religion in the past is very different than what I think today. Many people believe that morality comes from religion and the two are inseparable. Many Christians have this false belief that without the Bible, humans would have never figured out what was "good" or what was "bad." People think that the Bible has delivered upon us the end-all be-all of morality. I truly hope everyone that is reading this really takes a moment to think about this example of what the Bible shows us of morality, and not just morality, equality. This excerpt is from one of my favorite authors and one of the most highly regarded scientists in recent history:
In the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Noah equivalent, chosen to be spared with his family because he was uniquely righteous, was Abraham's nephew Lot. Two male angels were sent to Sodom to warn Lot to leave the city before the brimstone arrived. Lot welcomed them into his house, where all of the men of Sodom gathered and demanded that Lot should hand the angels over so that they could (what else?) sodomize them: "Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them" (Gen.19:5). Yes, "know" has the Authorized Version's usual euphemistic meaning, which is very funny in the context. Lot's gallantry in refusing the demand suggests that God might have been onto something when he singled him out as the only good man in Sodom. But Lot's halo is tarnished by the terms of his refusal: "I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing"(Gen.19:7-8).
Whatever else this strange story might mean, it surely tells us something about the respect accorded to women in this intensely religious culture. As it happened, Lot's bargaining away of his daughters' virginity proved unnecessary, for the angels succeeded in repelling the men by miraculously striking them blind. They then warned Lot to decamp immediately with his family and his animals, because the city was about to be destroyed. The whole household escaped, with the exception of Lot's unfortunate wife, whom the Lord turned into a pillar of salt because she committed the offense of looking over her shoulder at the fireworks display.
Lot's two daughters make a brief reappearance in the story. After their mother was killed, they lived with their father in a cave up a mountain. Starved of male company, they decided to make their father drunk and have sex with him. Lot was beyond noticing when his elder daughter arrived in his bed or when she left, but he was not too drunk to impregnate her. The next night, the two daughters agreed it was the younger one's turn. Again Lot was too drunk to notice, and he impregnated her too.(Gen.19:31-36). If this dysfunctional family was the best Sodom had to offer by way of morals, some might begin to feel a certain sympathy with God and his judicial brimstone.
Source: Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008. Pages 271-272
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