Sodomy

Please post your comments and suggestions for this article.

Comment by Gary on May 16th, 2015 at 6:53 pm

I just read your entry on the word Sodomy and was astounded to how incredibly all0encompassing you have made that term.
Masturbation, oral sex with the opposite sex and paraphilia have NOTHING to do with Sodomy.
Sodomy refers the sin of Sodom which was homosexuality, that’s it. Your extra additions are invalid and would turn everyone looking at images of the opposite sex and masturbating, into a Sodomite, a homo!
Your over-lapping inclusions also make every husband and wife using oral activities or even sexual massages, Sodomites and therefore homosexuals as well.
Utterly off base to say the least.

Very very poor scholarship on your part and I suspect deeply ingrained religious phobias that you will nevertheless never even find mentioned in the bible.
Put the definition back where it belongs, where it originated – the city and sin of Sodom – clearly described as homosexual behavior only.

Comment by Jennifer Tanabe on March 25th, 2016 at 1:18 pm

Thank you, Gary, for your feedback. While I agree that the definition in the article is rather misleading, it is a fact that the definition of sodomy has acquired different meanings over time. The sin of Sodom is often understood to be homosexuality, but that is not entirely clear in the scriptures which mention abominations, pursuing unnatural desires, or lusting after strange flesh. The importance of the term relates most to the sodomy laws, which also have changed over time, referring to homosexual acts, anal sex, and even bestiality. In any case, your point is well taken, and the text will be revised.

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