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From: wex@milano.UUCP
Newsgroups: soc.motss
Subject: Re: Forwarded anonymous posting
Message-ID: <2548@milano.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 13-Oct-86 14:38:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: milano.2548
Posted: Mon Oct 13 14:38:38 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 15-Oct-86 01:26:51 EDT
References: <426@spdcc.UUCP>
Sender: wex@milano.UUCP
Organization: MCC, Austin, TX
Lines: 42
Keywords: Bible, Sodom, rape

In article <426@spdcc.UUCP>, dyer@spdcc.UUCP (Steve Dyer) forwards another
anonymous posting.  The included text is from that person, not Steve, who
disclaimed the views.

> [tale of Lot deleted, see Genesis 19:4-8]

Let me try to give a different view on this.  When I took my course in
Jewish ethics, this was one of the things we discussed.  It was taught to
use that this was not a story about rape, but about a special kind of
hospitality, called sanctuary.  If you are a stranger travelling through a
hostile land (Sodom) and you must stay there, a Jew may offer sanctuary.  If
this is done, the Jew has taken on an obligation to protect you from harm
from those around, even his "brethren".

It is said that Lot's offer is there as an illustration of how serious this
commitment is.  People who follow the situation in Central America may know
that this tradition of sanctuary is followed by many groups of Christians
and Jews who are housing Central American refugees in churches and
synagogues.  The sanctuary movement has a long history which I won't go
into here.

One other thing that is of interest in this story:  Jewish ethic teaches
that Lot *could not* give up the men.  The Jew must not participate or
cooperate in arbitrary or group "roundups".  Thus, if someone comes to me
and says "Give us all your tenants who are left-handed redheads", Jewish
ethic requires that I refuse.  Only if they say "Give us Mr Smith" can I
cooperate.  Even then considerations of sanctuary may intervene.

The point is that you may not be correct in taking this as a men/women
distinction.

You may also want to consider the wisdom of taking literally anything in a
book that can mistranslate "young woman" as "virgin".  This is why many
people (of many faiths) believe that the Bible can only be read
allegorically.

-- 
Alan Wexelblat
ARPA: WEX@MCC.ARPA or WEX@MCC.COM
UUCP: {seismo, harvard, gatech, pyramid, &c.}!ut-sally!im4u!milano!wex

"I'm a peeping-tom techie with x-ray eyes"