How to confess the sin of Sodom and what it is

Every person has repeatedly heard about the sad fate of the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Proverbs associated with this story are often heard, but few people today seriously ask the question: what is the sin of Sodom? The realities of modern life differ significantly from the social structure of bygone times. But the basic postulates that every believer should be guided by in his behavior have remained unchanged. By adhering to God's instructions and laws, every person can remain pure in His eyes and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

History of sinful cities

The story of the origin of the sin of Sodom goes back to the times of the Old Testament, when the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, located on the southern bank of the Jordan River and washed by the waters of the Dead Sea, were large and prosperous. Initially, God loved these cities, giving them to the righteous man Lot, brother of the prophet Abraham. Having received an abundant, well-fed life from the Lord, the people living there, over time, began to forget the living God. They made idols of gold for themselves and succumbed to gluttony and adultery. Their thoughts were far from the Lord, and every day the debauchery and lust there became stronger.

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Wanting to put an end to all this, the Lord sent two angels in human form to Sodom. When fairly drunk, depraved townspeople learned that two handsome young men were staying overnight in the house of the righteous Lot, they demanded that angels be given to them in order to commit the sin of adultery with them.

In those days, promiscuity between members of the same sex became the norm. Lot loved God, so he refused such a whim to the angry crowd.

When people began to threaten to kill Lot and his entire family, the Lord led them out of the city in a secret way, and Sodom and Gomorrah were burned to the ground. As soon as the family members of the god-obedient man left the city surroundings, fire began to rain from the sky, incinerating everything that had been acquired by the greedy and depraved townspeople.

The Lord strictly forbade the refugees to turn back, but Lot’s wife disobeyed and cast a farewell glance at her house, for which she was immediately turned into a pillar of salt.

Worshipers often invite their flock to think about why God did this to the poor woman. The answer lies in the sin of regret and empathy for those who remained in the city and committed lawlessness.

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Sinfulness of inclination

The world created by the Lord is so diverse that much in it “even our sages did not dream of,” but at the same time it functions intelligently according to certain natural norms and laws that do not require additional clarification and outside intervention.
There are many examples that Wikipedia, and any other source, will tell you about:

• the processes of breathing or blood circulation are practically not consciously controlled, however, they constantly act in the right way;
• living beings always love and take care of their own offspring, such behavior is natural;
• representatives of different sexes have mutual attraction, this also does not require additional communication, feelings arise naturally.

Of course, there are some features of the way of human existence that require additional clarification. For example, children are born unreasonable, therefore in Orthodoxy there is a commandment about love for one’s own parents. The child must be raised in such a way as to provide the necessary degree of respect for elders; as we know, lack of upbringing corrupts and creates an immoral personality.

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The need for food is normal, but sometimes the stomach can take over the mind. Therefore, there are regulations on the control of gluttony; it is necessary to further explain that this is a sin and what it leads to.

Following further on the intended reasoning, we see the complete naturalness of the relationship between a man and a woman. Only some individual aspects may require additional control and clarification. At the same time, if we are talking about two men using each other as a woman, then there is a clear contradiction to the very nature of the Divine creation.

People who engage in sodomy are considered inferior members of society.

A homosexual lives exclusively for himself and cannot be useful to his country because:

• cannot give birth to a child;
• creates a “family” (it is perhaps better to call this form of relationship cohabitation) without the goal of creating offspring;
• has relationships only for the purpose of pleasure, that is, falls into fornication and debauchery;
• distorts the image created by the Lord, acts, let’s say, not entirely according to the “instructions” that were drawn up for this world.

Such a distortion of the natural purpose of a man or woman entails a complete perversion of human nature (it’s not for nothing that these people are called perverts), which manifests itself on a variety of levels. Homosexuals, as a rule, do not have virtues and have a host of other sinful inclinations, and easily succumb to various passions.

Note! The sinfulness of pederasty and sodomy lies not only in the violation of written commandments and prohibitions, but also in the violation of the natural order.

Anyone who violates such a rule of normal personal relationships finds himself, as it were, below the most elementary level of the natural order, to which both animals and people naturally obey. For sodomy, people can be classified as lower beings who rebel against their own nature and purpose in the world.

Scientists' opinions

A fairly common concept is the concept of seven percent of the population, which states that in almost any society (sometimes they even talk about animal communities, in particular mammals) there are a stable seven percent of homosexuals.
Of course, this parameter can fluctuate and vary slightly, but in general, it almost always remains stable. Moreover, whether there is an article for sodomy in this or that legislation or some other restrictive methods, the number of homosexuals, as researchers testify, does not change. sodomy is not completely eradicated from society.

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For a believer, this looks a little strange, although it is quite possible to explain the tendency towards sodomy or male-male relationships as punishment for sins or demonic providence. Moreover, these data, which are now actively used everywhere, in fact cannot be a reliable basis for conclusions, because we can only talk about a short historical period in which sociological research was done.

What does the sin of Sodom mean?

Studying the Old Testament, not everyone is able to understand what the Fall of Sodom means and what specific actions should be avoided so as not to provoke God’s wrath. Wikipedia explains in sufficient detail what Sodom and Gomorrah are. Summarizing all the information provided on Internet resources on this matter, we can say that the sin of Sodom involves the following:

• masturbation;
• pedophilia – adults engaging in sexual relations with children;
• Bestiality – sexual contact between a person and an animal;
• homosexual relations - sexual intercourse between representatives of the same sex;
• extramarital sexual relations;
• homosexual contacts;
• fornication.

The Orthodox Church considers harlots to be women who indulge in pleasures with different men, often having legal husbands.
Not only women, but also men can go into fornication. Any relationship outside of marriage and family is regarded as a terrible sin of sodom that must be atone for. The only correct union is considered to be the union of a mature man and woman, legalized on earth and in heaven. Sexual relations in such a couple do not allow oral and anal intercourse. Coitus between legal spouses should involve the conception of a child with the prospect of his further upbringing in the love of God.

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The list of sodomy sins can also include sexual relations between relatives. In times when people lived in large communities, marriages between first and second cousins ​​were allowed, but nowadays such a phenomenon is strictly condemned by the church.

According to Holy Scripture, God loves all his children equally, therefore each person is given a chance to take the right path, while renouncing sin. After all, it is said in the Bible that a person whose sins are as red as purple, after sincere repentance, will become white and pure, like a wave of the sea.

Important! It is never too late to go to repentance and confession in church. God's love for his flock in itself is a great miracle, giving a chance to everyone who wants to be saved and enter the Kingdom of God.

Those who have decided to radically change their lives and take the right path need to “go through” all these points:

• awareness of one’s sin and renunciation of any sinful actions;
• church repentance;
• general confession;
• daily prayers for deliverance from unclean thoughts;
• avoiding places and the company of people that may provoke the return of thoughts about fornication;
• regular church attendance;
• if possible, regular trips to holy places (temples, monasteries, places of strong sermons);
• regular Bible reading;
• fast.

The sin of Sodom or shameful passions and lewdness

What does the Church say about Sodomy's sin? The Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, in particular, says: “The Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church unequivocally condemn homosexual sexual relations, seeing in them a vicious distortion of the God-created nature of man. If anyone lies with a man as with a woman, then both of them have committed an abomination (Lev. 20:13). The Bible tells of the grave punishment to which God subjected the inhabitants of Sodom (Gen. 19:1-29), according to the interpretation of the holy fathers, precisely for the sin of sodomy. The Apostle Paul, characterizing the moral state of the pagan world, names homosexual relations among the most “shameful passions” and “obscenities” that defile the human body.

Women replaced their natural use with an unnatural one; Likewise, men, abandoning the natural use of the female sex, were inflamed with lust for one another, men committing shame on men and receiving in themselves the due retribution for their error (Rom. 1:26-27). Do not be deceived... neither the wicked nor the homosexuals... will inherit the Kingdom of God, the apostle wrote to the inhabitants of corrupt Corinth (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Patristic tradition is equally clear and definitely condemns any manifestations of homosexuality. “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,” the works of Saints Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa, Blessed Augustine, and the canons of Saint John the Faster express the unchangeable teaching of the Church: homosexual relations are sinful and subject to condemnation. The people involved in them do not have the right to be members of the church clergy (Basily the Great Ave. 7, Gregory Nis. Ave. 4, John the Great. Ave. 30). Addressing those who had stained themselves with the sin of sodomy, the Monk Maxim the Greek cried out: “Know yourselves, wretched ones, what vile pleasure you have indulged in!.. Try to quickly get away from this foulest and foulest pleasure of yours, to hate it, and whoever claims that it is innocent, betray him eternal anathema as an opponent of the Gospel of Christ the Savior and corrupting its teaching. Purify yourself with sincere repentance, warm tears and feasible alms and pure prayer... Hate this wickedness with all your soul, so that you do not become sons of curse and eternal destruction.”

Discussions about the position of so-called “sexual minorities” in modern society tend to recognize homosexuality not as a sexual perversion, but only one of the “sexual orientations” that have an equal right to public expression and respect. It is also argued that homosexual attraction is due to individual natural predisposition. The Orthodox Church proceeds from the constant conviction that the divinely established marriage union of a man and a woman cannot be compared with perverted manifestations of sexuality. She considers homosexuality a sinful damage to human nature, which is overcome through spiritual effort leading to healing and personal growth of a person. Homosexual aspirations, like other passions that torment fallen man, are healed by the Sacraments, prayer, fasting, repentance, reading the Holy Scriptures and patristic works, as well as Christian communication with believers who are ready to provide spiritual support.

While treating people with homosexual tendencies with pastoral responsibility, the Church at the same time resolutely resists attempts to present the sinful tendency as a “norm,” much less as a source of pride and an example to follow. That is why the Church condemns all propaganda of homosexuality. Without denying anyone the fundamental rights to life, respect for personal dignity and participation in public affairs, the Church, however, believes that persons who promote a homosexual lifestyle should not be allowed to teach, educate and other work among children and youth, as well as occupy leadership position in the army and correctional institutions...”

In 1992, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of diagnoses. But in doing so, she simply followed the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which excluded homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), that is, from its list of psychiatric disorders. That's how it was.

In order to understand the actions of the APA, you need to imagine the United States in the 60s and 70s of the last century. Then all traditional values ​​and beliefs were called into question. It was a time of rebellion against any kind of authority; the so-called “sexual revolution” was in full swing. In this atmosphere, a small group of radical American homosexuals launched a political campaign for the recognition of homosexuality as a normal way of life. And this “lobby” managed to win a victory in the committee involved in the revision of the APA Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.

In 1963, the New York Academy of Medicine commissioned a report on the issue of homosexuality because homosexual behavior was becoming more common. The committee came to the following conclusions: “Homosexuality is indeed a disease. A homosexual is an individual with disturbances in the emotional sphere, incapable of forming normal heterosexual relationships.” The report also said: "Some homosexuals are moving beyond a purely defensive position and are beginning to argue that such deviance is a desirable, noble and preferable way of life."

However, under pressure from the homosexual “lobby”, and not guided by scientific findings, the American Psychiatric Association voted to recognize homosexuality as normal. Professor R. Bayer later told how the leaders of the homosexual faction of the psychiatric association disrupted the opposition speeches of colleagues who defended other positions. At an APA meeting in 1970, Dr. Irving Bieber, a renowned American psychiatrist, presented a paper on “homosexuality and transsexualism.” Bieber was heavily criticized. Bieber's attempts to defend his position were met with insulting laughter. One critic said: “I read your book, Dr. Bieber, and if that book talked about blacks the way it talks about homosexuals, you would be drawn and quartered like you deserve.”

Further more. The next commission in 1971, which examined this problem, included people who openly advocated homosexuality. In 1973, opponents of the homosexual faction in the US Psychiatric Association were already in a clear minority.

In the first step, the APA decided that in the future the diagnosis of homosexuality should be used only in cases of “egodystonic” homosexuality, that is, in cases where the homosexual orientation resulted in “visible suffering” for the patient. If the patient, for his part, felt normal with this sexual orientation, then it was now considered unacceptable to diagnose him with mental disorders. At the second stage, the words “homosexuality” and “homosexuality” were completely removed from the “Handbook” because, as stated in the commentary to the tenth edition, this diagnosis was recognized as “discriminatory.”

In 1978, five years after the APA decided to remove "homosexuality" from the Handbook, a vote was taken among the 10,000 American psychiatrists who are members of the APA. 68% of the psychiatrists who completed the questionnaire still considered homosexuality a mental disorder.

The sinful ball, like a snowball, is growing more and more. In the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual released by the American Psychiatric Association, we already see significant changes in relation to pedophilia. According to the DSM-4, a person is no longer considered a pedophile if he simply molests children or fantasizes about intimate contact with them. He is considered as such only if he realizes that he is doing wrong and experiences anxiety about this, or if pedophilia “interferes with his normal life.” Thus, official science in America simply admitted its immorality, its spiritual uncertainty.

In a 2011 parliamentary session, Canadian psychologists stated that pedophilia is “the same sexual orientation as homosexuality or heterosexuality.” This session considered legislation regarding sexual crimes against children. Only one member of parliament spoke out against the statement that pedophilia is a “sexual orientation”...

Currently, US legislators are preparing to legalize 30 types of “sexual orientation” that appear on the American Psychiatric Association's list of mental disorders, warns the human rights organization American Family Association. In late December 2012, the US Congress began to grant legal and federal protection status to such “sexual orientations” as incest, necrophilia, bestiality, and pedophilia,” the publication notes.

Attempts to legislatively ban the promotion of homosexuality in Russia have been made both at the federal and regional levels since the early 2000s. As of January 2013, similar laws have been adopted at the local level in several regions of Russia (St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Kostroma, Ryazan, Novosibirsk, Magadan, Samara and Kaliningrad regions, Krasnodar Territory, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and Bashkiria). A similar bill at the federal level was adopted by the State Duma in the first reading on January 25, 2013. During the hearings of the bill, supporters of sodomy stopped at nothing. Their behavior was disgusting.

There is a struggle ahead. We cannot tolerate how they are trying to corrupt our children and our youth. Sodomy is a grave sin. As shown by a survey conducted by Levada Center experts at the end of April 2013 among the adult population in 130 settlements in 45 regions of the country, three-quarters of Russians are confident that the state should suppress any public manifestations of homosexuality. Russian legislation currently completely prohibits the adoption of Russian children by same-sex couples abroad, as well as by single citizens. Adopted children in same-sex “marriages” grow up to be very traumatized individuals. According to a study conducted from 2010 to 2012 by University of Texas professor Mark Regnerus, terrible facts emerged: 31% of children who grew up with a lesbian mother and 25% with a homosexual father were forced into sexual intercourse (including by parents). 24% of such children planned suicide, 25% had sexually transmitted diseases. The study involved 3,000 adult respondents whose parents were in same-sex “marriages.”

Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought with the Nazis and remembered: “Not a step back!” And we, too, like our ancestors, must remember: there is nowhere to retreat, Russia is behind us. God is with us! And we will win!

Dmitry Avdeev

Sodom in the modern world

Often the term “sodomy” refers to promiscuous sexual relations between partners.
This term also means sexual intercourse with animals (bestiality) and children. In the United States, oral and anal intercourse is considered the sin of sodomy. In the Big Explanatory Medical Dictionary, this term refers to anal intercourse between partners. Without going into medical details, the Orthodox Church defines the sin of Sodom as any illegal relationship involving sexual desire between people.

The ascetic laws of Christian life do not allow any physical contact between young people, and in some Christian communities it is considered unacceptable for a girl and a boy to be in the same closed room in the absence of adults. Ideally, a couple in love should not only get married, but also get married in a church.

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What the sin of Sodom is in Orthodoxy is described in detail in the Orthodox manual “Margaret the Spiritual.” For the sake of fairness, it is worth noting that sodomy often implies not only a sin associated with intimate relationships, but also pride.

Gluttony is often attributed to sodomy, since it is the uncontrollable passion for food and material goods that becomes the catalyst for the emergence of physical attraction to someone.

A person in whose consciousness thoughts of adultery have crept in should immediately go to church, repent and ask God for mercy. In such a question, the main thing is to completely open your soul before the Lord and not be embarrassed to admit your thoughts.

It is important not to forget that the Creator sees everything, even the most intimate corners of the soul of any person. Therefore, attempts to conceal one’s true boldness will give rise to a new sin, no less terrible than Sodomy.

Anyone who is unable to fight disordered thoughts about the sin of Sodom should go to communion and regularly attend temple, adhering to strict fasting. In exceptionally difficult situations, spiritual mentors advise living in a monastery for some time.

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Today, many people who consider themselves Orthodox are involved in the Fall of Sodom. In relationships between married couples, both parties often sin. Even people who are legally married, not knowing what Sodom and Gomorrah are in a figurative sense, are often tempted by evil spirits.

Orthodox teachers believe that such people, even against their will, become more vulnerable to extraneous stimuli, and are prone to scandals and squabbles, deception and hypocrisy. But knowing how to correctly confess the sins of Sodom, every person can protect himself and his family from harm.

People who decide to live together often experience the Fall of Sodom described in the Bible. How married couples sin, and what it is - the sin of sodom with a wife, is increasingly worrying Christians planning a family.

The lack of proper spiritual and sexual education provokes an unhealthy interest of representatives of the opposite sexes (and not only) in each other. In modern society, the concept of civil marriage is firmly rooted.

In the understanding of spiritually unsavvy people, it involves the cohabitation of a man and a woman who are not bound by legal marriage. The Church interprets this concept differently.

A civil marriage is a union of people who created a family not according to church laws (wedding), but according to civil laws (marriage and registration in the registry office). What is commonly called civil marriage among modern youth, church ministers even call fornication.

Important! As in those distant times, so today, everyone who wants to renounce the sin of Sodomy is obliged to erase from their life everything connected with adultery.

How to confess the sin of Sodom

Such an expression as “Sodomian” appeared from the name of the town of Sodom, where this vice began to flourish back in the time of Abraham, and the power of its enslavement of the townspeople reached such an extent that in order to seek the satisfaction of their lust, the townspeople did not even neglect violence, and also coercion. The limit of their depravity and madness was the desire to abuse God's messengers.

All these ongoing events filled the cup of patience of the Almighty to the top and the Lord’s wrath descended on the city of sinners, destroying it with fire and sulfur rain and hiding it forever under the waters of the Dead Sea.

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Today, it is customary to interpret the expression “sodom” as a definition that denotes various types of sexual perversions. What refers to the sin of Sodom:

• pedophilia;
• masturbation;
• homosexuality;
• bestiality;
• as well as heterosexual contacts of a perverted nature.

In other words, this sin in the Orthodox Christian religion means any kind of non-vaginal sexual intercourse, which subsequently does not lead to the birth of a child.

One of the famous Orthodox manuals, “Margaret the Spiritual,” provides the following detailed recommendations for eradicating disgusting sexual addictions:

• Avoid seductive one-on-one meetings at all costs.
• Do not be in too close a relationship with someone, where such danger lurks.
• When the first supposedly harmless feelings of some kind of pleasure or attraction appear, they should be abolished at the very beginning, because a spark will be ignited, which can actually give rise to a fire, and then no one will be able to exterminate it, for the people themselves weak.
• If, however, voluptuous thoughts themselves settle in the head, but the person did not desire this, and at the same time fear comes, then you should not fall into despair, but you need to say prayer requests, turning to the Lord for help in expelling sinful thoughts, because that’s what The human feat consists of not deigning passions over oneself.

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Modern meaning of the term

Nowadays, the term “sodomy” most often refers to anal sex, as well as copulation with animals (bestiality). Some dictionaries interpret sodomy exclusively with bestiality, while others associate it only with anal sex, for example, like the Big Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language. But the “Big Medical Dictionary” says that sodomy is anal sexual intercourse, it can occur between an animal and a person , it can be heterosexual or homosexual.
Sodomy is also understood in Spain, Italy and France. In the United States of America, sodomy refers to oral and anal sex with a person of both the same and the opposite sex. In English-speaking countries there are 2 terms that can be translated as “sodomy” - sodomy and buggery. But in German, sodomy means bestiality.

Sin of Sodom, what is it? The concept comes from the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Orthodoxy, this is the most terrible human sin from which we must get rid of it. The Church offers help in getting rid of this sin, first of all, with the help of general confession, and after it one must regularly receive communion and confession, go to services, observe fasts, read prayers, and be attentive to oneself so as not to fall into sin again.

Today, many people are involved in this sin, someone’s wives, husbands, sons, fathers, mothers and just acquaintances. In the modern world, this term means a variety of things, but most often it refers to homosexual relations and sexual relations with animals. Often now this behavior is justified due to poor upbringing or mental development. People who have never even heard the story of Sodom and Gomorrah use the names of these cities to denote something depraved and corrupt.

Video about the sin of Sodom:

Sodomy in Catholicism

In the Catholic faith, church parishioners were allowed to have intimate relations only with legal spouses solely for procreation. All other connections were considered sinful. The Holy Inquisition diligently fought against sinners and especially against sodomites. In the 12th century, the church declared a fight against homosexuals, recognizing their relationships as sinful in all forms.

The dark times in Western and Central Europe have passed, and with them the persecution of sodomites has sunk into oblivion. Since the time when the church left the state and became a separate entity, the attitude of church ministers towards sinners in the Catholic world has changed.

Useful video

If we take a longer historical period, then the phenomenon of such sexual relations was viewed negatively, considering sodomy a vice and sin. Many saints and ascetics disdained to write at all about sodomy and sexual relations between men, as well as to give any instructions due to the disgusting nature of the very mention of such perversions.

Only sometimes, during times of particularly rampant debauchery, did Christian mentors have to admonish people. A typical example is the sermons of John Chrysostom. Perhaps they will become relevant in modern times.

Biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah

In inspired books and texts it is indicated that Lot, a resident of the city of Sodom, received two guests into his home, showing them hospitality, according to tradition. Lot's neighbors did not think that these were Angels and demanded that the guests be given to them for the amusement of the dissolute society. The Scriptures accurately describe the extent of the perverted intentions of the townspeople who came to Lot's house. People then began to experience sexual arousal towards members of their own sex. The crowd was not satisfied with the proposal of the desperate Lot: to give away his daughters instead of the guests.

The Almighty could not tolerate all these acts and sent streams of fiery rain on people to stop all this. As a result, only ashes remained from the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the remnants of this ashes were covered by the Dead Sea. For loyalty to the Almighty, Lot's entire family and his wife were saved and left the scene of the disaster, the family was accompanied by Angels. The whole family was forbidden to look back at the city, but Lot's wife violated this ban and because of this she turned into a pillar of salt.