An archaeological dig appears to have confirmed the truth of the Biblical account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:
"The sun was just rising over the earth as Lot arrived in Zoar; at the same time the Lord rained down sulphurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah. He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil." (Genesis 19: 23-25).
Another archaeologist, Werner Keller, in a fascinating work entitled "The Bible as History," which I first read back in 1984, writes, "The calamity which is the subject of this powerful Biblical story of divine punishment for incorrigible sin has probably in all ages made a deep impression on men's minds. Sodom and Gomorrah have become synonymous with vice and godlessness. When men have talked in terms of utter annihilation, again the fate of these cities has always sprung to their minds. Their imaginations have constantly been kindled by this inexplicible and frightful disaster, as can well be seen from the many allusions to it in ancient times. Remarkable and quite incredible things are said to have happened there by the Dead Sea, the 'Sea of Salt,' where according to the Bible the catastrophe must have happened.
During the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 it is said that the Roman army commander Titus sentenced certain slaves to death. He gave them short shrift, had them bound together by chains and thrown into the sea at the foot of the mountains of Moab. But the condemned men did not drown. No matter how often they were thrown into the sea they always drifted back to the shore like corks. This inexplicable occurrence made such a deep impression upon Titus that he pardoned the unfortunate offenders. Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived latterly in Rome, repeatedly mentions a 'Lake of Asphalt.' Greeks lay stress on the presence of poisonous gases, which are reported as rising from all parts of this sea. The Arabs say that in olden times no bird was able to reach the opposite side. The creatures, as they flew across the water, would suddenly drop dead into it..." (The Bible as History, p. 87).
This is bad news for those who want to convince us that the Sodom and Gomorrah narrative is merely a "story." It is more than that. It is history. The five cities of the plain were destroyed because of their practice of unnatural vice as a reminder to people of every age that the fire of Hell awaits those who engage in such things.
ReplyDeletewww.prevailmagazine.org/how-archaeology-proves-the-bible/
ReplyDeletewww.prevailmagazine.org/how-archaeology-proves-the-bible/
ReplyDeleteSome interesting articles but non-catholic theology, e.g. denies an eternal Hell, supports annihilation of the soul.
"...but non-catholic theology, e.g. denies an eternal Hell, supports annihilation of the soul."
ReplyDeleteWell, they're wrong. Just because someone believes an untruth doesn't make it true. God gave mankind fullness of revelation thru His Eternal Word, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Who left His Church for the salvation, governance, and teaching of mankind. That Church is the Catholic Church, period. Look simply at history; for the first 1000 yrs A.D., (before the first schism--Orthodoxy), if you were a Christian, you were a Catholic. Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the efficacious conferral of Grace thru the Sacraments, the recognition of Peter's successor as the holder of the Keys-ordained by Christ to be His very own vicar on earth, were ALL accepted and practiced doctrine by the earliest Christians. This is simple history, this is simple fact.
you'll believe it when you get there.
ReplyDeleteWhile there is no doubt that Sodom and Gomorrah deep into homosexuality, the scripture goes much further in detailing the reasons for their destruction. "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." Eze.16:49. How interesting that God notes first, pride, followded by prosperity (fufullness of bread or gluttony i.e. the hog like condition of 75% of Americans), wasting of precious time (idleness)by Americas endless pursuit of entertainment and frivolity, and finally, the abandonment of the poor. While the "poor" of America are in far better condition than the poor of Third World countries, their condition will greatly worsen as we enter Phase Two of the Greates Depression. I personally believe all that is happpening to America is the beginning of Gods Judgment for her sins which you will find detailed in Rev 18.
ReplyDeleteIs is easy to point out the sin of others (homosexuals), and I am not lessoning the grievous sin of homosexuality and the significant part it plays in Gods judgment, but we as Americans need to see the big picture. The vast majority of Christians and non believers in Amemerica are guilty of the sins of excessive overeating, drunkeness, and the anxiety for the cares of this life. Luke 21:34
As God brings poverty and double judgments for Americas sins (and here think long and hard about Americas Endless Wars of Aggression against the poor in other countries in order to steal and/or control their resources, which are supported in large part by a Majority of American Christias as is evidence for the support of Presidents who start and/or continue these wars. If you vote for any of them You are Guilty of their crimes, you partake of her sins (Rev 18:4) and You will receive of her plagues.
don dlucasgringo@gmail.com
As I said in a post dated June 20, 2011:
ReplyDeleteIt shouldn't surprise us that the Boston Archdiocese would allow a "Gay Pride" Mass. For the Boston Archdiocese has succumbed to the leaven of infidelity. Why a pride Mass? Cornelius a Lapide, a brilliant Scripture scholar, has explained that, "First among the vices of Sodom is pride. Then the satiety of bread, or rather of food, delicacies, banquets. Third, the abundance of goods, of luxury and pleasure. Fourth, idleness. Fifth, lack of mercy...
Hear St. Jerome: 'Haughtiness, satiety of bread, the abundance of all things, idleness, pleasures, such were the sins of Sodom. Because of these, they forgot God, since the continual presence of riches seemed perennial and thus there was no need of recourse to God to obtain them.' Therefore, we first encounter pride in the sins of Sodom. Then God chastises the proud, permitting them to fall into a great and ignominious lust, as can be deduced from Rom 1:27.." (Commentaria in Scripturam Sacram, Commentaria in Ezechielem Prophetam, Paris: Vives, 1880; Vol. 12, pp. 618-619).
Pride. Vanity. Saint Paul so vividly describes this process of degradation in the first chapter of the book of Romans. He explains how pride leads to idolatry and how God abandons such people to their own passions:
"Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes. Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies." (Romans 1: 21-24).
And what does this mutual degradation consist of? St. Paul (or more accurately the Holy Spirit through St. Paul) explains that this mutual degradation is the practice of homosexuality: "Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity." (Romans 1: 26-27).
St. Paul notes the unfortunate consequences which result from this process of degradation: "They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite. They are gossips and scandal-mongers and they hate God. They are insolent, haughty, boastful, ingenious in their wickedness, and rebellious toward their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless." (Romans 1: 25, 28-31).
Haughty and boastful. Qualities which jump out of the anonymous comment left at this Blog. By allowing a "Gay Pride" Mass, the Archdiocese of Boston has given the green light to celebrate the first sin of Sodom. The darkness continues to spread.