Angels don’t have a known gender.
Jesus said so. In the resurrection, people will no longer marry, but will be “like the angels,” like the first human made from mud and God’s own breath, before God split the Adam. Angels don’t fit our binary understanding of gender. Angels, God’s messengers, are genderqueer.
Of course, it’s pointless to argue about angelology. We do not know how many can dance on the head of a pin. In the Hebrew Bible, authors simply call an angel “a man” or “a stranger,” but what else would they call a being who isn’t a man or a woman? Our language didn’t fit those who fall outside our either-or binary understanding.
When I take this understanding of angels seriously, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah finally makes sense.
Imagine this scenario: It’s 1963 in the southeast United States. Two people of ambiguous gender show up in a town square. The place is known as a “sundown town,” because black people are told not to let the sun go down on them in this place. But the invitation to leave is extended to any who don’t fit the town’s profile of acceptable guests: gays, hippies, or communists.
The two genderqueer strangers visit the general store, and the shop owner glares at them while they buy their supplies. A man sitting on the porch says loudly to his colleagues, “Which one is the man and which is the woman?” The strangers are meant to overhear. There is laughter and one or two slurs. As the strangers walk away, another voice yells something at them speculating about their genitals. When they ignore it, the voice becomes indignant: “Hey! I’m talking to you!”
As the sun sets, an immigrant newcomer offers them shelter in his home, but by dark a crowd has gathered outside his door. They demand that the strangers come out so they may “know” them.
“Let’s find out if those two are really men or women!” It’s a threat of physical and sexual violence.
We see this kind of violence against trans and queer persons on a regular basis. In May of 2014, on Atlanta public transportation, a crowd of people not only assaulted two transgender women of color, but recorded it on video as they punched, kicked, and stripped them naked. The crowd cheered. Their words are eerily similar to the mob’s words in Genesis 1—they wanted to “know” the “real” biological sex of the two women.
So which scenario is more likely?
That Sodom was a town of ravenous homosexuals, or that it was a conservative moralistic town known for lynching? Who is more likely to suffer violence in our society, and which is more prevalent in our own American history? We know what Ezekiel said about Sodom and Gomorrah: their sin was pride, prosperous ease, and failing to aid the poor and needy. Self-righteous racist and homophobic sundown towns fit the profile. Genesis 13:13 says the people “were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.”
Their citizens would burn or hang a man on Saturday night and go to church on Sunday.
I’ve used the scenario of a sundown town to highlight another important fact: people of color are still more likely to suffer violence in our society, even though “sundown towns” are less prevalent than they used to be. Gay and lesbian people of color are more likely still to be attacked by mobs. Trans women of color are disproportionately more likely to be victims of violence in our culture even than their gay or lesbian peers.
In spite of this data, their deaths are more likely to be ignored.
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is not a story about the supposed sin of buggery. It’s the story of a society so in love with its own purity that it ignores the violence it uses to enforce its social codes. It cannot recognize God’s own presence in the form of angels who visit. It cannot see God’s image in people who are a different ethnicity or who understand gender differently. In order to maintain its own fragile sense of masculinity and femininity, it must police any deviation from the norm with physical and sexual violence.
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah, trotted out as a homophobic trope for centuries, should be read by Americans as an indictment of the ways we use mob violence to deal with social fear.
In the previous century, whites often used mob violence—and often sexual violence—against African-Americans because in popular white imagination, black bodies were a sexual and political threat. Both white and black mobs continue to use violence against gay, lesbian, trans, and queer persons because they are likewise perceived as a threat to social order.
For folks who live at the intersection of being black, lesbian, trans or queer, the threat of mob sexual violence is very real—much more so than for any other demographic. For this reason, it is disingenuous for anyone in our society to read Genesis 19 as a story of violence by gay persons against supposedly straight protagonists.
It takes a deliberate interpretive choice to pervert the plain and obvious reading of how violence actually happens in our world.
Outside of dystopian fiction, the scenario of a city full of violent gay men is a farce. In the real world, where seven trans people were killed in the first seven weeks of 2015, we must see Sodom and Gomorrah reflected in our own society that sanctions violence against LGBTQ persons.
The irony of the story, of course, is that Sodom and Gomorrah is still used as the justification for violence against LGBTQ persons.
Part of the recent backlash against the advance of LGBTQ rights in our country has included a man in California who has proposed a ballot measure to execute gay persons by shooting them. The language of the proposal refers to Sodom and Gomorrah and the threat of divine punishment. It is both sad and predictable that people continue to use the Bible in a way that supports a culture of mob physical and sexual violence. This man, and the hatred he represents, is a far better representative of the lynching mentality of Sodom and Gomorrah than the gay persons he rails against. It’s the same lynching mentality that put Jesus on the cross, that blamed and punished Jews for it through the centuries, that tied Matthew Shepard to a fence post, and that beat Islan Nettles to death as she walked home in Harlem.
If angels of indeterminate gender were to visit my city from heaven, if they were to walk the streets at night or ride public transportation, I would fear for their safety. I would pray that they would not meet up with a mob like the one who attacked the trans women in Atlanta, or the man who proposes open season on LGBTQ persons in California. I would hope that they encountered at least one person who would offer them hospitality.
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Footnotes:
1 I recognize that angelology is purely speculative, and that it’s problematic to dig back through thousands of years of layers of cultural meaning to assess what different authors at different times believed about angels. Jesus could have meant that angels are hermaphrodites or polymorphous. According to conventional assumptions about angels, they don’t need to reproduce, so there’s no need for sex, and they are immortal, so there’s no need for vows “until death do us part.” Whatever intimacy they would have with God or each other would probably be as different from sex as flying is different from walking. When Joshua meets an angel, he asks if the angel is friend or foe. The angel’s enigmatic response is “Neither.” What is consistent in these stories is that angels don’t fit our human ways of understanding groups or tribes.
2 One of the most moving scenes in the story “To Kill a Mockingbird” is when Atticus and Jem Finch confront a lynch mob. But this fantasy belies the reality—white saviors almost neverstepped in to prevent violence against minorities. If they did, they may be part of the minority statistic in this interactive map. In my own state, 48 white people were lynched between 1882 and 1968. 299 black people were lynched.
3 Of the gay men I know, most are not especially violent. Most are more likely to have suffered violence at the hands of others. But since elementary school I’ve witnessed violence against anyone whose appearance deviated from the norm, or whose masculinity or femininity were called into question. When I was in second grade, I invented a game with a group of other boys. The rules were simple: you tackle whoever has the ball, and take it away. When you have the ball, you are “it,” and the group chases you. An older boy told us that we didn’t invent the game. It already existed, and it had a name: “Smear the Queer.” We repeated the name, appreciating its rhyming quality, and that’s what we called it. At that point, queer just meant strange to me. I never even knew that I was being educated into a culture of anti-LGBTQ violence. It was just a game. So in some sense, I sympathize with the lynch mob. They were simply reenacting a drama they had been practicing from the time they were kids. For them, it was just a game.
4 The violence continues in news stories of police brutality and vigilante justice, and in the justifications for violence that refers to black men as “thugs.”
5 We also can’t ignore the fact that in the story, Lot (the “hero”), believes that sexual violence against his own daughters is more acceptable than sexual violence against his guests. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah highlights this double-standard in the way we address violence against women and our own rape culture.
6 One anti-gay website makes this astonishing claim: “It is obvious to anyone who believes the Word of God, that Sodom was predominantly homosexual, and these homosexuals were violent (as is often the case today).” There is no data cited for this incredible claim, but we can see the perverse logic at work: LGBTQ persons must be policed with violence because of some imaginary possibility of violence. In the same way, black persons are subject to excessive violence because of imaginary violence, and Christians have historically enacted violence upon Jews because they were blamed for Jesus’ death or imaginary deaths in their own communities. This is the logic of Sodom and Gomorrah at work: mob violence against a perceived weaker minority, because the minority represents some imaginary threat.
If you’d like to get in touch with me, you can email me at dave (at) saintjunia (dot) org, or send me a message on Twitter.
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This is a beautiful read. I sincerely thank you. As a transgender person, it is easy to feel shut out and from religion and seeing an inclusive interpretation of the faith I was raised with brought some joyful tears to my eyes.
Hi there. I am a Christian who doesn’t agree with this article however I also don’t agree with a lot of the way that LGBTQ community are treated. Having been sexually abused by two family members I grew up with ‘issues’. I became a Christian at about 11 years old but it wasn’t untill I was 22 years old when I really commmited my life fully to the Lord Jesus Christ. The thing is – Jesus is the Creator and we are told in scripture that the sexually immoral will not enter into Heaven. I want to encourage you though as because of the abuse I had ‘issues’ and yet after Christian counselling these ‘issues’ went. Sure I was married but I was in a number of ways seually dysfunctional. I found that after I faced the trauma of the abuse and worked through the Detachments I’d made because of the trauma these ‘issues’ simply no longer existed. I didn’t need to try to overcome them or control them or anything like that – they simply didn’t exist anymore. I am healed. Romans 1 tells us that homosexuality is wrong as is any other sexual activity other than that done within the bounds of a marriage between one man and one woman. This isn’t said to condem you but to let you know what God says. After all He is God and we are not. He gets to make the rules but we get to decide if we are going to do things His way or not. With these two choices there are consequences. We are aware of this and need to make our choice accordingly. That said I did have a sin which beset me. I prayed and prayed and exercised will power but the ‘drive’ of this sin was overpowering. Once I had the counselling and saw the Truth from the lie my sin left. While I still sin I am not overpowered by any sexual sin now. Having sex we are told in scripture is different to other sins because we are taking something into our body which is meant to be the Temple of God. If you want to stay in your lifestyle that is entirely your choice but don’t be assured that God will wink at it and understand that your set of circumstances are different. We are human and fallen, living in a fallen world and Jesus came to set us free from the power of sin and death. He died for me – instead of me. Such amazing love I do not understand and I find it hard to comprehend but there we have it – God is Love and He loved the world so much that He gave His Only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him (trusts and relies on Him and what He did) shall not perish in everlasting torment but shall have everlasting life. God didn’t want to condem the world He sent Jesus to save it however there are still absolutes. We are told to be holy even as He is Holy. How can we be holy? Through living in His Spirit and having His Holy Spirit in us working out our sanctification. We are justified upon receiving Jesus as Lord and Saviour but God loves us too much to leave us in our mess. He cleans us up but He requires our co-operation. Pray to Him for help and if you truely seek Truth – you will find it! God loves you soooo much and His desire is to have you with Him for eternity but you choose. Turn to Him knowing that your sexual dysfunction will one day need to be sorted out but you won’t do it alone. He will walk through it with you. He wants the very very best for you, so trust Him to not just save you giving you Eternal Life but also let Him change you here so that you can enter into a rest from old worthless works and be able to enjoy the joy of the Lord and the freedom He brings those who have totally given over everything to Him – even their sexuality
Could it be that when God ejected Adam and Eve from the garden there were children of Adam and Eve that were still in the garden. God did tell them to be fruitful and multiple. Only Adam and Eve were ejected. The sons of God could be children left in the garden. When Christ said to the thief on the cross today throw shall be with me in Paradise. Paradise is interpreted Eden. Eden could easily be another planet where there is still life.
No… God exiled them at too early of a stage…. Adam was male and female male dominant God removed a rib from Adam in order to create an a female companion could not have gotten the female genetics from the rib had Adam not have been male and female or at least had that in his genetics… being the Adam wasn’t formed from a birth and Eve was a clone Eve should have been another Adam so the process in this was much more difficult they had to extract the female from Adam to create the female Eve no there were no children at that time. We see how God played with them to creating jealousy not accepting the ones offering over the other only wanting and offering a blood so Cainl offered fruit of his labor he was the tender of the field he wasn’t a tender of cattle he gave from his work and God rejected that that’s causing jealousy… yes nothing occurs without someone manipulating the situation I know this does not pertain to you a particular question but it is interesting if you really read the Bible all the names in The Book of Life or virgin male 144000 of them from the 12 tribes of Judea check that out
Well in this case then they’re not genderless they would be male and female because God created man in his own image male and female God himself have both abilities both characteristics perhaps one was dominant over the other I believe the devil was a purebred female and that’s why God had a problem with that because she could produce children where God and the angels were male female oriented male-dominant and they could not produce children. But Lucifer ended up being a mutant of sort a female dominant
Could it be that the Bible is just something written to control us all and none of it is really real at all, just a badly crafted novel which kills us all in the end and only accepts 144000 virgin males into heaven
Very untrue. Michael the archangel is refered to in Revelation as a he, his.. Very disapointed in this read.
Sarah N When one comes across a person of indeterminate sex the natrual inclination of patriarchy society is to default to masculine gender orientation till corrected otherwise. Same in the case when no gender is obvious. For example the internet. When you meet someone new do you automatically assume them to be male or female? Over 99% of the world population will assume male till corrected.
So I see no reason why the same wouldn’t apply to Archangel Michael when first met. Especially if the angel saw no reason to correct them.
I am amazed at the number of people who appear to have read the Bible but don’t have a clue what it says.
First off, angels DO have a gender. This is proven because in Genesis, the “sons of God” (meaning male angels), had SEX with women of MEN and gave birth to the Nephilim (giants). So in order to create babies, these angels had to have a penis and testicles…..meaning they were males.
Second, the idea that God, who created a man and a woman in the same manner that He did with animals, birds, fish, etc. would think its ok for humans to then decide ON THEIR OWN to reject HIS plan and prefer to be gay, or transgender is not only stupid….its insane. God NEVER makes SUGGESTIONS. It’s always been and will always be HIS WAY OR THE HIGHWAY. Just look at what He did to thousands of Israelites right after saving them by following Moses. They were bitching and complaining about Moses and God got really fed up and separated those who were faithful to HIS choice of who was in charge and those who REJECTED HIS choice. God had the earth swallow them up….KILLING THEM.
Plus there are NUMEROUS other books that give great insight answers that verify this article is ridiculous. Also, the Bible also condems gays, but so called preachers who are gay want to hide, disregard or ignore this fact….
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. (Leviticus 18:22)
If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. (Leviticus 20:13)
You can stand in a garage all day and make sounds like a car but in the end….you are not a car, no matter what you think or do.
I have friends who are gay. I don’t hate them or reject them but I do tell them the truth. God doesn’t give a damn what you or I think is politically or morally correct because HE’S running the show whether you like it or not. One day we will all stand before Him, and all the bullshit lies you’ve told yourself, trying to convince yourself and others goes right out the door. On THAT day, its YOU and you alone standing in front of God and all the justification and excuses won’t save you. Then its too late. So if you think I’m wrong, you have nothing to fear….but if I’m right, and I have the Bible and many other ancient texts to back it up….then you’re in deep shit, right along with this idiot “reverend” who obviously doesn’t know God from a screwdriver.
What interests me that is not mentioned is how Lot was vexed in his spirit at the ‘goings on’ of sodom etc. Why would he have been vexed if they were ‘religious’. Obviously even his sexual idea of what is ok allowed him to have sex with his daughters so I think it’s more likely that he was upset with the buggery which was going on then.
The only hospitality that you can offer gays and lesbians is the Bible so that they can see the truth about how God feels about same-sex marriages and the lust after your own kind your own sex. I hope they read the Bible and I hope that they see their ways are not pleasing to God.
God does not love all people are there would be no hell God only loves those who love him and accept the blood of the cross. Jesus says You must be born again John Hurt the kingdom of God.
Pray daily read your Bible daily go to church I love God with all your heart and soul and Every Breath You Take in Jesus name MN
God loves all people equally and boundlessly. Hell was originally created for the fallen angel, Lucifer.
When God created Adam and Eve, he fully intended to spend eternity with us, but he intended on giving us free will. However, as humans, we abused that free will and didn’t trust God’s plan for us.
This meant we were not holy anymore and could not enter into Heaven. So God created Jesus to save us and replace our sin with his sacrifice.
God loves all of us, but we have the free will to choose where we want to spend eternity.
Someone going to hell is not God’s fault, it is the person rejecting his gift that results in hell.
God sending Jesus was a merciful gift. We do not deserve it. We all deserve to go to hell bc we sin. But bc of Jesus, we have the choice to go to heaven.
As for the LGBTQ community, God loves them too, just as boundlessly and just as equally. He hates their sin, but he also hates my sin when I lie or curse.
The reason the LGBTQ community is so commonly rejected in the Christian community is bc they practice the same prominent sin as a lifestyle and their sin seems more obvious.
However, God loves them and they can still be saved.
Anyone who has a lifestyle that carries any sin is just as guilty as a gay person.
The good news is, God has already saved you and everyone else. You just have to accept that gift and trust that his plan is only meant to benefit you and spread his glory.
Much love,
I’m laughing out loud at the Christians here arguing angels *do* have gender by citing parts of the Old Testament, Book of Revelations, etc…
…BECAUSE THAT MEANS YOU ARE LITERALLY DISAGREEING WITH JESUS HIMSELF.
Pretty sure y’all are supposed to defer to the Son of God’s say over that of anyone else. xD
Of course, that would mean you’d have to accept that the Bible is an imperfect work, written by fallible mortals (and ultimately only created as a tool for Roman politics, regardless).
Yet it remains the best selling text EVER. Nearly all of it’s prophecies have come to pass and it is heavily supported by secular writings. Not sure where you got the “Roman politics” thing from but I’ve never read ANYWHERE that Romans invented the Bible.
I’m amazed at what atheists will say that has absolutely no basis in order to discredit the Bible. That’s okay though, we will all eventually know the truth.
Did Jesus actually say that angels do not have gender? If so, then how did the angels impregnate the women of the earth?
The bible is mans version of what god said. Translated by other men from hebrew with their interpertation and possibly biases, as hebrew does not always have a word tor word translation to other languages. Another very important thing to note is that in the bible it also tells you to be cautious of false prophets. The prophets in the bible are not excluded as possible false prophets. To understand the strugles of a transgender person in this society, is to understand how and why angles are born to this earth. All this judgement is a sin. There are very few people in this world who have a chance of getting to heaven, as society has corrupted all. Judgement time is very close, are you ready?