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Split Personality: Reconciling Justice with Mercy

James L. Crenshaw

in Defending God: Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil

The tension between justice and mercy within God gave rise to stories illustrating YHWH’s desire to let compassion prevail, although not always. Genesis 18–19 has Abraham plead with God to spare the ... More

The tension between justice and mercy within God gave rise to stories illustrating YHWH’s desire to let compassion prevail, although not always. Genesis 18–19 has Abraham plead with God to spare the innocents who lived in the doomed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the prophet Joel appeals to God to extend the merciful attributes of Exod 34:6 to a devastated Judean populace. In contrast, a petulant Jonah objects when a merciful God spares a foreign city, Nineveh, and a greatly wronged prophet, Jeremiah, accuses YHWH of rape.Less

Sodom: Generosity‐Based Justice (18:1–19:29): Abraham's Generosity: A Basis for Justice (Chap. 18)The Rescue of Lot: Justice as Generous (19:1–29)

Thomas L. Brodie

in Genesis as Dialogue: A Literary, Historical, and Theological Commentary

God's wondrous life‐giving visit to Abraham and Sarah at Mamre (Genesis 18) is the counterpoint to God's fiery destruction of two cities (19:1–29). The catastrophe is attributed to God, but the ... More

God's wondrous life‐giving visit to Abraham and Sarah at Mamre (Genesis 18) is the counterpoint to God's fiery destruction of two cities (19:1–29). The catastrophe is attributed to God, but the terrible divine action is set in the context of God's care for life and justice – a care that exceeds even that of Sarah and Abraham – and in the context of the evil of the people of Sodom. Between the two – between generosity‐based justice and evil – Lot dithers and chooses narrowly. The scene as a whole – the destruction by fire – has some continuity with the destruction by water (the flood).Less

The Changing Face of Sodom, Part I: The Latin Tradition

David Clark

in Between Medieval Men: Male Friendship and Desire in Early Medieval English Literature

Chapters 4 and 5 constitute another pair of chapters, but this time the argument is that critics have been premature in finding evidence of same‐sex activity. Chapter 4 begins with a review of the ... More

Chapters 4 and 5 constitute another pair of chapters, but this time the argument is that critics have been premature in finding evidence of same‐sex activity. Chapter 4 begins with a review of the biblical and patristic allusions to Sodom as a context for its study of medieval Continental and Anglo‐Latin interpretations of the narrative, discussing Bede, Aldhelm, Boniface, Alcuin, and Ælfric. It shows that religious writers in Latin associate Sodom with a range of sins, and not just same‐sex acts.Less

The Changing Face of Sodom, Part II: The Vernacular Tradition

David Clark

in Between Medieval Men: Male Friendship and Desire in Early Medieval English Literature

This chapter constitutes a comprehensive investigation of the extant references to Sodom in Old English texts, except for Genesis A which is considered in Chapter 6. It divides these allusions into ... More

This chapter constitutes a comprehensive investigation of the extant references to Sodom in Old English texts, except for Genesis A which is considered in Chapter 6. It divides these allusions into four categories: those using Sodom's destruction as the prime example of the punishment of sin; those where the Sodomites' behaviour exemplifies sin of an unusual gravity; those where Sodom is especially associated with sexual sin; and those in which Sodom is associated with unnatural sin. It shows that, contrary to the assumptions of many medieval scholars, not only do none of the references explicitly link Sodom to same‐sex acts, but many make quite other associations with the city.Less

Human, All Too Human Rights: Humanitarian Ethics and the Annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah

Orna Ben-Naftali

in From Bilateralism to Community Interest: Essays in Honour of Bruno Simma

Our ideas of justice, core humanitarian principles, and the foundations of human rights are not merely traceable to Biblical narratives, but also endow them with their enduring quality. Thus, it may ... More

Our ideas of justice, core humanitarian principles, and the foundations of human rights are not merely traceable to Biblical narratives, but also endow them with their enduring quality. Thus, it may well be worth our while to re-read and reflect on them. This chapter offers such reflection. Such thought is particularly warranted at times when the validity of basic humanitarian values is challenged. Over the past few years the notion of ‘asymmetric war’ has been advanced to suggest the anachronism of some of the most fundamental humanitarian principles. The story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, wrought by the archetypal asymmetric use of unconventional force, invites us to reconsider the merits of this suggestion. The basic principles underlying our current jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and jus post bellum regimes are foretold in this story of ‘brimstone and fire . . . out of heaven’. This fire is not a beacon to follow; it is a warning light to beware.Less

Salò, Or the 120 Days of Sodom and Ilsa, the Wicked Warden: Fascism, Pornography and Disgust

Simon Hobbs

in Cultivating Extreme Art Cinema: Text, Paratext and Home Video Culture

This chapter examines Salò, Or the 120 Days of Sodom and Ilsa, the Wicked Warden. Although both films use Fascist imagery to comment on the corrupting nature of power, they continue to enjoy very ... More

This chapter examines Salò, Or the 120 Days of Sodom and Ilsa, the Wicked Warden. Although both films use Fascist imagery to comment on the corrupting nature of power, they continue to enjoy very different cultural reputations. In order to explore this, the chapter firstly examines the BFI’s special edition Blu-ray release of Pasolini’s film, discussing the way the product employs exploitation tactics over the more established art film marketing directives expected from a highbrow company. Exploiting the film’s more transgressive attributes, the analysis shows how in-text extremity can be externally commercialised. Thereafter, the chapter investigates Ilsa, the Wicked Warden’s appearance within Anchor Bay’s ‘Jess Franco Collection’. Considering whether the auteur branding successfully redeems the lowbrow reputation of both film and filmmaker, the chapter highlights the ways lowbrow distributors use highbrow approaches to legitimise their texts. Ultimately, the chapter suggest that although the BFI trade off notions of disgust, the product presents Pasolini’s film as an artistically challenging experience rather than mere exploitation. In contrast, the chapter asserts that Anchor Bay’s attempt to legitimise Franco’s film is undone be the consistent centralisation of sexually explicit content.Less

Introduction

Martin Harries

in Forgetting Lot's Wife: On Destructive Spectatorship

Hollywood Sodom

Martin Harries

in Forgetting Lot's Wife: On Destructive Spectatorship

The film's vivid rendering of the punishment of Lot's wife (Hildegarde Watson) encapsulates the figure's combination of damaging retrospection and dangerous spectatorship. Isolating Lot's wife as a ... More

The film's vivid rendering of the punishment of Lot's wife (Hildegarde Watson) encapsulates the figure's combination of damaging retrospection and dangerous spectatorship. Isolating Lot's wife as a glamorous Hollywood icon in an experimental film that distances itself from the techniques of mainstream Hollywood filmmaking, Lot in Sodom places her at the nexus of a series of sexualized punishments, variations on the psychologically restrained but resonant biblical story. In the final moments of the melodramatic noir, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), Sam Masterson, the experienced wanderer and World War II veteran, says to his young beloved, Toni. It is as though in both cases, Aldrich, who worked as assistant director on Strange Love, had remembered the conceptual charge surrounding Lot's wife in that film, and exploded it, releasing its absurd and terrible potentialities.Less

Literature, Violence, and Politics

in Binding Violence: Literary Visions of Political Origins

This introductory chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to review literary works that represent violence as binding a political community together when its borders are in crisis; ... More

This introductory chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to review literary works that represent violence as binding a political community together when its borders are in crisis; violence, rather than political reason, is woven into and bound to the fragile determinations of political membership. The texts examined—Sophocles' Antigone, D. A. F. de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom, and Mario Vargas Llosa's The Feast of the Goat—offer insights into the violent fabric of autonomous political life and its inextricable relation to the travails of imagination; imagination, in its turn, bears the imprint of violence. The chapter then outlines the book's main arguments; explains the concepts of politics, violence, and literature as they are used in the study; and provides an overview of the subsequent chapters.Less

Sade's Text and Sade's Times

in Binding Violence: Literary Visions of Political Origins

This chapter examines D. A. F. de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom, which is described as the story of a secret political bonding framed by war. It considers its history as well as various interpretations of ... More

This chapter examines D. A. F. de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom, which is described as the story of a secret political bonding framed by war. It considers its history as well as various interpretations of the text. It suggests that the text resists the very idea of transgression—it “thinks through” the exception by which power transforms transgression into norm, and it links this transformation to the sealing of a social pact. Violence, in this transformation, becomes political: just as in Antigone, this violence does not dominate, it rather annihilates.Less

The Libertine Alliance: No Ordinary Pact in Times of War

in Binding Violence: Literary Visions of Political Origins

This chapter examines the initial contract that frames D. A. F. de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom. It argues that its rite of membership (a marriage pact) operates against exchange, which is why it ... More

This chapter examines the initial contract that frames D. A. F. de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom. It argues that its rite of membership (a marriage pact) operates against exchange, which is why it survives in the midst of the destruction of all bonds in the Castle of Silling, where the orgy takes place. It then explores how the alliance secures its bonding.Less

Dio Chrysostom, Synesius, and Julius Solinus

Joan E. Taylor

in The Essenes, the Scrolls, and the Dead Sea

Dio Chrysostom wrote about the Essenes in a lost work, Getica. This is known only from one small comment in the work of Synesius. However, it is very important in that it is an independent source on ... More

Dio Chrysostom wrote about the Essenes in a lost work, Getica. This is known only from one small comment in the work of Synesius. However, it is very important in that it is an independent source on the Essenes being situated next to the Dead Sea, close to the traditional site of Sodom. Unlike Pliny, Dio uses the Essenes as an example of philosophical excellence. Dio’s Getica was known to sources used by Julius Solinus, who adds to his main source Pliny some additional information indicating that the Essenes were a group to be admired.Less

Conclusion

Robert R. Cargill

in Melchizedek, King of Sodom: How Scribes Invented the Biblical Priest-King

The conclusion summarizes the central arguments and evidence presented in the book. It demonstrates that the original purpose of Gen. 14 was that of a hero narrative, presenting the über-righteous ... More

The conclusion summarizes the central arguments and evidence presented in the book. It demonstrates that the original purpose of Gen. 14 was that of a hero narrative, presenting the über-righteous Abram as a YHWH-empowered warrior who rescues his nephew, Lot, and returns the kidnaped and plundered Sodomite people and their goods to their homeland, without exacting a payment! Abram was to be depicted as the ultimate righteous hero, fighting the good fight on behalf of his extended family and demanding no payment in return. He is victorious in battle and generous in victory, “blessing those who bless him and becoming a curse to those who curse him.” However, as the history of Israel unfolded, parts of the Abram narrative required updating in the eyes of the Jerusalem priesthood. Given the sectarian political battles that came to shape Judean and Samaritan history in Israel following the collapse of the two kingdoms and the Babylonian exile, the Melchizedek encounter underwent small changes over time, each of which created new problems with each problem it solved. It was this redaction history of the Melchizedek encounter that created Melchizedek as an individual separate from the king of Sodom and gave rise to the varied Jewish interpretations of him in the late Second Temple period.Less

Who Weeps for the Sodomite?

Kent L. Brintnall

in Sexual Disorientations: Queer Temporalities, Affects, Theologies

This chapter examines pro-LGBT readings of the Sodom and Gomorrah story (Genesis 19) in light of Lee Edelman’s argument from No Future concerning the constitutive antagonism that founds and funds the ... More

This chapter examines pro-LGBT readings of the Sodom and Gomorrah story (Genesis 19) in light of Lee Edelman’s argument from No Future concerning the constitutive antagonism that founds and funds the social. The chapter shows how such readings replicate the dynamic of exclusionary othering that can be found in both the story and in anti-LGBT readings of the story. As an alternative to such readings, the chapter proposes an embrace of the catastrophic negativity at the heart of the story, and its representations, figured in Lot’s wife’s act of witnessing.Less

Introduction

Robert R. Cargill

in Melchizedek, King of Sodom: How Scribes Invented the Biblical Priest-King

The introduction provides a summary of the research questions pursued and the arguments made in the book, focusing on two central theses regarding Melchizedek, with the second depending on the first. ... More

The introduction provides a summary of the research questions pursued and the arguments made in the book, focusing on two central theses regarding Melchizedek, with the second depending on the first. The first thesis is that Melchizedek, king of Shalem, was originally king of Sodom, and that his dominion was altered deliberately to prevent the Jewish patriarch Abram from having positive interactions with the king of Sodom, whose city would soon be destroyed by God. The second thesis is that Shalem was originally associated with the city of Shechem, in the shadow of Mt. Gerizim in Samaria, but later came to be associated with Jerusalem through a number of scribal and interpretative maneuvers designed to promote Jerusalem and denigrate Samaria.Less

Translating Sodom

Robert Mills

in Seeing Sodomy in the Middle Ages

This chapter focuses on a series of illuminated manuscripts known as the Bibles moralisées, which were produced for members of the French royal family between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. ... More

This chapter focuses on a series of illuminated manuscripts known as the Bibles moralisées, which were produced for members of the French royal family between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. Drawing attention to discourses of sodomy circulating in Paris around the time that the earliest Bibles moralisées were commissioned in the 1220s and 1230s, the chapter demonstrates how visual and verbal references to the practices of “sodomites” in the Bibles moralisées underscore the heterogeneous character of sodomy and the inconsistency with which the idea is applied specifically to homoerotic activity. Viewing the manuscripts through the lens of translation, the chapter also shows how sodomy is conceived via derivative structures: its visibility depends on its status as an imitation or bad copy of an originary ideal. In conclusion, the chapter considers how representations of homoerotic or “sodomitic” behavior in the Bibles moralisées were received by their audiences and patrons. What influence did these images have on the books’ owners? How did they shape medieval understandings of sodomy more generally?Less

The First Sodomite

Robert Mills

in Seeing Sodomy in the Middle Ages

This chapter focuses on the myth of Orpheus as it was mediated in medieval culture, with particular reference to Ovid’s discussion of Orpheus’s turn to “tender males” following his loss of Eurydice ... More

This chapter focuses on the myth of Orpheus as it was mediated in medieval culture, with particular reference to Ovid’s discussion of Orpheus’s turn to “tender males” following his loss of Eurydice in the underworld. The chapter begins by interrogating the varied responses to the story in the Middle Ages. Orpheus’s pederastic turn provided some writers with opportunities to envision erotic possibilities that would otherwise remain unspeakable. One text, the verse Ovide moralisé, even interprets Orpheus’s devotion to homoerotic behavior as representing a virtuous rejection of the company of women. Visual images also confront Orpheus’s erotic inclinations cryptically, culminating in a famous drawing of the death of Orpheus by Albrecht Dürer. The chapter also considers the motif of “retro-vision” in the Orpheus legend, comparing Orpheus’s fate with that of Lot’s wife in the biblical story of the destruction of Sodom, who is also punished for the crime of looking back. The chapter concludes by considering recent attempts to rehabilitate the Orpheus myth in queer and feminist scholarship, and asks why today the legend of Orpheus the “first sodomite” appears to have fallen by the wayside.Less