I wonder if someone might be able to direct me to the source of whichever
exigetical reading of Sodom names their sin as inhospitality. I have
heard a number of queer theorists mention this in various presentations,
including David Halperin (One Hundred Years of Homosexuality, Routledge,
1990) and Mark Jordan of Notre Dame. Yet, I have not been able to track down
this interpretation. I would very much appreciate a nod in the right
direction.
Stephen Harris
Loyola University Chicago
PS. A small aside: Mark Jordan recently gave a very interesting paper
here at Loyola on the Cult and Passio of St. Pelagius. During the
question period following, a number of those present noted that the
Sultan in the passion misinterprets Pelagius' beauty, reading it
corporally rather than spiritually. Yes, the story represents homosexual
desire, but it also speaks to the manner in which desire ought to be
focused, and the proper end one ought to seek. In other words,
penitential interdictions against sodomy (and there are a great number) did
not prevent sodomy from being a subject of moral contemplation in
popular devotional tales. One wonders what residue of interdiction
retards sodomy from being a subject of scholarly contemplation.
SJH
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