Discussion on History of Biblical References to Sodomy Planned at PFLAG

How did the word "sodomy" become a code word for sin? What is the meaning of the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19?

Paul Feiertag, a retired Lutheran minister, will examine and discuss the meaning of the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah at the July 24th meeting of the Santa Rosa Chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays- North Bay Chapter (PFLAG-NB). The meeting is held at 7:30 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church 4830 Newanga Avenue.

Feiertag earned his 1972 Master of Divinity from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 1972. As a Lutheran minister, Feiertag admitted he had previously accepted homosexuality as a sin and sodomy as "a code word for a sin so detestable that it makes a person worthy of death." It was his son Tim who provided the impetus for Feiertag to reeducate himself. Tim told the family on Christmas Eve, 1990, that he is gay.

The coming out of his son was hard on the Lutheran minister and his wife Ingrid.

"My relationship with Tim was far too valuable to lose; and since it was my biblically-based opinions on homosexuality that prevented me from accepting Tim as a gay man, I had to do the necessary work to overcome the initial pain of shock, grief, shame, despair and isolation," Feiertag said. He began his years-long study of the issue.

"New information opened my mind and heart to what Tim was experiencing as a very committed Christian who happened to be a gay man. It was quite a revelation to me that my uneducated assumptions could be wrong," Feiertag said.

A member of PFLAG, Feiertag says he continues to seek insights on homosexuality and the Bible and has a long list of scholars whose books informed his thinking. "People who have knowledge of his subject will be able to erase a great deal of internalized homophobia and have information to combat the continued misuse of this story and its subsequent negative effects on gay people and those who love them." Feiertag intends to offer this knowledge.

The meeting is an open one. Parents, friends and family who have a gay person or persons in their lives and members of the gay community and are especially invited to attend the presentation.