The biblical narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah has served as an archetypal story of divine antipathy towards same sex love and desire. 'Sodomy' offers a study of the reception of this story in Christian and Jewish traditions from antiquity to the Reformation. The book argues that the homophobic interpretation of Sodom and Gomorrah is a Christian invention which emerged in the first few centuries of the Christian era. The Jewish tradition - in which Sodom and Gomorrah are associated primarily with inhospitality, xenophobia and abuse of the poor - presents a very different picture. The book will be of interest to students and scholars seeking a fresh perspective on biblical approaches to sexuality.

Michael Carden teaches Biblical Studies and Comparative Religion at the University of Queensland, Australia.

1. Introducing Sodom/olog/y: A Homosexual Reading Hetero-Textuality; 2. Reading Sodom and Gibeah; 3. A Shared Heritage - Sodom and Gibeah in Temple Times; 4. But the Men of Sodom Were Worse than the Men of Gibeah for the Men of Gibeah Only Wanted Sex: Sodom the Cruel, Gibeah and Rabbinic Judaism; 5. Towards Sodomy: Sodom and Gibeah in the Christian Ecumen; 6. The Sin that Arrogantly Proclaims Itself - Inventing Sodomy in Medieval Christendom; 7. Conclusion: Detoxifying Sodom and Gomorrah