Sodom: Hospitality Violation, Not Just Homosexuality

Two confident answers get given about Sodom, and Heiser rejects both.
The first is the familiar one: God destroyed the city over homosexuality. On Genesis 18:20 he is direct - "we shouldn't assume that the outcry against Sodom is only a reference to homosexuality. The text never says that." That is the standard evangelical reading of the verse, and his verdict on it is that "the problem is much bigger than that."
The second answer runs the other way: Ezekiel 16:49 names pride, excess of food, prosperous ease and neglect of the poor, so homosexuality had nothing to do with it. Heiser calls that reading "flawed," and explains why in one phrase - "it's sort of both true and untrue." Ezekiel genuinely widens the indictment. He does not erase the narrative in Genesis 19.
Scripture links:
- Genesis 18:20 - "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave."
- Ezekiel 16:49 - "she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy."
A city can be indicted for more than one thing. Reading the file down to a single charge is how both sides get it wrong.