The Destruction of Sodom Discovered
The Lessons of Sodom Rejected
In short, at or near what is thought to be the ancient site of Sodom, there is overwhelming evidence that a “cosmic airburst” wiped out a substantial city. Military defeat, fires, earthquakes and other mundane disasters do not account for the evidence, particularly the geological evidence (such as the crystals in the accompanying photo). But a cosmic airburst, such as caused by a large meteor, does. From the conclusion:
We considered and dismissed 8 of 10 potential processes (Table 3), including volcanism, warfare, and tectonism, that can account for at least some but not all of the evidence. We conclude that the only plausible formation mechanism that can account for the entire range of evidence in Table 3 is a crater-forming impact or a cosmic airburst, most likely somewhat larger than the 22-megaton airburst at Tunguska, Siberia in 1908. The data also suggest an airburst occurred a few kilometers SW of Tall el-Hammam causing, in rapid succession, a high-temperature thermal pulse from the fireball that melted exposed materials, including roofing clay, mudbricks, and pottery. This was followed by a high-temperature, hypervelocity blast wave that demolished and pulverized mudbrick walls across the city, leveling the city, and causing extensive human mortality. An important observation is that although local sediment can melt at ~ 1300 °C, that is a minimum temperature but not a maximum one, a conclusion that is supported by the presence of embedded minerals that melted at temperatures of up to ~ 2500 °C. In addition, anomalously high salt content in the debris matrix is consistent with an aerial detonation above high-salinity sediments near the Jordan River or above the hypersaline Dead Sea. This event, in turn, distributed salt across the region, severely limiting regional agricultural development for up to ~ 600 years.
Regarding this proposed airburst, an eyewitness description of this 3600-year-old catastrophic event may have been passed down as an oral tradition that eventually became the written biblical account about the destruction of Sodom. There are no known ancient writings or books of the Bible, other than Genesis, that describe what could be construed as the destruction of a city by an airburst/impact event.
The estimated date of the event? About 1650 B. C. I checked my Matthew Henry commentary and his dating of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is 1898 B. C. By the scientists’ own admission, carbon dating is still an inexact science, and Matthew Henry was not infallible either. So either or both being slightly off gives a match.
But nerd out and examine the evidence for yourself. There is a lot of it!
Although we can rejoice in this discovery and appreciate the diligent work of those behind it, there is an irony here hard to miss — or it should be hard to miss. Just as we have discovered hard evidence of Sodom and its destruction, we in the West are utterly rejecting the lessons of Sodom.
St. Paul wrote that sin left unchecked results in a “depraved mind.” (Romans 1:28) Jesus prophesied that men who are committed to an immoral lifestyle and disdain for God generally will continue to reject God even “if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:31) Well, Jesus rose from the dead. There is ample evidence of that. Yet Christianity is more and more rejected as “nonsense” in Richard Dawkins’ words. If people are committed enough to their sinful rejection of God, all the evidence in the world is not enough to get them to change their clouded minds.
Yet the Lord has not ceased to be merciful and give us strong hints that He is for real and we for real need to repent. Early this year, I noted a lightning strike on a statue of St. Peter in Pope Francis’ Argentina on his birthday, the day before he issued Fiducia supplicans approving of same-sex blessings.
Yes, a rather strong and emphatic hint from the Lord about what He thinks about the current direction of most of the church, particularly the Church of Rome under Francis, and Western society. Yet this got very little attention outside of Trad Cat circles.
Forgive me for any irreverence in so saying, but I wonder what God has to do to get our attention. Let’s say there was a cosmic airburst over San Francisco during a Gay Pride parade with hundreds of pandering politicians and fake church clerics in attendance. Any suggestions that it might be God’s judgement and warning would be shrieked and shouted down as bigotry. Candlelit vigils and “I stand with San Francisco” would surely be more prevalent at least in blue cities.
Yes, sadly, I suspect the cities of the West are less noble than the city of Nineveh in the Book of Jonah. Nineveh repented. Western cities stiffen their necks. I pray for national repentance just about every day, and I occasionally see signs it might be beginning to happen. But I’m not betting on it.
I’m in danger of rambling and perhaps of foaming at the mouth on this subject. So I will conclude by noting again the great irony: as we discover a wealth of hard evidence of the judgement of Sodom, the West is rejecting the lessons of Sodom.
If that rejection continues and deepens instead of repentance, cosmic airbursts might be the least of our problems.
Note, Eric Metaxas talks about the Sodom discovery in his 2021 book, "Is Atheism Dead". Interestingly, Sodom employed a defensive technology using millions of bricks to make a smooth slope of the hillside approach to the city, making it hard for attackers to scale. In other words, they thought they were safe. And think about Lot's wife standing on a hill far away to take a look at the city when it got hit. Could the wave of molten sand and salts be what turned her into a pillar?