I have little doubt that S and G were some pretty scary places, but God didn’t destroy them anymore than he destroyed Pompei or New Orleans or any other place that suffered through a terrible natural disaster of some type. One is rewarded or punished for his/her deeds on earth after death, not on earth.
And you know God didn’t destroy Sodom and Gomorrah how? The Bible clearly states God did destroy them. The Bible also clearly states there was a flood. Don’t believe that either?
Barry Lynn, is that you? ... Don’t believe the Bible, eh?
The events that happened to "Pompei or New Orleans" truly were natural disasters - hurricanes and volcanoes have brought destruction quite often throughout history. If you believe the biblical account of what happened with S&G, well, I can't think of another documented case of fire raining down from heaven and destroying an entire city and all of it's inhabitants. This is something quite different from your run of the mill "terrible natural disaster of some type" (hurricane, volcanoe, earthquake, etc.) that happens relatively frequently.
Of course if you don't believe the biblical account then why believe any of it? Just write it off as another Atlantis-type fable; afterall, there's not a lot of solid extra-biblical documentation of the event.
Personally I have a very simple faith - God is sovereign, the bible is true, and S&G (like the flood) occurred because of man's wickedness.