Level 29 ♂
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Peoria, IL
|
|
Jan 28th, 2006, 11:00 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pharaoh
Every religion disapproves of homosexuality, that's true.
|
Actually, it isn't. In many Native American tribes, homosexuals were revered and treasured as powerful shamans with a special connection to the spirit world that heterosexual people could not achieve. They used to be called berdache people, but that term has been replaced by "two-spirit."
Quote:
Originally Posted by wikipedia.org
These individuals are often viewed as having two spirits occupying one body. Their dress is usually a mixture of traditionally male and traditionally female articles. They have distinct gender and social roles in their tribes. For instance, among the Lakota there was one ceremony during the Sun Dance that was performed only by a two-spirited person of that tribe. (See winkte)
Two-spirited individuals perform specific social functions in their communities. In some tribes male-bodied two-spirits were active as healers or medicine persons, gravediggers, undertakers, handling and burying of the deceased, conducted mourning rites, conveyers of oral traditions and songs, nurses during war expeditions, foretold the future, conferred lucky names on children or adults, wove, made pottery, made beadwork and quillwork, arranged marriages, made feather regalia for dances, special skills in games of chance, led scalp-dances, and fulfilled special functions in connection with the setting up of the central post for the Sun Dance. In some tribes female-bodied two-spirits typically took on roles such as chief, council, trader, hunter, trapper, fisher, warfare, raider, guides, peace missions, vision quests, prophets, and medicine persons.
Some examples of two-spirited people in history include the accounts by Spanish conquistadors who spotted a two-spirited individual(s) in almost every village they entered in Central America.
There are descriptions of two-spirited individuals having strong mystical powers. In one account, raiding soldiers of a rival tribe begin to attack a group of foraging women when they perceive that one of the women, the one that does not run away, is a two-spirit. They halt their attack and retreat after the two-spirit counters them with a stick, determining that the two-spirit will have great power which they will not be able to overcome.
|
There's also Buddhism:
Quote:
Originally Posted by wikipedia.org
In Buddhism, the third of the Five Precepts states that one is to refrain from sexual misconduct. Among the many interpretations of what constitutes "sexual misconduct" are: sex outside of marriage (a relatively modern idea), sex with another person without the consent of your life partner, or the historically prevalent view that it was limited to describe rape, incest, and bestiality.
No Buddhist school prior to the European Imperialism that began largely around the 17th Century had ever described homosexuality as "sexual misconduct". Traditionally, however, monks are expected to be celibate and restrain themselves from all sexual activity.
Buddhist schools condemning homosexuality for laypersons is a recent development and there is no scriptural basis upon which it is to be condemned. The closest would be a few Buddhists who equated homosexuality to disability or being a transvestite, but there was no condemnation in any sense (see also [1]). Buddhist leaders throughout Asia accepted or even sanctified homosexuality.
|
Hinduism, being the diverse religion that it is, has sects which approve and those which disapprove:
Quote:
Originally Posted by wikipedia.org
Hindu views of homosexuality are varying and diverse. This is because the accepted Hindu religious texts do not explicitly mention homosexuality at all. Currently, the debate on homosexuality within Hinduism is controversial, especially amongst Hindus in countries where homosexuality is viewed by many others as acceptable. Furthermore the issue is complicated by the fact that in Hinduism many of the divinities are androgynous and some change gender to participate in homoerotic behaviour. To this day in modern India there are Hijras, transgendered men who have sex with men. They religiously identify as a separate third sex, with many undergoing ritual castration. However these beliefs about Hijras (Khoosras) are merely South Asian cultural beliefs, rather than Hindu religious beliefs. There is great debate over whether homosexuality is permitted in the Hindu religion.
|
Daoism:
Quote:
Originally Posted by wikipedia.org
This has been the traditional view of homosexuality in Taoism, that homosexual acts in it self are not wrong but all men are still required to reproduce. For example, Taoists may have homosexual relations as long as they continue the family tree by having a child with at least one woman. Many modern Taoists who also combine Confucianism have dropped their requirement of heterosexual relations due to medicinal advancements that allow reproduction without such sex, using IVF and/or surrogacy.
|
Do some fucking research before you open your mouth, please.
How long will it be before he dismisses everything I say for using Wikipedia as a source? Taking bets now, people.
|
|
|
|