<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
		>
<channel>
	<title>Comments on: 200 Lashes</title>
	<atom:link href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/</link>
	<description>Random samplings from a universe of ideas.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:09:16 -0600</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4</generator>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
		<item>
		<title>By: Sergey</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/comment-page-1/#comment-33745</link>
		<dc:creator>Sergey</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 25 Nov 2007 06:01:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/#comment-33745</guid>
		<description>Muhammed,
Why should not we judge a culture?  Any culture has its own set of taboo. Some of Islamic rules (against killing or stilling) has parallels here, some had parallels (taboo on homosexuality). But   certain rules can not be justified by any means, those are the rules against which Western civilization fought centuries ago.  For example we believe in freedom of consciousness, and   Islamic rule that mandates killing of apostates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy_in_Islam can not be condoned.  In fact we consider something like this as example of pure evil.

 Inequality between Muslims and non-Muslims existing in many Islamic countries can not be justified.  Here is what do I mean by inequality: For e.g. in Saudi Arabia, when a person has been killed or caused to die by another, the prescribed blood money rates are as follows:
 	100,000 riyals if the victim is a Muslim man
 	50,000 riyals if a Muslim woman
 	50,000 riyals if a Christian man
 	25,000 riyals if a Christian woman
 	6,666 riyals if a Hindu man
 	3,333 riyals if a Hindu woman.
Ref http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diyya

Another example: no other religion , but Islam can be practiced in Saudi Arabia.

So why should not we judge the entire culture if it is saturated by what we consider to be evil? Saudi Arabia has no constitution but Quran and Suna.

If those rules are based on Islamic law, (and they are) why should not we judge Islam as whole?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Muhammed,<br />
Why should not we judge a culture?  Any culture has its own set of taboo. Some of Islamic rules (against killing or stilling) has parallels here, some had parallels (taboo on homosexuality). But   certain rules can not be justified by any means, those are the rules against which Western civilization fought centuries ago.  For example we believe in freedom of consciousness, and   Islamic rule that mandates killing of apostates <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy_in_Islam" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy_in_Islam</a> can not be condoned.  In fact we consider something like this as example of pure evil.</p>
<p> Inequality between Muslims and non-Muslims existing in many Islamic countries can not be justified.  Here is what do I mean by inequality: For e.g. in Saudi Arabia, when a person has been killed or caused to die by another, the prescribed blood money rates are as follows:<br />
 	100,000 riyals if the victim is a Muslim man<br />
 	50,000 riyals if a Muslim woman<br />
 	50,000 riyals if a Christian man<br />
 	25,000 riyals if a Christian woman<br />
 	6,666 riyals if a Hindu man<br />
 	3,333 riyals if a Hindu woman.<br />
Ref <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diyya" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diyya</a></p>
<p>Another example: no other religion , but Islam can be practiced in Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>So why should not we judge the entire culture if it is saturated by what we consider to be evil? Saudi Arabia has no constitution but Quran and Suna.</p>
<p>If those rules are based on Islamic law, (and they are) why should not we judge Islam as whole?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: MedallionOfFerret</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/comment-page-1/#comment-33711</link>
		<dc:creator>MedallionOfFerret</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:13:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/#comment-33711</guid>
		<description>For what it adds to the discussion--The October 13, 2007 Economist has a short article (p. 50) about the Saudi legal system.  Apparently, what is, or is not, sharia, and how it is applied, is determined by a pool of clerics chosen by Wahhabi scholars.  A reform of the system has just been instituted, and Royalty will now determine most of the 10-man Supreme Court (rather than, apparently, the pool of clerics).   The article is a bit pessimistic about how fast the reforms will be instituted--judges have, in the past, ignored reform attempts--and notes that the reform does not include actually writing down what the law is:  &quot;Saleh Lahidan, the grizzled, long-standing head of the just-demoted supreme judicial council, says there is no need to copy other countries; codification would &#039;separate us from our culture&#039;&quot; (p. 51).</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For what it adds to the discussion&#8211;The October 13, 2007 Economist has a short article (p. 50) about the Saudi legal system.  Apparently, what is, or is not, sharia, and how it is applied, is determined by a pool of clerics chosen by Wahhabi scholars.  A reform of the system has just been instituted, and Royalty will now determine most of the 10-man Supreme Court (rather than, apparently, the pool of clerics).   The article is a bit pessimistic about how fast the reforms will be instituted&#8211;judges have, in the past, ignored reform attempts&#8211;and notes that the reform does not include actually writing down what the law is:  &#8220;Saleh Lahidan, the grizzled, long-standing head of the just-demoted supreme judicial council, says there is no need to copy other countries; codification would &#8217;separate us from our culture&#8217;&#8221; (p. 51).</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Jesse M.</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/comment-page-1/#comment-33744</link>
		<dc:creator>Jesse M.</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Nov 2007 02:21:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/#comment-33744</guid>
		<description>Mohammad, does that mean that if medical technology developed to the point that any problems associated with anal sex were easily preventable or curable, you would no longer view homosexuals any differently than heterosexuals who just never choose to marry?

Also, does your feeling that homosexuality is a problem because it could sway people to become homosexual and thereby hurt the family depend at all on how many people could be swayed in this way? For example, suppose that further scientific study shows that 97% of men have their sexuality sufficiently hard-wired by genetics (and possibly by fetal hormones) that it would be basically impossible to influence their orientation through social pressures, while the other 3% could be influenced. Would this be enough to be a serious danger to the family? Would it be worth stigmatizing homosexuals and causing them suffering just to minimize the chance that this 3% would turn out homosexual? Because there&#039;s no getting around the fact that your way of running society is going to cause many homosexuals a lot of suffering...imagine you were in love with a certain woman but your society frowned on the relationship, say because she was of a different religion or ethnic group, so you were forbidden from ever admitting the relationship in public or behaving as a couple outside your home...don&#039;t you think that would cause you a lot of unhappiness in life?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Mohammad, does that mean that if medical technology developed to the point that any problems associated with anal sex were easily preventable or curable, you would no longer view homosexuals any differently than heterosexuals who just never choose to marry?</p>
<p>Also, does your feeling that homosexuality is a problem because it could sway people to become homosexual and thereby hurt the family depend at all on how many people could be swayed in this way? For example, suppose that further scientific study shows that 97% of men have their sexuality sufficiently hard-wired by genetics (and possibly by fetal hormones) that it would be basically impossible to influence their orientation through social pressures, while the other 3% could be influenced. Would this be enough to be a serious danger to the family? Would it be worth stigmatizing homosexuals and causing them suffering just to minimize the chance that this 3% would turn out homosexual? Because there&#8217;s no getting around the fact that your way of running society is going to cause many homosexuals a lot of suffering&#8230;imagine you were in love with a certain woman but your society frowned on the relationship, say because she was of a different religion or ethnic group, so you were forbidden from ever admitting the relationship in public or behaving as a couple outside your home&#8230;don&#8217;t you think that would cause you a lot of unhappiness in life?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Mohammad</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/comment-page-1/#comment-33743</link>
		<dc:creator>Mohammad</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Nov 2007 01:59:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/#comment-33743</guid>
		<description>sigh...

gays who are not involved in anal sex are exceptions and general rules are not based on exceptions
the consequences and the effects are not caused by the exceptions!

no, lesbians will not have anal problems, and i am not ganna cook up something for lesbian sex, because i do not cook up things in the 1st place, so to make a long story short i would say allowing homosexuality among females only is practically impossible because gays would want the same right, that makes your question another exception to which the answer is illdefined

would that argument convince me to change my orientation? it might if i were under age, like it does to many who became homosexuals

i thought we are dicussing here in a civilized way, comments such as this is &quot;nonsense&quot;, or &quot;you are cooking up stuff&quot; is not what i had in mind for a decent discussion

peace</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>sigh&#8230;</p>
<p>gays who are not involved in anal sex are exceptions and general rules are not based on exceptions<br />
the consequences and the effects are not caused by the exceptions!</p>
<p>no, lesbians will not have anal problems, and i am not ganna cook up something for lesbian sex, because i do not cook up things in the 1st place, so to make a long story short i would say allowing homosexuality among females only is practically impossible because gays would want the same right, that makes your question another exception to which the answer is illdefined</p>
<p>would that argument convince me to change my orientation? it might if i were under age, like it does to many who became homosexuals</p>
<p>i thought we are dicussing here in a civilized way, comments such as this is &#8220;nonsense&#8221;, or &#8220;you are cooking up stuff&#8221; is not what i had in mind for a decent discussion</p>
<p>peace</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: sigh...</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/comment-page-1/#comment-33742</link>
		<dc:creator>sigh...</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2007 23:38:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/#comment-33742</guid>
		<description>Mohammad,

&quot;ppl who are singles are totally different from homsexuals
at least in the following sense
the probability of getting serious anal problems (inculding anal cancer) to a gay is much higher than the probability of getting the same for a single person&quot;

I suppose then that you&#039;d have no problem with homosexuals who don&#039;t engage in anal sex?  This means lesbians are okay?  Or are you going to cook up some fictitious health concern for lesbian sex also?

&quot;a:are you homosexual?
b:no i am not
a:how do you know?
b:what do you mean how do i know?
a:well you have to try 1st may be you are homosexual and you do not know it yet!&quot;

Would this argument convince you to change your sexuality?  You can&#039;t honestly believe this nonsense.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Mohammad,</p>
<p>&#8220;ppl who are singles are totally different from homsexuals<br />
at least in the following sense<br />
the probability of getting serious anal problems (inculding anal cancer) to a gay is much higher than the probability of getting the same for a single person&#8221;</p>
<p>I suppose then that you&#8217;d have no problem with homosexuals who don&#8217;t engage in anal sex?  This means lesbians are okay?  Or are you going to cook up some fictitious health concern for lesbian sex also?</p>
<p>&#8220;a:are you homosexual?<br />
b:no i am not<br />
a:how do you know?<br />
b:what do you mean how do i know?<br />
a:well you have to try 1st may be you are homosexual and you do not know it yet!&#8221;</p>
<p>Would this argument convince you to change your sexuality?  You can&#8217;t honestly believe this nonsense.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Mohammad</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/comment-page-1/#comment-33696</link>
		<dc:creator>Mohammad</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2007 20:43:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/#comment-33696</guid>
		<description>Farahat

what do you mean all such rules are only for muslim neighbors?
thats not true

what i said about neighbours applies whether the neighbours are muslims or non muslims, whether they are in a muslim country or not</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Farahat</p>
<p>what do you mean all such rules are only for muslim neighbors?<br />
thats not true</p>
<p>what i said about neighbours applies whether the neighbours are muslims or non muslims, whether they are in a muslim country or not</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Farhat</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/comment-page-1/#comment-33741</link>
		<dc:creator>Farhat</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2007 20:09:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/#comment-33741</guid>
		<description>The bad thing of course is all such rules about Muslim societies are only for Muslim neighbors. Non-muslims have few rights, if any.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The bad thing of course is all such rules about Muslim societies are only for Muslim neighbors. Non-muslims have few rights, if any.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Mohammad</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/comment-page-1/#comment-33740</link>
		<dc:creator>Mohammad</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:44:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/#comment-33740</guid>
		<description>Jesse M.

ppl who are singles are totally different from homsexuals
at least in the following sense
the probability of getting serious anal problems (inculding anal cancer) to a gay is much higher than the probability of getting the same for a single person (anal sex is strictly forbidden between a married man and woman in islam by the way)

as for science and homosexuality,

not all the homosexuals became so bec they found themselves naturally attracted to the same sex, many of them became homosexuals becauase of an experience out of curiousity or something else
i do not deny the fact that homosexuality could have a genetic origin, actually almost every aspect of our personality has a genetic origin, so i would not be surprised
but when the society encourages homosexuality and talk to kids even about it at schools and when the debate and arguments advanced by homosexuals are be what you are, and do not be ashamed of it, then many unsuspecting youth start to experiment or discover what they really are, they are infact being unwittingly ,and in their most suggestible period of growth, led astray with the power of suggestion and a convoluted logic

a:are you homosexual?
b:no i am not
a:how do you know?
b:what do you mean how do i know?
a:well you have to try 1st may be you are homosexual and you do not know it yet!

there is an element of choice in all behaviour, sexual or otherwise
we are what we chose to be whe we do what we chose to do, we chose what we chose to think
whether it is 100% genetics with some homosexuals or other factors, it is the nobelity of the human sipirt that can overcome it
the nobelity of the human spirit is to resist, and this is what elevates the human being to the status above that of the angels

as for going public with one&#039;s orientation, there are usually already laws in muslim countries which forbids homosexuals to be public about their orientations or popularise it just not to encourage others, just in the same way that prostitution is made illegal and playboy is banned...as far as i know the punishment is something like fine or jail for short period of time, but that happens only after the person has been warned so many times to stop talking publiclly abt or spreading his orientation

as for not interfering with others, i think i already mentioned something about that, pls read my reply to Abelian, it is number 39 here

i do not really recall something specific from the quraan, probably there is but i do not remember it, on the other hand i remember that there are many authentic sunnah (sunnah basically means the actions of the prophit, what he did what he said and what he approved, islam is based on 2 corner stones ,quraan and the authentic sunnah) which says with the meaning that it is v sinful to even have one look (accidental looks are execused of course) at the inside of your neighbour&#039;s (or somebody else&#039;s) home since it is considered as a form of breaking his privacy withuot an invitation and thats extremely wrong (which is a strong way of saying everyone should mind his own business lol)</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Jesse M.</p>
<p>ppl who are singles are totally different from homsexuals<br />
at least in the following sense<br />
the probability of getting serious anal problems (inculding anal cancer) to a gay is much higher than the probability of getting the same for a single person (anal sex is strictly forbidden between a married man and woman in islam by the way)</p>
<p>as for science and homosexuality,</p>
<p>not all the homosexuals became so bec they found themselves naturally attracted to the same sex, many of them became homosexuals becauase of an experience out of curiousity or something else<br />
i do not deny the fact that homosexuality could have a genetic origin, actually almost every aspect of our personality has a genetic origin, so i would not be surprised<br />
but when the society encourages homosexuality and talk to kids even about it at schools and when the debate and arguments advanced by homosexuals are be what you are, and do not be ashamed of it, then many unsuspecting youth start to experiment or discover what they really are, they are infact being unwittingly ,and in their most suggestible period of growth, led astray with the power of suggestion and a convoluted logic</p>
<p>a:are you homosexual?<br />
b:no i am not<br />
a:how do you know?<br />
b:what do you mean how do i know?<br />
a:well you have to try 1st may be you are homosexual and you do not know it yet!</p>
<p>there is an element of choice in all behaviour, sexual or otherwise<br />
we are what we chose to be whe we do what we chose to do, we chose what we chose to think<br />
whether it is 100% genetics with some homosexuals or other factors, it is the nobelity of the human sipirt that can overcome it<br />
the nobelity of the human spirit is to resist, and this is what elevates the human being to the status above that of the angels</p>
<p>as for going public with one&#8217;s orientation, there are usually already laws in muslim countries which forbids homosexuals to be public about their orientations or popularise it just not to encourage others, just in the same way that prostitution is made illegal and playboy is banned&#8230;as far as i know the punishment is something like fine or jail for short period of time, but that happens only after the person has been warned so many times to stop talking publiclly abt or spreading his orientation</p>
<p>as for not interfering with others, i think i already mentioned something about that, pls read my reply to Abelian, it is number 39 here</p>
<p>i do not really recall something specific from the quraan, probably there is but i do not remember it, on the other hand i remember that there are many authentic sunnah (sunnah basically means the actions of the prophit, what he did what he said and what he approved, islam is based on 2 corner stones ,quraan and the authentic sunnah) which says with the meaning that it is v sinful to even have one look (accidental looks are execused of course) at the inside of your neighbour&#8217;s (or somebody else&#8217;s) home since it is considered as a form of breaking his privacy withuot an invitation and thats extremely wrong (which is a strong way of saying everyone should mind his own business lol)</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Jesse M.</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/comment-page-1/#comment-33739</link>
		<dc:creator>Jesse M.</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:51:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/#comment-33739</guid>
		<description>Mohammad writes:
&lt;i&gt;good questions
there is in this world many compulsive gamblers, alcoholics, adulterers, thieves, but many of them control it and refrain from doing it&lt;/i&gt;

And in these cases their behavior is causing clear harm to their own lives or to the lives of individuals around them. This is not true in the case of homosexuality, where the harm you say they&#039;re causing is not to any specific individuals but to &quot;society&quot; or &quot;the family&quot;. And you never answered my question of why a homosexual is causing any more harm to the family than a person who chooses to stay unmarried for their entire life--if homosexuals need to be treated, why don&#039;t you say the same of heterosexuals who prefer being single to getting married and having children?

&lt;i&gt;if the person is not willing to get help for one reason or another then i beleive he can stay homosexual without bringing it to the public&lt;/i&gt;

And what if the person wants to be just as public about his or her choice of mates as a heterosexual, what do you think should be done then?

&lt;i&gt;ppl who are in charge of applying the islamic laws are not going to nock on ppl doors and look to see whether they are drinking or having sex or not, you want to drink, fine drink but do it at home, nobody would spy on you, and if they spied on you then by definition thats not islam&lt;/i&gt;

Well, a number of Muslim countries would disagree that it&#039;s OK to drink or be homosexual as long as it&#039;s done at home. Is there something in the Koran that specifically forbids interfering with what goes on inside the home?

&lt;i&gt;again i am not saying homosexuals are bad ppl and wanna harm others thats why they have to not bring such orientation into public, all what i am saying is that to prevent others from getting affected by that ( as in being tempted to be homosexual, or as in getting attracted to the idea, or as in trying something new, and unfortunately may be hooked) homosexuality should stay at one’s home or generally inside&lt;/i&gt;

What about the point I made that there&#039;s a lot of scientific evidence that sexual preference is strongly determined by biology? You can read &lt;a href=&quot;http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jun/born-gay&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;this article from Discover magazine&lt;/a&gt; for examples of various lines of evidence (the &#039;Xq28&#039; gene mentioned at the start of the article seems pretty controversial, but later sections of the article discuss more well-established evidence). If this is true, it would mean that it&#039;s pretty useless to try to &quot;treat&quot; homosexuals, and it would also mean that there is little danger that many heterosexuals will be tempted to become homosexuals (although of course some people who identify as heterosexual may actually be bisexual). I don&#039;t think there&#039;s any evidence that societies which are more accepting of homosexuality actually have a significantly greater proportion of homosexuals, for example.

But even if some fraction of people could be &quot;influenced&quot;, is it really worth stigmatizing people or making them feel ashamed of their love in order to prevent this? Once again, I&#039;d ask you to compare homosexuality with the case of people who remain single for life--they might influence some people too, does that mean remaining unmarried should be viewed as an illness which needs to be treated?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Mohammad writes:<br />
<i>good questions<br />
there is in this world many compulsive gamblers, alcoholics, adulterers, thieves, but many of them control it and refrain from doing it</i></p>
<p>And in these cases their behavior is causing clear harm to their own lives or to the lives of individuals around them. This is not true in the case of homosexuality, where the harm you say they&#8217;re causing is not to any specific individuals but to &#8220;society&#8221; or &#8220;the family&#8221;. And you never answered my question of why a homosexual is causing any more harm to the family than a person who chooses to stay unmarried for their entire life&#8211;if homosexuals need to be treated, why don&#8217;t you say the same of heterosexuals who prefer being single to getting married and having children?</p>
<p><i>if the person is not willing to get help for one reason or another then i beleive he can stay homosexual without bringing it to the public</i></p>
<p>And what if the person wants to be just as public about his or her choice of mates as a heterosexual, what do you think should be done then?</p>
<p><i>ppl who are in charge of applying the islamic laws are not going to nock on ppl doors and look to see whether they are drinking or having sex or not, you want to drink, fine drink but do it at home, nobody would spy on you, and if they spied on you then by definition thats not islam</i></p>
<p>Well, a number of Muslim countries would disagree that it&#8217;s OK to drink or be homosexual as long as it&#8217;s done at home. Is there something in the Koran that specifically forbids interfering with what goes on inside the home?</p>
<p><i>again i am not saying homosexuals are bad ppl and wanna harm others thats why they have to not bring such orientation into public, all what i am saying is that to prevent others from getting affected by that ( as in being tempted to be homosexual, or as in getting attracted to the idea, or as in trying something new, and unfortunately may be hooked) homosexuality should stay at one’s home or generally inside</i></p>
<p>What about the point I made that there&#8217;s a lot of scientific evidence that sexual preference is strongly determined by biology? You can read <a href="http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jun/born-gay" rel="nofollow">this article from Discover magazine</a> for examples of various lines of evidence (the &#8216;Xq28&#8242; gene mentioned at the start of the article seems pretty controversial, but later sections of the article discuss more well-established evidence). If this is true, it would mean that it&#8217;s pretty useless to try to &#8220;treat&#8221; homosexuals, and it would also mean that there is little danger that many heterosexuals will be tempted to become homosexuals (although of course some people who identify as heterosexual may actually be bisexual). I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s any evidence that societies which are more accepting of homosexuality actually have a significantly greater proportion of homosexuals, for example.</p>
<p>But even if some fraction of people could be &#8220;influenced&#8221;, is it really worth stigmatizing people or making them feel ashamed of their love in order to prevent this? Once again, I&#8217;d ask you to compare homosexuality with the case of people who remain single for life&#8211;they might influence some people too, does that mean remaining unmarried should be viewed as an illness which needs to be treated?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Mohammad</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/comment-page-1/#comment-33710</link>
		<dc:creator>Mohammad</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 17 Nov 2007 13:57:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/11/15/200-lashes/#comment-33710</guid>
		<description>Abelian

it is not about letting ppl to live their lives the way they want or not
otherwise we should legalise drugs and lower the age of buying alcohol just to let ppl live their lives the way they want

They do not treat such disorders with electrical shocks or gene therapy, if they do then i do not agree with it, sound like horror movie to me, and that would not be a treatment but a punishment !

if i were a homosexual and beleive that i should not be doing what i am doing then i would try my best to avoide the temptations, just by strong will and practice, many ppl give up their addiction to smoking by strong will and determination, i would also to keep my secret practice hidden so i do not tempt others in the society, just for the same reason i would not smoke infront of my kids so they dn&#039;t become tempted to try it

in a muslim society homsexuals can live the way they want but not in public, from many religions point of view a family is a man a woman and children, not a couple of same sex and children

the woman and the man complete each other and thats what the child needs, imagine two guys who are gays and married, and they have a child (somehow by whatever means) and they are going to raise that child, are you telling me one man is going to substitute a woman and going to shower the child with all the mercey and passion and love a woman would do? (may be some men are more passionate and loving than some woman towards infants or kids i agree but thats is an exception and general rules are not based on exceptions)

generally speaking a woman is as important as the man, they both are needed for building a society and the building block of any sociey is family

as for religion cant cure unloving relationships, the problem is not religion, the problem is those who apply it, many families have strong ties and loving relationships among each others bec of religion, whether they are christians or muslims or hindus, in india and in muslim countries for example we do not have as many homes for old people as in other countries, because islam, as in example, orders people to be nice to their parents since childhood, and that being nice to them is a gate to paradise (not even raising my voice or disrespecting them in any manner while talking to them), so one is raised naturally loving his parents and has to keep strong connections with his family and would never put his parents in some home for old people because he has no time for them</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Abelian</p>
<p>it is not about letting ppl to live their lives the way they want or not<br />
otherwise we should legalise drugs and lower the age of buying alcohol just to let ppl live their lives the way they want</p>
<p>They do not treat such disorders with electrical shocks or gene therapy, if they do then i do not agree with it, sound like horror movie to me, and that would not be a treatment but a punishment !</p>
<p>if i were a homosexual and beleive that i should not be doing what i am doing then i would try my best to avoide the temptations, just by strong will and practice, many ppl give up their addiction to smoking by strong will and determination, i would also to keep my secret practice hidden so i do not tempt others in the society, just for the same reason i would not smoke infront of my kids so they dn&#8217;t become tempted to try it</p>
<p>in a muslim society homsexuals can live the way they want but not in public, from many religions point of view a family is a man a woman and children, not a couple of same sex and children</p>
<p>the woman and the man complete each other and thats what the child needs, imagine two guys who are gays and married, and they have a child (somehow by whatever means) and they are going to raise that child, are you telling me one man is going to substitute a woman and going to shower the child with all the mercey and passion and love a woman would do? (may be some men are more passionate and loving than some woman towards infants or kids i agree but thats is an exception and general rules are not based on exceptions)</p>
<p>generally speaking a woman is as important as the man, they both are needed for building a society and the building block of any sociey is family</p>
<p>as for religion cant cure unloving relationships, the problem is not religion, the problem is those who apply it, many families have strong ties and loving relationships among each others bec of religion, whether they are christians or muslims or hindus, in india and in muslim countries for example we do not have as many homes for old people as in other countries, because islam, as in example, orders people to be nice to their parents since childhood, and that being nice to them is a gate to paradise (not even raising my voice or disrespecting them in any manner while talking to them), so one is raised naturally loving his parents and has to keep strong connections with his family and would never put his parents in some home for old people because he has no time for them</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
</channel>
</rss>
