The words "homosexual" and "homosexuality" did not exist in the original
Greek and Hebrew texts of the Bible, and their later appearance in some versions of the
Bible is largely owing to inexact translations of language that was often
figurative, further complicating matters.

The Greek phrase malakoi
arsenokoitai, for instance, which appears as part of a list
in 1-Corinthians 6:9 of those who will not "inherit the kingdom of God,"
has been translated variously as "homosexuals," "male prostitutes" and
"effeminate."

In fact, malakoiliterally means "soft," and the meaning of
arsenokoitai has been lost, leaving scholars to debate exactly how the
phrase should be understood.

The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) contains
less ambiguous references to homosexual acts, two of the most cited being
Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13, which says, "If a man also lie with mankind, as
he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they
shall surely be put to death."

In the New Testament, Paul apparently
condemns homosexuality: In Romans 1:27, he says, "And likewise also the
men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward
another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in
themselves that recompense of their error which was meet."

Jesus, however,
does not address the issue directly anywhere in the Bible, leaving his
take open to interpretation.

Do the Scriptures contain any defense of homosexuality?

Though the Bible never openly advocates homosexuality, it does contain examples of same-sex relationships that appear to go beyond friendship, notably that between David and Jonathan, the eldest son of Saul.

1-Samuel 18:3, for instance, says that "Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul," and 1-Samuel 20:41 says the men "kissed one another, and wept with one another."

Later, in 2-Samuel 1:26, David laments Jonathan's death, saying "very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women." While some think these passages indicate a gay relationship, others contend that they in no way imply a sexual affair and attribute such an interpretation to misreading.

In fact, there are no explicit examples of romantic same-sex partnerships in the Bible, even though homosexuality was common in Roman culture at the time.

Gay-rights proponents often find support instead in verses about withholding judgment, such as "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matthew 7:1), or the so-called Golden Rule, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them" (Matthew 7:12).

Actually, there is no single Hindu New Year.

Different Hindu groups, often depending on their location, celebrate the new year at different times and in different ways. One of the more popular celebrations begins the day following the first new moon on or after the spring equinox, or the first day of the month of Chaitra in the Hindu calendar (a calendar based on the phases of the moon and adjusted to account for the seasons).

In the Gregorian (Western) calendar, this usually takes place in late March or early April. The festival of lights called Diwali, which occurs at the start of the new season after the monsoon, celebrates another reckoning of the New Year, usually taking place in October or November.

Though the Hindu calendar still governs the dates of religious festivals, Hindus in India use the Gregorian calendar for day-to-day purposes—and also celebrate the Gregorian New Year as the clock rolls over to midnight of January 1.

Speaking of Hinduism, what are the Vedas?

Hinduism's sacred literature is divided into two categories: shruti, texts of supposedly divine origin that were imparted directly to man and then transmitted orally; and smriti, texts composed by man that were handed down. Hinduism's most ancient and authoritative scriptures, the Vedas, fall into the first category.

The Vedas originally comprised four collections, the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda, which were known as the Samhitas and contained hymns praising God. Over the centuries additional texts were added, namely the Brahmanas, which offer guidance on holy rituals, the Aranyakas, concerning meditation and worship, and the Upanishads, mystical and philosophical teachings.

Since many of the texts, particularly the earlier Vedas, were written by and for the ruling classes, experts suspect they don't reflect how a sizable portion, perhaps a majority, of early Hindus practiced their religion. Similarly, the Vedas play a limited role in modern-day Hinduism.

Zoroastrians around the world this week are celebrating the birth of Zarathustra.

The dates of his life vary, but Zarathustra, the prophet and founder of Zoroastrianism (Zoroaster was the Greek rendering of his name), is thought to have lived some time between 1500 BCE and 1000 BCE according to modern estimates, though the Zoroastrian tradition places his birth in ancient Persia at 628 BCE and his death at 551 BCE. Regardless, Zoroastrianism is undoubtedly one of the oldest monotheistic religions in existence.

Little is certain about Zarathustra's early life, but the tradition says he was a priest in the polytheistic religion of the time, with a wife, three sons and three daughters. At the age of 30, he experienced a revelation during a ritual purification and from that point forward preached to all he could that there was one god, Ahura Mazda, and that the world was dualistic, i.e. divided between Good and Evil.

His ideas were slow to catch on, and local religious authorities viewed him as a threat. He fled to what is today eastern Iran, and ultimately converted the region's king, Vishtaspa, his religion subsequently spreading through Vishtaspa's domain and into western Iran.

According to the book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), to force the Egyptians to free the enslaved Jews, God inflicted ten plagues on Egypt, the last of which was the death of all Egypt's first-born.

Only Jewish homes, their doors marked as Moses had instructed, were passed over (the origin of the term "Passover"). To commemorate what would ultimately be the Jews' liberation, God commanded that for seven days the Jews eat their bread unleavened, and that henceforth they should "observe the feast of unleavened bread" (Exodus 12:17).

As Exodus tells, the Jews then fled their homes, taking "their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders" (Exodus 12:34), and with Egyptian chariots giving chase, they reached the Red Sea. Walking a dry corridor between the walls of water parted by God, the Jews escaped their centuries of Egyptian slavery, while the pursuing Egyptians were cast into the sea and drowned.

Today Jews celebrate Passover with a feast called Seder, and still observe God's decree that they eat unleavened bread (matzo), which, according to Jewish tradition, is prepared and baked within 18 minutes, to recall the bread eaten by the Jews during their hasty flight from Egypt.