Posted on 06/10/2013 3:30:15 AM PDT by markomalley
For Dennis Ebersole, the fallout from the Boy Scouts of America's decision to change a century of policy and allow openly gay Scouts to participate wasn't long in coming.
"Within 12 hours of the announcement that the membership standards resolution had passed, I was contacted by five other members in my pack leadership committee, questioning whether they were going to continue Scouting," said Mr. Ebersole, a den leader with Cub Scout Pack 282 in South Riding, Va.
The reaction was equally quick for Gary Hiden, an assistant scoutmaster of Troop 268 in New Market, Md., who has been involved with the Boy Scouts of America his whole life. He was a Boy Scout, and his mother served as a den mother and his father as a scoutmaster. Now, both his sons are Scouts. But the family plans to quit the Boy Scouts once the new policy takes effect Jan. 1.
"I'm very sad, because it's a part of me and a part of my family. We have so much invested in Boy Scouting," Mr. Hiden said. "But we don't believe that the new policy is consistent with our beliefs."
Mr. Hiden's troop is chartered by a Lutheran church, and he identifies himself as a Christian. He said his elder son, who is 15, is just shy of becoming an Eagle. "Hopefully, he'll be able to be an Eagle Scout by Jan. 1," he said — before the policy comes into force.
The dust is settling two weeks after the Boy Scouts of America's national council adopted the policy accepting openly gay Scouts but retaining a ban on gay adult Scout leaders.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Boy Scout Oath
On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law...
= = =
For the Boy Scouts to accept “openly gay” members means that they are to accept homosexual behavior. This is incompatable with “To do my duty to God”.
One cannot remain a scout and fight the recent change from within, because then one wouldn’t “obey the Scout Law”.
Recitation of the Boy Scout oath now makes one a hypocrite.
Absolutely. The policy change is about removing "morally pure" from the scout's creed.
Here is how we are dealing with it at the moment. My son is Life and won’t be Eagle probably until after January. The actual wording of the policy change simply says, “No one will be excluded on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.”
Well, we have never excluded anyone from our Christian troop as long as they understand that they will abide by our rules, be a part of our devotionals and abide by our Christian teaching.
Our troop’s line in the sand will come when they figure out how to implement and enforce this policy. If the mandate comes down from the BSA that we have to compromise our troop’s language, teaching, or any of our principles, then our troop will sever our ties with BSA.
We have contacted the Chickasaw council and asked them to clarify how this policy will actually work. They don’t know. They said they will get back to us.
We know it is a slippery slope and we are keeping an eye on how this plays out.
The oath is “I will keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.”
The key word is myself.
It does not say I must meddle in the affairs of others and keep them morally straight.
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.
In addition to receiving a tidy sum of cash for their cause, they'll write implementation rules the BSA will be forced to adopt as part of the settlement. Then you'll have a detailed implementation and enforcement plan along with what rules and devotionals will have to change.
I am loyal to God, loyal to the Constitution of the United States, loyal to my wife and my family, and loyal to the traditional values of BSA. When it comes to a loyalty test, I will pass. As for loyalty to today’s BSA as they betray their Oath or loyalty to our current government as it betrays the Constitution, I don’t see loyalty to evil as positive.
“There are no 7 year old queers. there are no 11 year old queers. there are no 13 year old queers.”
May I note there are many queers ready to take over the vacated Scoutmaster jobs who have plans to prove your premise wrong.
Perversion, like evil iotself, never sleeps.
‘Specially not when in a tent with boys out in the woods.
Please forgive my lack of charity, but my gag reflex is rebelling and commanding my fingers.
There are homo couples out there raising confused children right now what for the chance to infiltrate any organization that furthers their agenda.
This reporter needs to do more research. Royal Rangers has been around more than 50 years - it was not formed in response to this latest issue with the BSA.
If you stay in scouts, you are a member of an organization that endorses sin.
I little leavening affects the whole loaf.
Someone on here posed the question: what do you get when you add a spoonful of sewage to a barrel of pure water?
A barrel of sewage.
A quote from my son-
“ The only way for me to follow the intent of the Scout Oath and Law is to no longer be a Scout”
I agree with you.
That said, the battle for assets should be on everyone’s mind.
If there is to be a break-off from the parent group, dedicate a not insignificant portion of thought, to breaking off a proportional portion of the assets of the national group as well.
Do not let the gays keep the parent organization, and the assets nationally.
They can keep part, but they are a minority of the national view.
They should keep a minority of the national assets.
Can’t the leadership be gotten rid of (oops, I mean voluntarily resign) and the decision reversed? That would seem to be a far better outcome.
HF
I know Chicken Little told you otherwise, but the sky is not falling
Almost no boys join scouts after 13."
It has been more than a quarter century since I served in a Boy Scout leadership position. We never asked about a boy's sexual orientation beyond stressing the "morally straight" part of the scout oath.
All during my years of service, I had exactly one boy ever approach me about the homo issue-- most likely just to gauge my reaction. I told him that, from a health viewpoint, he would be better off taking up swimming in sewage treatment ponds than embracing that lifestyle. He seemed genuinely grossed out and never brought up the topic again.
THe point, I guess, is that there is no way I can see any Boy Scout having to declare themselves as "openly homosexual" and still being able to live the "morally straight" requirement of the Scout Oath.
That would be nice, in a dream world....
Issues of sexuality are already being discussed by adult leader to youth in scouting as a result of this vote. John
Stemberger, founder of On My Honor,said that this new
policy would result in issues of sexuality being discussed with the boys.
He said, and I quote-
“The Resolution robs parents of the sole authority to raise issues of sex and sexuality with their kids. Parents should have the exclusive right to raise issues about sex and sexuality with their children in their own time and in their own way, in the privacy of their homes...Allowing open homosexuality would inject a sensitive and highly charged political issue into the heart of the BSA , against the wishes of the vast majority of parents.”
My son was already asked during a board of review last week about his personal views about his religious beliefs and homosexuality. This was totally inappropriate and out of line. Adults in scouting should not be discussing sexual issues with the boys. Stembergers’ prediction was right on.
What rank was the board of view for?
The question of belief for religion is routine for Eagle
A Scout is reverend
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