Southern Baptists officially oppose gay Scout rule

Associated Press ^ | Jun 12, 2013 7:00 PM EDT | Travis Loller and Juan Lozano

[fwdude]

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

And if this woman had gone out and continued prostituting herself as before, there would have been no eternal consequences? (I know she didn't, because God in the Flesh had made her a new being, but just for argument sake.)

[Mr Rogers]

“Although the Assemblies of God could probably run circles around the current Southern Baptist Denomination in this regard... Do you realize that the homosexual lobby is dancing in the streets on this “resolution” made by the SBC?”

1 - Get back with me when they do.

2 - No they are not. They are attacking the SBC, just as posters are here.

[Resolute Conservative]

See #10 and reply to it.

[Mr Rogers]

“And if this woman had gone out and continued prostituting herself as before, there would have been no eternal consequences?”

Yes. But did you see Jesus condemn her, and tell the others to stone her dead? Leave the judgment for eternity with God, and try to save those who are lost.

[fwdude]

Assemblies of God Offers Strong Reaction to Boy Scouts Lifting Gay Ban

From the CarismaNews article:
"We believe that the BSA policy change will lead to a mass exodus from the Boy Scout program, as Assemblies of God and many other churches can no longer support groups that are part of an organization allowing members who are openly homosexual. However, as a positive alternative, we offer a program--the Royal Rangers--that operates with values consistent to that of the BSA prior to today's change." [emphasis added]

As to your second point, of course homosexuals are still attacking the Scouts - they always will. What they are celebrating is their small conquest of getting the SBC to soften their stance on the policy change instead of issuing the recommendation to separate, as was expected. They put every such instance of softening on cultural issues on their shelf as a trophy.

[MacNaughton]

19 The SBC doesn’t often ‘explicitly tell the churches’ to do much of anything. They aren’t the authoritative head like other denominations have. Each SBC church is independent. That being said, bear in mind this is an AP article and they will spin it in the best light possible.

While I share your skepticism of the AP, the tone of this thread is spot on. The original resolution can be found at
http://www.baptistpress.org/BPnews.asp?ID=40499

It is a lengthy resolution, so I have excerpted the meaty parts and pasted them below ...

and be it further RESOLVED, That we express our well-founded concern that the current executive leadership of the BSA, along with certain board members, may utilize this membership policy change as merely the first step toward future approval of homosexual leaders in the Scouts;

and be it further RESOLVED, That we call on the Boy Scouts to remove from executive and board leadership those individuals who, earlier this year, sought to change both the membership and leadership policy of the Scouts without seeking input from the full range of the Scouting family;

and be it further RESOLVED, That we affirm the right of all families and churches prayerfully to assess their continued relationship with the BSA, expressing our support for those churches and families that as a matter of conscience can no longer be part of the Scouting family;

and be it further RESOLVED, That we encourage churches and families that remain in the Boy Scouts to seek to impact as many boys as possible with the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ, to work toward the reversal of this new membership policy, and to advocate against any future change in leadership and membership policy that normalizes sexual conduct opposed to the biblical standard;

RESOLVED, That we encourage churches that choose to sever ties with the Boy Scouts not to abandon their ministry to boys but consider expanding their Royal Ambassadors ministry, a distinctively Southern Baptist missions organization to develop godly young men; and be it finally RESOLVED, That we declare our love in Christ for all young people regardless of their perceived sexual orientation, praying that God will bring all youth into a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

... I see this as the strongest condemnation coming from any church so far.

Agreed, though I am really crestfallen about this resolution. The lead-up rhetoric from a host of top leaders in the SBC led me to think there would be a solid recommendation to congregations to disaffiliate from the BSA. The SBC joined with the American Family Association in calling for families to boycott Walt Disney World from 1996-2005 when The Walt Disney Company began giving benefits to homosexual employees in domestic partnerships. The AFA claimed Michael Eisner, CEO of the WDC from 1984-2005, "was involved in a media group that actively promoted the homosexual agenda" and was pushing the "gay agenda". Sadly, that call was generally ignored by the public at large.

I haven't seen any more comments since the initial ones made by the Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod, Asembly of God, or the Presbyterian Church in America. It seems many denominations are waiting to see what other regulations BSA will issue in regards to the new membership standard.

It won't matter, as so many on FR have clearly pointed out - the barbarians are inside the gate. The homosexualists will proceed with lawfare to gain admittance for homosexual adult leaders. Then the atheists will do the same.

The alternative male youth groups that so many on FR have cited are options. I continue to look to OnMyHonor.net for the genesis of new Scouting movement that embraces traditional Christian values and keeps the "outing" in Scouting.

The SBC blinked. Truly a sad day.

[Mr Rogers]

From that same response:

“While we are disappointed by BSA’s recent membership decision, we are pleased that the organization will retain its policy regarding adult leaders, and applaud the organization for standing firm on that issue.”

Compare that to the SBC:

“RESOLVED, That we call on the Boy Scouts to remove from executive
and board leadership those individuals who, earlier this year, sought
to change both the membership and leadership policy of the Scouts
without seeking input from the full range of the Scouting family;”

[MacNaughton]

27 “RESOLVED, That we call on the Boy Scouts to remove from executive and board leadership those individuals who, earlier this year, sought to change both the membership and leadership policy of the Scouts without seeking input from the full range of the Scouting family;”

And yet, the BSA National Executive Committee (the officers) commissioned a massive survey in MAR 2013 which was distributed to all registered BSA adult members, many families, and some Scouts.

[Mr Rogers]

“WHEREAS, In 2012, an eleven-person committee appointed by the National Council of the Boy Scouts completed a two-year study and reported its unanimous decision that the Boy Scouts retain the current policy as outlined above;”

What changed in morality between 2012 & 2013?

As for the March Survey, even SLATE considered it biased:

“The structure of the questionnaire clearly challenges the organization’s members, leaders, sponsors, and alumni to rethink the ban on gays and to consider more nuanced alternatives.”

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2013/03/the_boy_scouts_survey_on_homosexuality_is_biased_toward_scrapping_its_ban.html

[MacNaughton]

We are not at cross purposes here. My point was that the SBC resolution (the LONG version), in a real effort to document the course of events since 2000, left out the MAR "Voice of the Scout" survey.

Your statements about the VoS are dead on.