Posted on 06/03/2013 7:29:38 AM PDT by Kaslin
This past week has been pretty devastating for me as a long-time supporter of the Boy Scouts. My own two sons grew up in Scouting, and, with their hard work and encouragement from my wonderful husband who was a Scout Master, they both achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
I treasure the time our family spent involved in Scouting - and always will. My heart is broken to realize that the finest institution for young men our country has ever known has grown cowardly, and has disappeared into the great vast wasteland that is modern popular culture.
The recent decision by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America to allow “openly gay” youth to become members of the Boy Scouts was nothing short of a betrayal—a betrayal not only of the values scouting has represented for decades but also of the families whose support for the Scouts has spanned generations.
The roughly 1200 delegates who voted on the proposal represent but a fraction of the Boy Scouts’ membership. Their decision was not motivated by a strong and insistent clamor from their membership to change things. It was brought about by the strong-arm pressure tactics of the homosexual lobby, using the contrived protests of a few members for symbolic effect.
Council members assert the fiction that their decision is not a statement about the morality of homosexuality, but merely a compassionate decision to open wide the doors of scouting to even boys that reject scouting's core values.
The blunt reality is that young boys who “come out” are implicitly, and perhaps explicitly, embracing a whole set of “givens” that conflict with the Scouts’ promise of being morally straight. And the moral standards the scouts proclaim on paper will be drowned out by the homosexual advocacy that comes with being “out.”
Does anyone really think that the homosexual pressure groups are going to stop with the admission of kids who declare their homosexuality? Of course not.
Contrary to public perception, the proposal to admit adult homosexuals into leadership was not voted down, it was simply not voted upon. It’s just been taken off the table for now, in a nod to the incremental approach.
The Scouts have lost any coherence in their original mission and message. It’s worth noting that the law does NOT require the change in Scouts’ policy: the ban on homosexual members was upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court, which affirmed the right of the Boy Scouts to remain true to their mission and decide, on a principled basis, who may become a member of their group.
How ironic: After years of successful battles to maintain timeless principles, the BSA has fallen by their own hand.
How to Save Your Family: Embrace Courage, not Appeasement
Some argue that the Boy Scouts’ decision was inevitable, a reality-driven move in light of declining corporate contributions (again, because of pressure tactics), shrinking membership numbers, and changing public positions on homosexuality.
Those are weak, unprincipled positions not worthy of the Boy Scouts I knew. Just when our culture needs courageous voices to uphold traditional standards of morality, the Boy Scouts have chosen instead to appease the insatiable demands of homosexual pressure groups. They have decided to teach our children that political expediency matters more than principle.
So what to do?
Scouts and scouting families must search their hearts and find the courage of their convictions to decide if they are going to stay and fight to try and resurrect the BSA - or if it's time to take a hike from scouting for good. No amount of political pressure or million dollar publicity campaigns can change the fact that homosexual behavior is neither "morally straight" nor personally liberating, and we need to continue to make that case whether in or out of the organization.
And all parents should use this sad moment to explain to young people, in particular, that the freedoms we hold dear will not survive if the moral fabric of our country continues to crumble.
As those of us who have left scouting and now mourn the death of the BSA, let's bind up our broken hearts and resolve to continue to honor the many leaders, families and churches who worked so hard over the years to build the character of young men through scouting.
And to all former scouts - especially the Eagles - I urge you to write down your own treasured scouting memories so that you can share with your own kids one day what it was like when the Boy Scouts of America stood for principle and truth.
RIP, BSA.
(You're not a member of the NBA though; right?)
“One would hope this condition provides a model that was examined and resolved by one or more of the ancient philosophers.”
I suggest Plato’s Republic. Our collapse from decadence into tyranny is well under way.
Have you looked into the Royal Rangers program?
The Camp Fire Girls’ original mission was to promote feminine values—something that it can no longer do, now that it’s coed.
...do you really believe the existence of boys in the mix is going to prevent any female engendered organization from pushing feminine values?
...feminism has won the day in our culture, after fifty rancorous years of promoting hostility and resentment...they won’t know how to act any differently now...
Yes, but being in the socialist republic of Vermont, options are few and far between.
Of course, I was hoping to learn of a view that provides a happy ending.
Unfortunately, when exposed to Plato many years ago I was generally involved with quite a few all-nighters and missed much of the detail of his writings.
But, being an optimist and professional turnaround practitioner it may be worthwhile for me to revisit Republic in order to discover whether it suggests a means of avoiding a negative result - at least for my satisfaction.
Hope you are living comfortably in my native state.
The Southern Baptist Convention will disassociate itself from BSA. All other Bible-believing Christians should do the same. This won’t kill BSA, as the homo-loving organizations that forced this will take up the slack and start funding troops. Wouldn’t be surprised if NAMBLA sponsors some events through shadow organizations - they can’t resist the lure of fresh meat. BSA will therefore devolve into some semblance of GSA - selling their popcorn but standing for nothing.
I for one will buy my popcorn elsewhere. I have also stopped buying girl scout cookies - WalMart sells knockoffs that are way cheaper, taste as good, and don’t support evil.
Great tagline. Like any good Scoutmaster, the highest form of respect is to get your great idea stolen and used by others.
preface: I am a Christian and I am absolutely NOT a fan of the rabid pro-homosexual agenda.
That being said, as I was thinking about this issue, a question came to my mind that I think is worth asking:
“Would you ban a boy or girl from coming to your church’s youth group if you discovered he/she was living a homosexual lifestyle?”
In other words, “Is there a sexual-preference litmus test that will determine whether or not one is worthy of attending your church? Is the sin of homosexuality greater or more egregious than the other typical sins that we all commit on any given day?”
I believe it is. Except for Sodom and Gomorrah God has never destroyed 2 cities and all their inhabitants with fire and brimstone because of one exceptionally egregious sin. Also, Romans ch 1 makes it clear that the primary reason that God destroyed the antediluvian world and all it's people except for Noah's family with a global flood was it's almost universal homosexual debauchery.
He may not rain down fire and brimstone down on the US as He did on Sodom and Gomorrah, but a rain of nuclear warheads, or even a prolonged series of natural disasters (tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, new incurable diseases, etc) would serve the same purpose.
I believe we are ALL worthy of death and it is only by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we are able to approach our perfectly holy God.
That being said, someone who suffers from a mental disorder that causes them to lust after someone of their own sex, but abstains from acting on that desire is WAY different from someone who suffers from the same disorder but insists that the rest of us call it “normal” and openly practices and advocates their own sexual immorality. Such people, it seems, would like very much for God to just bend the rules for them and their sickness - so that they would not have to use any sort of self-control. A hetero-sexual struggling with lust of the flesh can’t simply demand that God overlook adultery or fornication just because its hard to resist temptation.
But anyway, I disagree that homosexuality is a greater sin than others, but perhaps we differ on what is meant by “homosexuality”. A mental disorder or a sexual hedonistic advocate of/for that disorder?
The only acceptable sexual relationship is between one man and one woman married to each other. However, I think that Paul's letter to the Roman Christians emphasized what seems to be God's exceptionally harsh punishment for those who indulge their homosexual desires. After all, He didn't drown the antediluvians because they were playing poker and telling smutty jokes, he drowned them primarily because of their homosexual practices.
Agreed. It is the act and promotion of homosexuality that should be fought against. Those who struggle with temptation should be guided through it towards the healthy, God-inspired, and God-designed life of holy matrimony or holy celibacy - whether the temptation be homo or hetero.
Honestly, I think the walmart cookies are the same things. Available year round and just as tasty.
Of course not. But at the same time you have to protect the other kids in the group from potential harm. We do not condone any sexual activity in our youth group - homo, hetero or other - a close eye would be kept and our youth pastor would take immediate action if there were any hints of such a thing in the group. If a kid were in the group that was active in such a lifestyle I suspect they would not last very long. Depends on how deep he or she is under Satan's influence. They would definitely be exposed to the truth about homosexuality while they were with us - I would hope that they would be drawn by the Spirit to repentance and eternal protection against Satan's lies. Youth pastors / directors have the toughest job in the church - Satan is attacking our kids far more aggressively than he is attacking us. Pray for them and those who are called to lead them in the church.
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