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To: Clint N. Suhks
I’m not upset, I just disagree with Ron that in the Boy Scout Oath, “Duty to God” is truly duty to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. If it were duty to any god (deity), as Ron believes, then the BSA should change God to a lowercase “g”.

What I mean to say is that when tthe BSA says "Duty to God", they mean that a Scout or Scouter needs to meet their duty to whatever specific religion or religious ideals they believe in. This includes Judeo/Christian religions, non-Judeo/Christian ones, and even non-theistic ones (such as Buddhism). In fact, a Scout or Scouter need not belong to any specific religion, as long as they profess some kind of religious belief.

Now, you may believe that in the English language, "God" (capitalized) refers specifically to the God of Abraham. In such a case, "Duty to God" probably should be changed. I'm not going to argue the case; that's better taken up with National. However, making a change of this nature is what led to the American Heritage Girls being formed, as a group of people apparently wanted an exclusively Judeo-Christian version of the GSUSA.

65 posted on 06/16/2002 6:52:21 PM PDT by RonF
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To: RonF
I'm not going to argue the case; that's better taken up with National. However, making a change of this nature is what led to the American Heritage Girls being formed, as a group of people apparently wanted an exclusively Judeo-Christian version of the GSUSA.

That’s my point exactly, if Scouts and Scouters want to recognize what is objectively the “God” of Abraham and still be in the BSA, let the chips fall where they may.

68 posted on 06/17/2002 9:48:44 PM PDT by Clint N. Suhks
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To: RonF
Spot on about Scouts being multi-religion.

It should also be remembered that Baden-Powell was, of course, setting up the scouting movement at the height of the British Empire, which involved many religions and cultures: he wanted something that would encourage skills and courage in all Empire youth.

78 posted on 06/19/2002 10:17:15 AM PDT by Da_Shrimp
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