This past Monday, after being a single parent for a week on our trip to visit my dad and stepmom in South Carolina, I needed to be by myself for a while. I am the kind of person that really needs to go off by myself every now and then. So I did what every person does when they need a peaceful retreat—I went to see a zombie movie! Since I don’t want the kids to be awake for a week straight and because Danielle finds zombie movies gross and stupid, I went to see World War Z by myself. For two hours I didn’t have a problem in the world, at least not compared to the people on screen. I loved the movie. It was perfect for me and exactly what I needed.
If you know me, you know that I have this little problem—I can’t stop thinking. My Myers Briggs personality type is ENFP. One of the aspects of being an ENFP is that I have a relentless inner monologue going and I am always trying to figure out what something means. Why did she say that particular word with that tone of voice? What are his motives for choosing to talk to that person first instead of the other person? What message are they sending by taking two days to respond to my email instead of one day? It is very difficult for me to experience something in the moment. There is always a commentary going on about the current moment in my head. The downsides of this inner monologue are that I read into a lot of things when there’s really nothing to read into and that I am almost never relaxed. Being an ENFP is why I’m good at what I do, but it is also why I am more stressed out than other people might be doing the same work. It is a blessing and a curse. That’s where the zombies come in. Those people being chased by zombies—their problems are worse than mine. So for two hours I was in a state of zombie-Zen. But then I left the theater and I started thinking again, and one question popped into my mind: why are we as a culture so obsessed with zombies (and other apocalyptic scenarios) right now? As I was waiting for my order at Sonic, the answer came to me. We are obsessed with the idea of the end of the world as we know it because, at least in the West, the world as we know it is ending.
Life isn’t as black-and-white as it used to be. Think about it: just fifty years ago there were all kinds of clear boundaries that don’t exist anymore. In much of the country, black people and white people (not to mention other racial groups) didn’t mix in public. Men were, at least publically, in charge of everything, including the family. When a woman was single she would work, but then when she had a family she stayed home with the kids. There was a firm sense of who was good (USA) and who was bad (USSR). Most people went to church and contributed to society in some way through civic groups. Things were black-and-white. There are some who look back and say, “It was better back then.” It would be hard to argue with that in light of some aspects of our current cultural reality—drugs and violence come to mind. These days, people walk into schools, movie theaters, and shopping malls and open fire, killing the innocent and then often killing themselves. We cannot really identify who “the enemy” is anymore because it might be someone in a cave in Afghanistan and it might be our neighbor who is growing more and more extreme and unstable. Families seem to be falling apart and a lot of parents don’t seem to have the slightest clue about how to actually care for their children. Apart from those obviously negative aspects of our current society, there are those difficult questions that many of us are not sure what the right answer is. Immigration policies, global warming, and same-sex marriage come to mind. For some, this is a very exciting time to be alive because of what they feel is a long overdue acceptance and openness to diversity. To others, this is a time of immense fear. To many of us, it is a mixture of both.
So that’s why I think we’re obsessed with all kinds of apocalyptic scenarios, especially zombies. In real life, the boundaries are gone. Especially for those people who fit into my demographic categories—White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (especially the male members of this group)—the world as we know it is ending, for good or for ill. Some might think that our feeling that the world as we know it is ending would make us want to avoid the zombie flicks because they would just cause more anxiety. However, the reason the zombie movies are so attractive to us is that within the world of the films there are clear boundaries that return, yet they are new boundaries. There are no longer boundaries between races, genders, sexual orientations, or nationalities. Those all disappear. There is one boundary, that clear dividing line between the living and the undead. You are either a living human being or you are a zombie. Occasionally there is the moral quandary that someone faces when her own three-year-old daughter becomes a zombie and tries to eat her face off. Can she do what needs to be done in that moment? Can she convince herself that that’s not her little girl anymore? Other than that, though, the lines are pretty clear between zombies and human beings. You’re willing to team up with anyone in the world if it means beating back the zombie apocalypse. So we like zombie movies (at least I do) because it gives us a break from wondering who or what is out to get us and how our society may or may not crumble. Things get pretty clear when zombies get involved. We may not be able to agree on campaign finance reform or tax rates or evolution but we can all agree that the zombies have got to go. Zombie movies are strangely and gruesomely uniting. They are very scary, but at least the people in the movie know what to be scared of.
This is, in some ways, a difficult time to be alive, and in other ways the best time ever to be alive. Every so often cultures have a way of tossing everything up in the air and seeing where it lands. Because of my profession, I think of 16th Century Europe as a prime example of this repeated historical trend. Interestingly enough, eventually at least, some good things have always come out of these upheavals. As Christians, although we will find ourselves getting anxious like everybody else, we need not give ourselves over to the fear that seems to permeate American culture right now. People, like animals, tend to do one of two things when they are overtaken by fear. One option is that we run to our holes, retreating and hiding, isolating ourselves and insulating ourselves from others to protect that which is valuable to us. When this happens we never listen to anyone else’s perspective and we only spend time with people just like us. The other option is that we bare our teeth and show our claws, going on the offensive. We show up with signs and megaphones telling people how much we (and supposedly God) hate them. We Christians are all too often the leaders of both of these groups—the isolationists and the hate-mongers—but it doesn’t have to be that way. As followers of Jesus, we are not to be driven by our fear, but by our love. As we read in 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” We are to be made perfect in love, not to allow our fear to separate us from others or to demean them.
All that being said, if the zombies ever do show up I’m going to have to re-evaluate everything I just wrote. Actually, I’ll probably just forget I ever wrote this, because like I said, when you’re dealing with zombies, everything gets really clear all of a sudden. There’s no more time for prejudice and division between human beings when the undead surround your town. Red, brown, yellow, black and white, male and female, Republican and Democrat, American, Iraqi, Chinese, and Nigerian, gay and straight, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, and atheist can all agree on one thing—the zombies have got to go! That’s why we love zombie movies so much. In making life much more difficult and complex for the characters in the films, life gets very, very simple for us… at least for a couple of hours.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Scout's Honor
I’m going to step onto some thin ice here but I feel it is an important time to do so within an appropriate context. For many years the Boy Scouts of America have had an explicit ban on openly gay scouts and openly gay or lesbian scout leaders. In response to this ban in the past few years the United Way (and other money granting organizations) has ceased to provide funding to the BSA because they feel that out of conscience they cannot support an organization that they feel violates civil rights and contributes to misunderstanding and antagonism toward gay and lesbian persons. A few weeks ago, the Boy Scouts of America made the difficult decision to allow openly gay scouts to participate in all BSA programs. At this time, though, the BSA decided not to allow openly gay scout leaders. This is important to our congregation because our church has a Boy Scout Troop and Cub Scout Pack.
There is often a misunderstanding about the relationship between a church (or other organization) and their troop. A lot of people think we just let the scouts use the building on certain nights. That’s not the way it is. That’s what our relationship is like with the Fayette County Choral Society, the CORE parenting classes, and even with the Girl Scouts. However, the Boy Scouts do things differently. First Presbyterian Church holds the charter for our troop and pack. What that means is that they don’t just use the building; they are a part of us. Actually, in terms of the building it means that the building belongs to the scouts just as much as it belongs to one of our Sunday school classes or to our bell choir. To think of it in business terms, we don’t just host a Boy Scout troop; we are the franchisees of a scout troop and pack. Our church actually owns everything that our troop uses. That isn’t Troop 112’s trailer; that’s FPC’s trailer that we purchased to use for our Scout Troop. Again, scouting is a program of our church. Therefore, it is implied that whatever the Scouts stand for, we stand for because they’re our scouts.
This charter organization and scout troop relationship is the reason that the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant “denomination” in the USA, is meeting today to (in all likelihood) strongly encourage all of their member congregations to break their charters (or refuse to renew) with their scout troops and to stop all affiliation with BSA. They will then be encouraged to find or found organizations for boys that will (the way I read it) not concentrate so much on being good citizens but more specifically on being good Christians. Although the Roman Catholic Church has encouraged its churches to keep their troops, some individual parishes have already started the process of separating themselves from their scout troops. Surprisingly (to me), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints (Mormons), who have more BSA troops than any other religious organization, has declared that they support the scouts and will retain all troops.
So all this raises the question, what should we as a congregation do in regard to our troop? Ultimately, it is the session’s (board of elders) choice what to do, but I’m going to utilize the rest of this post (a long one at that) to give my personal opinion. At this point, I will not get into my thoughts on whether or not there should be openly gay adult leaders.
Here’s what I think we as a congregation should do:
We should continue to support our Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts as we always have.
If the Southern Baptists feel they cannot charter scout troops any longer out of conscience then that is their prerogative. They are our Christian brothers and sisters but that doesn’t mean we’re going to agree with them on everything. It is already pretty apparent that we, as a denomination and as a local congregation, don’t agree with the Baptists on a lot of things. To name a few of the biggies, we don’t agree with them on the meaning and mode of baptism, on who should be allowed at the Lord’s Table, on appropriate methods for biblical interpretation, on appropriate ways to offer pastoral counseling to members, on the role of women in the church, in the family, and in society. It’s okay if we don’t agree with them on the Boy Scouts too. Some among their ranks will blast us for that, but to be honest with you a lot of Southern Baptists I know gave up on the PC(USA) a long time ago most notably because we baptize babies and ordain women. Our support of the Boy Scouts will just add to the list.
The benefits that are offered by the programs of the BSA are too valuable for boys and too needed for our society for us to deprive our community of them. I agree with my friends and neighbors who feel our culture is headed down some tragic and destructive roads. Drugs are rampant, divorce is often not a last resort but an easy out, abortion is often used as a form of birth control, violence has erupted into our schools, children are neglected, and the rich continue to get obscenely rich while the poor get poorer. All of these societal diseases are harmful and exploitative of others. However, those who are lesbian and gay have nothing to do with these societal ills. Do you know what the safest neighborhood is in the often very violent city of Chicago, the area with the least amount of crime? It’s called Boystown. I’m sure you can guess how it got its name.
Gay and lesbian people are not the reason that 50% of marriages end in divorce, that the wealthiest 10% of the population holds 75% of the wealth, that companies have left the USA for China or South America, that Christian youth have sex at the same rates as non-Christian youth, or that mentally disturbed people keep finding ways to gain access to stockpiles of deadly weapons. In fact, if we look deeply into the decline of many aspects of our moral and communal lives we will find that the largest problem group is heterosexual men who are unwilling to fulfill their responsibilities to others, whether to women, to children, or to those in need. I believe whole heartedly that the church’s war on gay and lesbian people is a war that is being fought on the wrong front. Gay and lesbian people are easy targets because they are a small minority (between 5-10%) and because, although this is changing, popular opinion has been against them for so long that a good ol’ anti-gay rant will garner a lot of instant support. However, while they have been an easy target in the past, that does not mean they have been the right target.
As I mentioned above, in my opinion a large number of our problems come from men (almost always heterosexual men) who do not seem to feel that they are responsible to anyone besides themselves. They can use, abuse, abandon, or exploit others to get what they want or to make their own life easier with fewer commitments. Either that or they can just sit around and play video games or spend all their family’s money on beer and cigarettes without earning a living to support their family. I don’t look around at our society and say, “Man, those gays and lesbians are really making a mess of this country.” I look around and say, “We men, whether straight or gay (but mostly straight) need to muster up our concern for others and for the common good.” What kind of organization could help address what Orthodox Rabbi Shmuley Boteach calls “the Broken American Male?” Perhaps an organization that teaches boys and young men to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Where could we ever find such an organization? Oh yeah, it already exists. It’s called the Boy Scouts of America. I think our country would be a better place if a lot more boys, gay or straight, were scouts. I am glad now that I will never have to try to explain to my son, Wyatt, who is a Wolf Cub Scout, why another boy who wanted to become a more responsible American citizen and a quality man who will contribute to our community couldn’t do so through scouting.
The problem in the eyes of many is that the lifting of this ban normalizes being gay or lesbian. It doesn’t ostracize these folks any longer or brand them with a scarlet letter as hell-bound sinners. It makes the statement that gay and lesbian people are, well, normal people. This is unacceptable to some based upon their particular interpretations of certain portions of the Bible. Those who oppose the lifting of the ban often use the phrase “morally straight” from the Scout oath for ammunition in the battle. The use of this phrase by many, however, betrays a level of ignorance. It shows that these folks must never have read (or understood) their own Scout handbooks because this is how the “morally straight” portion of the Scout Oath is officially defined: “To be a person of strong character, your relationships with others should be honest and open. You should respect and defend the rights of all people. Be clean in your speech and actions, and remain faithful in your religious beliefs. The values you practice as a Scout will help you shape a life of virtue and self-reliance.” This definition doesn’t say anything about sexuality whatsoever, but it is being used because of the word “straight,” which is a common way of saying “heterosexual,” even though that isn't how it's being used here. Being “clean in your speech and actions” has to do with not using profanity, not telling lewd jokes, not making crude gestures, and with treating others with respect. Remaining faithful in your religious beliefs does not require a scout to share the beliefs of the charter organizations and doesn’t even say that you have to abide by your church’s official doctrine. After all, my religious beliefs are quite a bit different from my Southern Baptist brothers and sisters, as well as from some others in the PC(USA), and even many within our own congregation. But did anyone else pick up on these two aspects of what it means to be “morally straight:” your relationships with others should be honest and open and you should respect and defend the rights of all people. If you think there haven’t been gay scouts for the past 102 years then you’re fooling yourself. There just haven’t been gay scouts who were allowed to fulfill their own oath by being honest and open in their relationships. Also, how can you take an oath to respect and defend the rights of all people, while excluding certain people? The ban, when enacted, was forcing our scouts to be hypocritical in their own scout oath!
I read an article today in which a conservative Christian pastor “explained that the Boy Scouts take an oath to be ‘obedient, reverent and morally pure.’” He said, “We feel this is an immoral act ... that it's an immoral sexual perversion.” I picked just this one quote but I have read countless other quotes like this. Now, I don’t doubt that he (and a whole lot of Christians) believes that the act is sinful. However, I think these folks are confusing things here. Who said anything about same-sex acts? Why would we assume that a sixteen-year-old scout who self-identifies as gay is sexually active? Do we assume that all heterosexual scouts are sexually active? Trust me, I’m pretty sure most scouts are not sexually active for a number of reasons. The lifting of this ban is not concerned with whether or not scouts are sexually active. The lifting of this ban deals with self-identified sexual orientation, not with any “act,” whether it is deemed moral or immoral. I am under the assumption that no scout should be sexually active. Many of the opponents of lifting the ban don’t even seem to know what is being addressed here.
Another point of opposition is that some fear what might happen if their straight boy ends up in a tent with a gay scout. This fear is based upon the assumption that a scout who is gay would inevitably be both inappropriate and physically aggressive, which are both counter to everything scouting stands for. It’s not like the boys are supposed to be getting undressed in front of each other one way or the other. And again, if you think there haven’t been gay scouts in tents with straight scouts for the past 102 years you are living in a fantasy world. Scout leaders and parents must be adamant with all scouts that inappropriateness and physical aggression of any kind will NOT be tolerated.
My final point is that I believe that my Southern Baptist brethren and I disagree on what the point is of chartering a scout troop. The purpose of scouting is not to make Christians; the purpose of scouting is to make boys into better citizens. There is a religious aspect to scouting but it is in a very vague, civic religion, “God Bless America,” Pledge of Allegiance, kind of way. It is not explicitly Christian. There are Jewish synagogues and Muslim mosques that charter troops. Also, I’ve known one Hindu Cub Scout and I worked with an Eagle Scout candidate who was pretty sure that at the age of eighteen he was an atheist. I didn’t judge him though because when I was nineteen I thought I was an atheist; he just beat me there by a year. If a parent wants to add a specific religious component to scouting that can be done in conjunction with their pastor (or other religious leader) through materials provided by P.R.A.Y. Ministries for Protestants or other publishing houses for Roman Catholic, Jewish, or Muslim scouts. The scouts can earn religious emblems that can be worn on their uniform but they are not provided by the BSA. Some Christians seem to feel that everything should exist to produce Christians (but only their particular brand of Christian) including public schools, science classes, museums, movies, music, and so on. They don't seem to realize or care that this would make us some kind of Christian version of Saudi Arabia. This isn't what the BSA is about. Scouting exists to benefit society through training boys and young men to be quality citizens who work toward the common good. Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, confirmation, and church camp exist to make Christians. (Don't misunderstand me, I do not mean to imply that I believe that being gay or lesbian excludes a person from being a Christian)
The Boy Scouts aren’t in the business of making Christians. That's not why First Presbyterian Church has a pack and troop. According to the articles I’ve read, many Southern Baptists are not satisfied with that. I am, however. I think our church (and all churches) should do whatever we can for the common good such as feed the hungry, help others in need, support quality schools, take care of our environment, and so on and so forth. In my own opinion, I think scrapping Boy Scouts for a more overtly conservative Christian mission training program isn’t necessarily going to contribute to the common good at all and in some situations it may actually harm the common good.
So that’s why my opinion is what it is. I hope you agree that:
We should continue to support our Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts as we always have.
There is often a misunderstanding about the relationship between a church (or other organization) and their troop. A lot of people think we just let the scouts use the building on certain nights. That’s not the way it is. That’s what our relationship is like with the Fayette County Choral Society, the CORE parenting classes, and even with the Girl Scouts. However, the Boy Scouts do things differently. First Presbyterian Church holds the charter for our troop and pack. What that means is that they don’t just use the building; they are a part of us. Actually, in terms of the building it means that the building belongs to the scouts just as much as it belongs to one of our Sunday school classes or to our bell choir. To think of it in business terms, we don’t just host a Boy Scout troop; we are the franchisees of a scout troop and pack. Our church actually owns everything that our troop uses. That isn’t Troop 112’s trailer; that’s FPC’s trailer that we purchased to use for our Scout Troop. Again, scouting is a program of our church. Therefore, it is implied that whatever the Scouts stand for, we stand for because they’re our scouts.
This charter organization and scout troop relationship is the reason that the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant “denomination” in the USA, is meeting today to (in all likelihood) strongly encourage all of their member congregations to break their charters (or refuse to renew) with their scout troops and to stop all affiliation with BSA. They will then be encouraged to find or found organizations for boys that will (the way I read it) not concentrate so much on being good citizens but more specifically on being good Christians. Although the Roman Catholic Church has encouraged its churches to keep their troops, some individual parishes have already started the process of separating themselves from their scout troops. Surprisingly (to me), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints (Mormons), who have more BSA troops than any other religious organization, has declared that they support the scouts and will retain all troops.
So all this raises the question, what should we as a congregation do in regard to our troop? Ultimately, it is the session’s (board of elders) choice what to do, but I’m going to utilize the rest of this post (a long one at that) to give my personal opinion. At this point, I will not get into my thoughts on whether or not there should be openly gay adult leaders.
Here’s what I think we as a congregation should do:
We should continue to support our Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts as we always have.
If the Southern Baptists feel they cannot charter scout troops any longer out of conscience then that is their prerogative. They are our Christian brothers and sisters but that doesn’t mean we’re going to agree with them on everything. It is already pretty apparent that we, as a denomination and as a local congregation, don’t agree with the Baptists on a lot of things. To name a few of the biggies, we don’t agree with them on the meaning and mode of baptism, on who should be allowed at the Lord’s Table, on appropriate methods for biblical interpretation, on appropriate ways to offer pastoral counseling to members, on the role of women in the church, in the family, and in society. It’s okay if we don’t agree with them on the Boy Scouts too. Some among their ranks will blast us for that, but to be honest with you a lot of Southern Baptists I know gave up on the PC(USA) a long time ago most notably because we baptize babies and ordain women. Our support of the Boy Scouts will just add to the list.
The benefits that are offered by the programs of the BSA are too valuable for boys and too needed for our society for us to deprive our community of them. I agree with my friends and neighbors who feel our culture is headed down some tragic and destructive roads. Drugs are rampant, divorce is often not a last resort but an easy out, abortion is often used as a form of birth control, violence has erupted into our schools, children are neglected, and the rich continue to get obscenely rich while the poor get poorer. All of these societal diseases are harmful and exploitative of others. However, those who are lesbian and gay have nothing to do with these societal ills. Do you know what the safest neighborhood is in the often very violent city of Chicago, the area with the least amount of crime? It’s called Boystown. I’m sure you can guess how it got its name.
Gay and lesbian people are not the reason that 50% of marriages end in divorce, that the wealthiest 10% of the population holds 75% of the wealth, that companies have left the USA for China or South America, that Christian youth have sex at the same rates as non-Christian youth, or that mentally disturbed people keep finding ways to gain access to stockpiles of deadly weapons. In fact, if we look deeply into the decline of many aspects of our moral and communal lives we will find that the largest problem group is heterosexual men who are unwilling to fulfill their responsibilities to others, whether to women, to children, or to those in need. I believe whole heartedly that the church’s war on gay and lesbian people is a war that is being fought on the wrong front. Gay and lesbian people are easy targets because they are a small minority (between 5-10%) and because, although this is changing, popular opinion has been against them for so long that a good ol’ anti-gay rant will garner a lot of instant support. However, while they have been an easy target in the past, that does not mean they have been the right target.
As I mentioned above, in my opinion a large number of our problems come from men (almost always heterosexual men) who do not seem to feel that they are responsible to anyone besides themselves. They can use, abuse, abandon, or exploit others to get what they want or to make their own life easier with fewer commitments. Either that or they can just sit around and play video games or spend all their family’s money on beer and cigarettes without earning a living to support their family. I don’t look around at our society and say, “Man, those gays and lesbians are really making a mess of this country.” I look around and say, “We men, whether straight or gay (but mostly straight) need to muster up our concern for others and for the common good.” What kind of organization could help address what Orthodox Rabbi Shmuley Boteach calls “the Broken American Male?” Perhaps an organization that teaches boys and young men to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Where could we ever find such an organization? Oh yeah, it already exists. It’s called the Boy Scouts of America. I think our country would be a better place if a lot more boys, gay or straight, were scouts. I am glad now that I will never have to try to explain to my son, Wyatt, who is a Wolf Cub Scout, why another boy who wanted to become a more responsible American citizen and a quality man who will contribute to our community couldn’t do so through scouting.
The problem in the eyes of many is that the lifting of this ban normalizes being gay or lesbian. It doesn’t ostracize these folks any longer or brand them with a scarlet letter as hell-bound sinners. It makes the statement that gay and lesbian people are, well, normal people. This is unacceptable to some based upon their particular interpretations of certain portions of the Bible. Those who oppose the lifting of the ban often use the phrase “morally straight” from the Scout oath for ammunition in the battle. The use of this phrase by many, however, betrays a level of ignorance. It shows that these folks must never have read (or understood) their own Scout handbooks because this is how the “morally straight” portion of the Scout Oath is officially defined: “To be a person of strong character, your relationships with others should be honest and open. You should respect and defend the rights of all people. Be clean in your speech and actions, and remain faithful in your religious beliefs. The values you practice as a Scout will help you shape a life of virtue and self-reliance.” This definition doesn’t say anything about sexuality whatsoever, but it is being used because of the word “straight,” which is a common way of saying “heterosexual,” even though that isn't how it's being used here. Being “clean in your speech and actions” has to do with not using profanity, not telling lewd jokes, not making crude gestures, and with treating others with respect. Remaining faithful in your religious beliefs does not require a scout to share the beliefs of the charter organizations and doesn’t even say that you have to abide by your church’s official doctrine. After all, my religious beliefs are quite a bit different from my Southern Baptist brothers and sisters, as well as from some others in the PC(USA), and even many within our own congregation. But did anyone else pick up on these two aspects of what it means to be “morally straight:” your relationships with others should be honest and open and you should respect and defend the rights of all people. If you think there haven’t been gay scouts for the past 102 years then you’re fooling yourself. There just haven’t been gay scouts who were allowed to fulfill their own oath by being honest and open in their relationships. Also, how can you take an oath to respect and defend the rights of all people, while excluding certain people? The ban, when enacted, was forcing our scouts to be hypocritical in their own scout oath!
I read an article today in which a conservative Christian pastor “explained that the Boy Scouts take an oath to be ‘obedient, reverent and morally pure.’” He said, “We feel this is an immoral act ... that it's an immoral sexual perversion.” I picked just this one quote but I have read countless other quotes like this. Now, I don’t doubt that he (and a whole lot of Christians) believes that the act is sinful. However, I think these folks are confusing things here. Who said anything about same-sex acts? Why would we assume that a sixteen-year-old scout who self-identifies as gay is sexually active? Do we assume that all heterosexual scouts are sexually active? Trust me, I’m pretty sure most scouts are not sexually active for a number of reasons. The lifting of this ban is not concerned with whether or not scouts are sexually active. The lifting of this ban deals with self-identified sexual orientation, not with any “act,” whether it is deemed moral or immoral. I am under the assumption that no scout should be sexually active. Many of the opponents of lifting the ban don’t even seem to know what is being addressed here.
Another point of opposition is that some fear what might happen if their straight boy ends up in a tent with a gay scout. This fear is based upon the assumption that a scout who is gay would inevitably be both inappropriate and physically aggressive, which are both counter to everything scouting stands for. It’s not like the boys are supposed to be getting undressed in front of each other one way or the other. And again, if you think there haven’t been gay scouts in tents with straight scouts for the past 102 years you are living in a fantasy world. Scout leaders and parents must be adamant with all scouts that inappropriateness and physical aggression of any kind will NOT be tolerated.
My final point is that I believe that my Southern Baptist brethren and I disagree on what the point is of chartering a scout troop. The purpose of scouting is not to make Christians; the purpose of scouting is to make boys into better citizens. There is a religious aspect to scouting but it is in a very vague, civic religion, “God Bless America,” Pledge of Allegiance, kind of way. It is not explicitly Christian. There are Jewish synagogues and Muslim mosques that charter troops. Also, I’ve known one Hindu Cub Scout and I worked with an Eagle Scout candidate who was pretty sure that at the age of eighteen he was an atheist. I didn’t judge him though because when I was nineteen I thought I was an atheist; he just beat me there by a year. If a parent wants to add a specific religious component to scouting that can be done in conjunction with their pastor (or other religious leader) through materials provided by P.R.A.Y. Ministries for Protestants or other publishing houses for Roman Catholic, Jewish, or Muslim scouts. The scouts can earn religious emblems that can be worn on their uniform but they are not provided by the BSA. Some Christians seem to feel that everything should exist to produce Christians (but only their particular brand of Christian) including public schools, science classes, museums, movies, music, and so on. They don't seem to realize or care that this would make us some kind of Christian version of Saudi Arabia. This isn't what the BSA is about. Scouting exists to benefit society through training boys and young men to be quality citizens who work toward the common good. Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, confirmation, and church camp exist to make Christians. (Don't misunderstand me, I do not mean to imply that I believe that being gay or lesbian excludes a person from being a Christian)
The Boy Scouts aren’t in the business of making Christians. That's not why First Presbyterian Church has a pack and troop. According to the articles I’ve read, many Southern Baptists are not satisfied with that. I am, however. I think our church (and all churches) should do whatever we can for the common good such as feed the hungry, help others in need, support quality schools, take care of our environment, and so on and so forth. In my own opinion, I think scrapping Boy Scouts for a more overtly conservative Christian mission training program isn’t necessarily going to contribute to the common good at all and in some situations it may actually harm the common good.
So that’s why my opinion is what it is. I hope you agree that:
We should continue to support our Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts as we always have.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Reasons I loved Kirkmont by Alex Behrends
On the very first night at Kirkmont we had an amazing supper. Burgers and hot dogs which led up to an amazing beginning to our almost week long activity “The Amazing Race”.
In one challenge we had to shoot apple seeds at a target with a slingshot, in another we planted trees which are still there to this day. We planted them and they will always be there. Throughout this entire week I made a lot of friends. Starting from about day 2 we had the idea to have an arts and crafts competition. We all made bow and arrows. I still have my working bow that I made, along with the memories of the fantastic fun we all had throughout this week long period.
Every night after supper we had an activity one time it was soccer, twice it was the amazing race, and a few times we had different competitions to challenge us and once it was a choir type activity. After that we had a beautiful sing along campfire worship which lasted about an hour and shared real life experiences. Before that there was Lunch.
After the lunch you had one hour to relax and do whatever you want. You could read or you could play Scatterball at the arena, or in much of our case you could do arts and crafts. After that you either had a hike, Archery (one of my favorite things), mud climb which unfortunately had 0 mud, or on multiple occasions you went to the pool. But before even that you had an amazing breakfast which then lead to worship with the Bible with the Girls Cabent of our same age(12-14). Then from there you went to another worship service where you got to learn about the grounds and God and all the interesting things but it was done in game, story, or song form.
After all meals we had a little workout which we used to help our bodies digest our food and get ready for the days activities. And in the wee morning you would be woken up by the camp director who would come in and sing to wake us up every morning. The most fun though was the night when we got to sleep on the hill in the cool night air. Before we went to sleep we had a Snipe hunt. A mythical creature never before seen and only lives on Kirkmont grounds. That was fun! The night before the night we HAD to leave was a nature walk across the entire grounds. That also was very fun.
I encourage anyone who is on the fence about going to go. You will not regret it. It was probably the most fun I have ever had!
Sincerely,
Alex Behrends
In one challenge we had to shoot apple seeds at a target with a slingshot, in another we planted trees which are still there to this day. We planted them and they will always be there. Throughout this entire week I made a lot of friends. Starting from about day 2 we had the idea to have an arts and crafts competition. We all made bow and arrows. I still have my working bow that I made, along with the memories of the fantastic fun we all had throughout this week long period.
Every night after supper we had an activity one time it was soccer, twice it was the amazing race, and a few times we had different competitions to challenge us and once it was a choir type activity. After that we had a beautiful sing along campfire worship which lasted about an hour and shared real life experiences. Before that there was Lunch.
After the lunch you had one hour to relax and do whatever you want. You could read or you could play Scatterball at the arena, or in much of our case you could do arts and crafts. After that you either had a hike, Archery (one of my favorite things), mud climb which unfortunately had 0 mud, or on multiple occasions you went to the pool. But before even that you had an amazing breakfast which then lead to worship with the Bible with the Girls Cabent of our same age(12-14). Then from there you went to another worship service where you got to learn about the grounds and God and all the interesting things but it was done in game, story, or song form.
After all meals we had a little workout which we used to help our bodies digest our food and get ready for the days activities. And in the wee morning you would be woken up by the camp director who would come in and sing to wake us up every morning. The most fun though was the night when we got to sleep on the hill in the cool night air. Before we went to sleep we had a Snipe hunt. A mythical creature never before seen and only lives on Kirkmont grounds. That was fun! The night before the night we HAD to leave was a nature walk across the entire grounds. That also was very fun.
I encourage anyone who is on the fence about going to go. You will not regret it. It was probably the most fun I have ever had!
Sincerely,
Alex Behrends
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