Athiests, Eagles and Honor
Ron Warmuth (iguanasys@EARTHLINK.NET)
Tue, 7 Oct 1997 03:22:59 -0400
>The handbook says to be reverent TOWARD God. it does not say he must
>believe in God. And if he respects the beliefs of others then IMHO,
>he is reverent.
>(clipped for brevity, author not ID'd for courtousy)
The Scout Oath starts with "On my Honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to
God..."
The SM handbook defines Scout Spirit as "living the Scout Oath and Law in
his daily life"
Showing Scout Spirit is a requirement for every rank starting at Second
Class.
Lets throw a little logic into this thread shall we?
If an athiest does not believe in the existance of any God, then how can he
honorably swear a oath to perform any duty to something which he does not
believe exists? In other words, just what is an athiest's duty to God as he
sees it? He has none since in his opinion, God does not exist! Therefore the
Scout Oath as stated by an athiest has no meaning whatsoever, and if it is
recited by an athiest he is lying! (Has something to do with the First point
of the Law doesn't it?) The same holds true towards the twelfth point. How
can anyone be Reverent towards someone who they believe does not exist? Can
they then truly show Scout Spirit?
An athiest's tolerance of someone else's beliefs would come under the
fifth point of the law, Courteous.
The boys in California should have never made it as far as they did if they
continually expressed their disbelief in God. My guess is that the issue
never came up during the SM conf and BOR's up to Life. If it turns out it
did, and the Troop leadership let it slide, the SM, CC et.al. will have some
explaining to do. BTW, how did they fulfill the requirement for First Class
where they had to say grace for the meal?
Ever hear the phrase "Scouts Honor"? What exactly does Honor mean? Your
Honor is who you are and what you stand for. Its your word. Honor used to
mean a lot more in the past than it does now. An honorable person is not a
liar.
An athiest who continually swears an oath that he knows has no meaning
is not honorable and should never be an Eagle. It does not matter how many
merit badges he has; how many times he has excelled in a leadership position
or how many thousands of hours of community service he has performed. It
makes him a good citizen, but he is still one requirement shy of Eagle.
Namely, showing Scout Spirit!
And thats my nickle's worth!
YIS
Ron Warmuth
SM T373 Lakewood, Oh.
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