Huzzar

What is worse, explicitly defining what you mean by the term "Christian" or using a wishy washy requirement that you believe in a Supreme Being then making it so weak that the only people that don't make the cut are atheists but not Buddhists? FYI, Mormons have been considered a non-Christian cult by many non-Mormons for most of their existence. Read this article about how the LDS decided that black people were cursed with dark skin and then were not cursed anymore and you'll get an idea of why other denominations have problems with their theology. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/op

With what I've seen from Trail Life USA, I can say that as a Catholic I would not want my sons to join. It seems like it is basically a Protestant organization. The Episcopalian and Presbyterian (USA) churches are having a lot of problems with their national bodies pushing gay rights (as well as being pro-abortion). In fact both denominations are losing entire congregations over the issue. Mainstream Protestantism rejects the views of the liberal churches. The liberal churches are the minority not the other way around. I think that TLUSA will probably appeal to the same churches as AH

There are some "training" slides there too but basically National has pushed it back to the Units.

You didn't say but you imply it. (wink, wink)

This is verbatim from the flyer they've produced to hand out to prospective members and parents. Show me where they are being disingenuous. How could you not figure out they're a Christian youth group? All boys are welcome irrespective of religion, race, national origin or socio-economic status. However, all adult leaders must sign a Christian statement of faith. All program elements are taught from a Christian worldview, with God’s truth woven into the very fabric of the program.

The left wing haters are gonna hate, TonyH. Simple as that.

What is the "wink, wink" for? There's nothing nefarious or sneaky about who they are and what they want to do. Leaders have to be Christian. They define what they mean by Christian. If non-Christian kids want to go along they're welcome but told they will be part of a Christian youth group. How is any of this different from my local Catholic church's youth basketball team? If that's not your cup of tea then "move on" and don't be a hater about it.

No it didn't and no it doesn't. :-) Most units might have had that policy but National did not. As BD says, a third party with an axe to grind could get an adult tossed. That still applies. Cue ad nauseum discussion about what avowed means...

Exactly my sentiments, dcsimmons, they said they'd leave and they did. I don't see anything inherently contradictory in their new rules either. The dude running On My Honor was talking about BSA's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. OK, BSA didn't have one but that's what they're running with. The "biological boy" rule is probably as much to do with GSUSA letting a boy that identifies as a girl into a troop as it does bizarre interpretations of the new BSA membership standard. They might have a good number of people interested in joining them but they still have a long row to hoe. AHG is stil

You could have let sleeping dogs lie but you chose not to and instead tried to stir the pot again. Your follow-up proves my point. And you're a mod for crying out loud. I take it you're a last-word kinda guy too.

Why are you throwing rocks at the hornet's nest by posting anything on the subject and in particular "got away with it" versus "was found not guilty?" Mr. Pot I'd like to introduce you to Mrs. Kettle...

ha ha ... the best one I heard was Scouts couldn't visit F to trade patches because the co-ed Scouts and Venturers were having orgies.

I was at the Jamboree as a leader with a troop and my son was there as an over eighteen Venturer. Adults cutting in line. The consensus was that with all the restrictions due to weather and shortage of staff, adults kept away from the HA program areas. We did the nature trails, Summit Center etc. One thing to note was that the Scouts were identified by red bands on their credentials, adults by yellow bands and Venturers with green bands. One quirk was that Venturers over eighteen were issued yellow bands and used adult facilities. Perhaps these were the people that the Scouts thought were

The ones that were kicked out were older Scouts for the most part. So, they can come back January 2014 if they are still under 18 at that point and want to bother. More of interest to me would be will BSA award Eagle to Scouts that had everything done before they were 18 (except successful EBoR because they are gay) and are too old to come back. I'm guessing no.

>>That explanation doesn't seem to flush with BSA's direct service units in plenty of foreign countries. The BSA units in foreign countries are providing American Scouting to American boys in those countries. AFAIK, BSA cannot recruit locals for a BSA unit.

I think it's the Pagan thing rather than the hat. The hat just caused her to state she belonged to a religion that her Council probably confuses with atheism.

You don't help your cause when your website includes pictures of pretty women showing their breasts. Not sure National would be too impressed with the nipples on view when they are telling Scouting's female yoots to wear swimwear that keeps everything covered. Why are the women showing "skin" but the men tastefully hide their wedding tackle? On the plus side, seeing the Cerne Abbas Giant via a Scout site was pretty funny.

Your post is an excellent example of bigotry. Way to go...

If he's prepared to walk away from earning Eagle for his beliefs then tread lightly. Don't say anything that directly contradicts his belief system and do not, under any circumstances, call him a bigot. If you or he want to be cynical; if he makes Eagle before 1/1/14 then it will be under the old membership policy.

Now you're just being silly.

Love the way NJblahblah thinks he speaks for everyone else.

You don't trust two gay guys you've never met before even though they pass the test for best youth protection in the country. I'm shocked, shocked I tell ya. :-) There is no straw man argument. It's the rubber hitting the road argument. You're the one limiting the scene to two boys. I treat two gays wanting to be away with a group of teenage boys the EXACT same way as I do two straight men wanting to be away with a group of teenage girls. Extreme suspicion.

Does Wayne Brock have any 12 year old sons or grandsons? If so, I offer to find two gay guys that are willing to take them into a wilderness area for 10 days. Just the kids and the two gay guys. I will guarantee that the two gay guys have passed the local school's child protection background check and have watched a video about Youth Protection on BSA website. Think he'll bite?

UK's growth might have more to do with getting Bear Grylls to be Chief Scout (or whatever he's called). We still have geriatric white guys instead of men that kill and eat rattle snakes. :-) Should also point out that the bottle neck in UK's further growth is adults don't want to volunteer and be accused of being kiddy diddlers, which is more of a concern now they let gay adult men sign up to take boys into the woods for 10 days.

I read it. One unit saying thanks but no thanks doesn't deny him membership of BSA. This is a resolution that stops National from being forced to kick a boy out of Scouting because somebody dropped a dime. National can't force any group of volunteers from accepting a gay boy in their unit.