littlebillie

"Bottom line is, I don't know if B-P was gay or not...no one will ever know. But does it matter?? No it doesn't. Or at least shouldn't - for B-P, or any responsible, mature - gay or straight. Logical conclusion, yes?

may I assume that scouting freely welcomes gnostics? and polytheists?

Lord Sir B-P has been mentioned here as though he is the final determinant for all things Scout. IF (a big if, I think) this is true, consider this in terms of the local standards issues: "Fortunately, in our Movement, by decentralisation and giving a free hand to the local authorities, we avoid much of the red tape which has been the cause of irritation and complaint in so many other organisations." - from "Aids to Scoutmastership"

the menorah is the same kind of religious symbol as a Christmas tree, in the view of many, and possibly moreso, in the view of many others. while Christmas can indeed (some say should) be celbrated without a tree, the Menorah is a necessary part of the Festival of Lights, and symbolizes the miracle that it celebrates. the Menorah is older than the Magen David (Star of David) - at least in its religious symbolism, according to many scholars. from http://www.menorah.org/starofdavid.html "With Jewish emancipation following the French Revolution, Jews began to look for a symbol to

so 1/3 of the wilderness is frozen and not much use. how much of the remainder is desert? how much of the remainder is mountain? less than half of the earth remains uninhabited or relatively so, even as human lifespan has trebled and quadrupled, and the bearing of children and the burning of virgin forest remains a HUGE part of the agricultural subsistence formula... 46%? that's pretty scary. esp. when we think about how much of the ocean remains "untainted".../

scoutldr - well and succinctly put. in fact, it really boils it down - good!

kwc57 "Can you name any sin that isn't disobedience or rebellion? They all are." interesting to think that not all rebellion and disobedience is sin, tho...

"They celebrated their bounty and blessings from God on that legendary Thanksgiving; not our country or our freedom (sort of predated our country and they weren't so pleased with old either)." Ummm - you really haven't looked into it for the facts, have you? the above seems to parrot the standard myth (and really doesn't even get into the enslavement of Squanto at all, and the destruction of his tribe by European disease before he came back to save the settlers), and ignores the slaughter of Native Americans alluded to in the true and original FIRST official Thanksgiving proclamati

from http://www.christmas-tree.com/where.html CHRISTMAS TREE TRADITION HAS ANCIENT ORIGINS King Tut never saw a Christmas tree, but he would have understood the tradition which traces back long before the first Christmas, says David Robson, Extension Educator, Horticulture with the Springfield Extension Center. The Egyptians were part of a long line of cultures that treasured and worshipped evergreens. When the winter solstice arrive, they brought green date palm leaves into their homes to symbolize life's triumph over death. The Romans celebrated th

Boy Scouts of America, not BIBLE Scouts of America. Hindu Scouts can have a polytheistic religon, and no one else? Not really sure where I stand on diversity, since it's become SUCH a buzz word - but I strongly believe in tolerance, and this thread seems to displays some lack of it...

"The name of the corporation created by this chapter shall be ''Boy Scouts of America'', and by that name it shall have perpetual succession, with power to sue and be sued in courts of law ..." I would expect that being able to sue for use of the single word "Scout" would be like Toy'R'Us taking someone to court for use of the word Toys. And since the GSUSA has its own charter, there'd be precedent for permitted infringement anyway. Since Spiral is not a gender word, I think they have fairly solid grounds. Even "Youth" might be challenged on the basis of the age thing - Boys an

My stance on the gay issue is - I hope - clear. The BSA should be persuaded to allow responsible, mature gays into leadership positions. I said persuaded, not forced. That's an important point. No pedophiles or sex criminals of any kind, btw, gay or straight. Ok, got my plank in there - now for a response. RobK defines the discrimination thing succinctly. And I have to agree that, say, if the GSUSA is there, then the BSA has the right to be there as well. The Girl Scouts position is a lot more similar to the BSA position than a lot of folks believe. BUT if there is/was

NJCS, I've always seen that "in His Own Image" stuff as akin to a human sculpt a statue - a statue can be in OUR image, but of a totally different substance or 'stuff'. The statue of a human being looks like a human being but can't do anything but sit there. The human may be in the image of God, but we are otherwise very unGodlike. Now, in the case of humans and God, we are made in His Mental image, not physical, and the stuff of our minds and souls - compared to God's - is as cold marble compared to our bodies. but again, this is from someone who sees the Bible as a symbolic

firstpusk, some really interesting sites. esp germane for those who say evolutionists lack OBSERVED or EXPERIMENTAL evidence was the plant stuff, I thought - obviously some folks only want to consider that which has been observed immediately and directly. The ancient DNA stuff was also fascinating. Thanks!

...better not be instilling ANYthing sexual, gay OR straight... that's REALLY TRULY the philosphical position... it's up to families and churches, not US!

Weekender, from: http://www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/bk26/distinctions.html Later Peter realized the significance of the revelation. It was that "God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean" (verse 28). Recognizing the real intent of the vision, Peter baptized the first gentiles (non-Israelites) God called into the Church (verses 45-48). ??? on the other hand, if the law can change - as you describe - and the land can change - erosion - then why not life?

hey, here's a Gallup poll article. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/evolutionviews990816.html I don't come to the same conclusions as you, looking at this, ScoutParent. While it's "most Americans" don't buy into evolution, it seems more do than buy into strictly literalist creationism. Can I ask what poll you're looking at? Thanks! oh, and fyi Genetics also addresses hybridization and mutation thanks again

kwc57 "Correct me if I'm wrong, didn't God create man from the dust of the earth in Genesis? That is quite an "evolution"!" Not only man from the dust, but chimps from the same dust, with just a flick-o-the-wrist's difference in the DNA!!! You just GOTTA wonder what the point of that was!?

Weekender, I can appreciate where you're coming from, and respect your stance - I jsut don't accept it for myself. I continue to see the "days" in Genesis as "vast time periods" of indeterminate length (one acceptable translation of the original text). Indeed, the original texts refers to elohim, gods, plural, but that seems to have been lost through the process of translation and transcription, and no matter. Faith is faith, and I believe that God told a story of Creation in Genesis that was at our level of understanding at the time. He also gave us science, and our understanding ha

A scientific theory points to a piece of rock, a rock that can be handled and touched and vouched for by a Buddhist or a Jew or a Hindu or any at all. None would deny at the least the common appearance of the rock, reagardless of any story of origin they might bring to it. The rock is there and tangible across the boundaries of faith. This is the dividing line between the THEORIES of evolution and literal creationism. a scientific theory is founded on demonstrable physical evidence and conclusions drawn logically therefrom. a religious theory is founded on faith - believe

"While you did not write that my religous beliefs were contradicted by the theory of evolution, firstpusk did, and my reply was addressed to you both. Pardon me for confusing you. Forgive me also for expecting a reasonable level of reading comprehension on the part of my audience." So let's see how this works - you address TWO people, ACCUSING one of them - and the confusion is based not on the resultant inaccuracy - caused by YOU - but by my own lack of ESP and resultant failure in recognizing that what you say is not waht you mean - and it all boils down to MY problems in reading compre

Why is it some folks just autoamtically asume that it's the OTHER person at fault if there's been a misunderstanding? You know, the ones who never stop to say, hmmm, I may have been unclear, let me rephrase that? It must take a load off your mind to know that you always express yourself flawlessly, eh? At least knowing you're a perfect communicator means you can get on with other things. And even if your every third posting has to begin with "you misunderstand" or " improve your reading comprehension", well, despite the annoyance of never being understood by lesser minds, there must be

"Reasonable, unbiased scientists need to either prove beyond a doubt that evolution is valid (to the exclusion of creationism) - or acquiesce that [LITERAL]creationism has the same the right to claim its validity as a theory." The word in brackets seems necessary to the statment I'm assuming you intend? Please remember that there are many scientists of great faith who take the story of Genesis allegorically. The corollary for your statement must needs be "Reasonable, unbiased [LITERAL] Creationists need to either prove beyond a doubt that all English texts have been properly transla

the Consitution is not "closed on Sunday".

"Granted, not all religious faiths can be true, because many contradict one another." The Sufis say that Allah makes Himself known in time and manner and place appropriate to each people...