AZMike

I take a different approach than packsaddle, out of respect for your dignity... You can understand, MattR, that I can disagree with you on your religious beliefs and respect your right to have them, without being a "Gatekeeper to the Dark Side of Religion," yes? When you describe me like that, I sound like Saruman or something. My religious beliefs hold that people who practice an act that degrades their personal dignity, and threatens the dignity and safety of others, should not be allowed to be involved in the formation of youth or volunteer activities, By your own argument, you mus

Yes. Just the liberals.

Mrs Loyau-Kennett was a passenger on a number 53 bus which was travelling past the scene, and jumped off to check the soldier’s pulse. “Being a cub leader I have my first aid so when I saw this guy on the floor I thought it was an accident then I saw the guy was dead and I could not feel any pulse. “And then when I went up there was this black guy with a revolver and a kitchen knife, he had what looked like butcher’s tools and he had a little axe, to cut the bones, and two large knives and he said 'move off the body’. “So I thought 'OK, I donÃ

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2329236/Woolwich-attack--Moment-heroic-woman-tries-remonstrate-knife-wielding-soldier-killer-police-arrived-scene.html?ICO=most_read_module

Matt, I understand that the theologically liberal can always cherry-pick arguments that support their own side, but there is a saying in the Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni and Torat Kohanim) which is also brought down in Rashi (Leviticus 20:26) that says: A person should not say, “I don't like porkâ€Â, “It is uncomfortable for me to wear a mixture [of wool and linen],†or "I don't desire forbidden sexual relationships"; rather one should say, “I indeed wish to, but what can I do-my Father in heaven has imposed these decrees upon me?†This is consistent with the Judaeo-C

You ask if a gay kid can encourage a straight kid to become gay. You are confusing a semantic description ("gay") with behavior (homosexual acts). Yes, certainly a boy who considers himself "gay" can entice another boy, especially a younger boy, a boy he has some authority over, or a smaller boy, into homosexual acts. There is currently a thread concerning such an incident on this forum, right now. Without commenting on the rightness or wrongness of expelling the boy from the BSA for his actions (and I agree with "Thomas Jefferson" that the behavior merited expulsion), do you believe that the

Matt, Natural Law arguments can hardly be called vague. They are based on the Thomistic-Aristotelian model. As such, what you and "Thomas Jefferson" are describing as natural law, under Natural Law philosophy is simply the first stage, the "discriminating norm." Describing it simply as "that which keeps us above the muck" is trying to define a cause by its effect. You'll run into some problems with that. The "discriminating norm" is human nature itself, objectively considered - essentially, the book in which is written the text of the law, and is the instrument by which we classify human

moosetracker: "Government abuse of power is not Bush lying to the American people about Weapons of mas destruction, so that he could get the war HE wanted, but there wasn't any reason to have it unless you made up false claims??" Yeeaaaahhh, there was a lot of that "lying" going on before Bush , apparently... “The community of nations may see more and more of the very kind of threat Iraq poses now: a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction, ready to use them or provide them to terrorists. If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps wil

MattR, I will respectfully have to disagree with some of your disagreements. Yes, there is a consistent set of moral rules. See the appendix of C.S. Lewis's book "The Abolition of Man" for examples of the common laws of morality in most every culture and religion, which is part of Natural Law. The details may differ, but the base rules are there. Those rules have always held homosexual behavior to be wrong. Until quite recently, all major religions agreed that homosexual acts were wrong. Under pressure from secular society, some denominations have changed their beliefs to accommodate

No, Merlyn. "Objective Atheist Morality" is a synonym for "subjectively right."

There is a difference between "moral" and "sectarian." If we don't have a base-level agreement on what "morality" means, then "non-sectarian" devolves into an individual doing what he or she feels is subjectively right - which even the most awful people do. The basis for morality is Natural Law. Without arguing about sectarian, denominational views on the rightness or wrongness of homosexual acts, one can look at the Natural Law argument against homosexuality, and come to the conclusion that homosexual behavior, or insisting on an identification as one who promotes immoral behavior as a no

I spoke with a friend Thursday who is active with a troop in California. He has been told by his CO's rep that if the resolution passes, the congregation will no longer be able to be a CO. He is worried that many other troops in his council will be left adrift if the resolution results in religious CO's rejecting the relationship with the BSA, and that will also lead to the scouts who are members of the CO church leaving the troop in solidarity with their church and their religious faith (which understandably have a stronger hold on their loyalties than the BSA), and he is further concerned th

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) just published a pastoral letter opposing the proposed new policy: http://wmltblog.org/2013/05/boy-scouts-of-america-why-the-proposed-policy-change-matters/ [h=1]Boy Scouts of America: Why the Proposed Policy Change Matters[/h] A statement by the Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, President, The Lutheran Churchâ€â€Missouri Synod May 16, 2013 Western culture is at a crucial moment in history. After 103 years of existence, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) may vote to change dra

So if 63% of Americans thought we should, as an organization, jump of a cliff, would we be obligated to do that to? 'Cause we may be about to....

63% of all Americans also oppose new taxes (http://weaselzippers.us/2013/04/11/shock-poll-63-of-americans-say-no-new-taxes/), 63% of Americans own an answering machine (http://www.algebra.com/algebra/homework/Probability-and-statistics/Probability-and-statistics.faq.question.130786.html), 63% of Americans support Israel over any other middle-eastern nation (http://www.gallup.com/poll/126155/support-israel-near-record-high.aspx), 63% of Americans oppose the war in Afghanistan (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/30/63-percent-of-american-public-opposes-war-afghanistan_n_802765.html), 63% supp

As it happens, 63% of Americans also reject the theory of evolution (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090212005934AA61hDa), so we should probably encourage Scouts to rip off all those Darwin fish trunk ornaments and set fire to the offending vehicles in a jihad of Intelligent Design triumphalism. We have a duty to our country as an organization to reflect their beliefs..

Yeah, but this is the same general public that does not read anything anyway. Most people are sheep and cannot be bothered to do their homework. They would read the TV Guide with more vigor than the major membership policies of an organization that will take care of their son hundreds of miles from home. Go figure. [i am rolling my eyes hard on that one] I think most any city that had a police squad with a Vice Squad did, Rick. If you solicited an undercover vice cop in a gay bar, in an adult bookstore (as my high school principal did - he got several years), in a park that was a "cruising"

Seriously, KDD - so if it wasn't a felony in ALL states in the U.S., that is supposed to "shoot a giant hole in my argument?" Seriously? Do you think that the BSA would only recognize federal law, but not the laws of the state the council was in? My apologies, then. I misstated. Sodomy was illegal in EVERY state in the Union until 1962. So there would be no need for a policy in the BSA before that date. It was that way since the beginning of the Republic, when good old liberal, separation-of-church-and-state Thomas Jefferson wrote a bill that would require castration upon conviction for s

Sodomy was illegal in most states in the Union back in the 1970s, BD, and a homosexual act, even with a consenting adult partner, was punishable by imprisonment. Vice squads regularly trolled gay pickup sites (bars, bookstores, parks, public restrooms) and arrested anyone who made a pass at an undercover officer. A morals violation or allegation could seriously harm your reputation, which is why (until recently) one could sue for defamation if someone claimed you were gay. This was the state of affairs in this country until the 2003 SCOTUS decision that voided state laws against sodomy. The po

"No member may use Scouting to promote or advance any social or political position or agenda" KingDingDong and skeptic,, would you also interpret the proposal to mean you shouldn't wear accessories reflecting a political agenda on the Scout uniform (political campaign buttons, rainbow knots, rainbow kerchief slides, patches supporting - or advocating against - LGBT inclusion, etc.)? Does the new resolution support removal from scouting for those that violate this rule?

Kahuna, either we will keep things as they are, or allow homosexual scouts. People will be unhappy either way. Even if we allow in homosexual scouts, some people will be still be unsatisfied because we won't allow homosexual or bisexual or transvestite adult leaders. Other people will be unhappy because we don't allow in atheists. Others will be unhappy because we don't allow girls in as scouts. Others will be unhappy because we don't allow scouts to use medical marijuana in summer camp. Others will be unhappy because we won't let someone with a past felony conviction become a scout leader. Th

IS THE NEW POLICY ENACTED? (YES / NO) YES - THE NEW POLICY IS ENACTED: - See if our C.O. drops us (YES / NO) - If YES: - Work with troop on attempting to find new C.O. Maybe quit. See what my son wants to do. - If NO: - Carry on as usual, unless there is a sudden influx of avowed homosexual scouts. IS THERE A SUDDEN INFLUX OF AVOWED HOMOSEXUAL SCOUTS? (YES / NO) - If NO: - Carry on as usual. Suggest we initiate testing to confirm presence of covert infiltrators (assign point scale for how they cross their legs, how they hold a baseball bat, unusual

A boy with a SSA could still join any number of outdoors-based, co-ed scouting-type organizations: 1) The Spiral Scouts - coed pagan scout group that accepts all religions and atheists. Doesn't exclude lesbians, or gay, bisexual, or transgendered boys. Has offered to grant its highest rank to any Eagle Scout who is willing to leave the BSA over its membership policies. Their oath runs: "A SpiralScout shall: Respect all living things; be kind and courteous; be honorable; be mindful of his/her words; seek out knowledge in all forms; recognize the beauty in all of creation; offer assistance to

Don't know how many of you have seen this...this is the Voting Member Information Packet for the upcoming conference. It goes into better detail than the "Executive Summary," and gives more detail on how the polling took place. The writers of the survey seem a little discombobulated by the fact that the current policy enjoys "strong and widespread support" among scouters, and it is only when push-poll questions are included does support for the policies seem to change: Respondents support the policy by a 61 percent to 34 percent margin, with intensity overwhelmingly favoring supp

Interesting topic. All my kids enjoyed Ender's Game and the sequels. As was mentioned above, the military branches now have assigned reading lists for development of their troops, from enlisted up to General. Some are military history or books on leadership and logistics, some area and cultural studies, and some novels that teach and encourage the values the services want to develop in their members. So Marine recruits are to read "Battle Cry!" by Leon Uris, "Corps Values" by Zell Miller, "Making the Corps" by Thomas E. Ricks, and "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane. E1 through