Trevorum

Pack, you can share Joseph Smith's millions... "Seems to me that God ought to make finding him easy if that's what he wants." Did you ever read Sagan's "Contact". The main storyline was straight SF and fairly unremarkable, but one of the subplots (that did not translate to the screen) was the search for God. I remember getting goosebumps reading how the creator's signature is found in the base 11 expansion of pi, billions of digits downstream, available for discovery anywhere in the universe and just waiting for inquisitive beings ...

Gern, yes this is indeed somewhat surprising, but Rooster, I find myself in agreement with 100% of your first two paragraphs and most of the third. I only disagree with your conclusion that folks who dont accept your God are "fearful of an honest search" and "afraid of the truth". I feel that is a pre-emptive dismissal of the genuine search for spiritual enlightenment by such people. In contrast, I would offer that such people may well have contemplated your theology and rejected it in favor of a belief system that is more explanatory, more satisfying, and/or more, well, believable. Your theology is certainly the best for you and millions of others, but in my view it is weak and unnecessarily supernatural. Very similar, in fact, to how I view Scientology. Old joke: A religion is just a cult with more members As a reader of science fiction, its very easy for me to laugh at Scientology. As an archeologist, I can dismiss the unlikely claims of Mormons. I see Christianity in the same light. That doesnt mean that I disrespect Scientologists, Mormons, or Christians for their beliefs. Or Hindus, Buddhists, or Wiccans. It would be a dull world indeed if we all thought the same. My spiritual journey has taken me on an honest search for the truth and those beliefs just arent for me. You think I am in error; all I ask is that you give me the courtesy of accepting that I am not "fearful of an honest search" nor "afraid of the truth".

That sounds like a great ceremony! I'm not a chemist, but I think I just do a little experimentation with temperature. Cold slows down the reaction and heat speeds it up. see: http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa040902a.htm

Ed, that's sorta harsh. One can disagree with other religious beliefs and still be courteous.

Thanks Merlyn! I think it is completely fitting that Troop 8 is located in Hollywood, California.

Rooster, I think we may have found a mutual perspective, a kind of detente! I completely understand your feelings about Mormons - it is very much the same way I feel about Christians, who are truly some of the most likeable and loving people on this planet. I see them as following a God that sprang from the minds of ancient near eastern nomads (as opposed to Chinese horticulturalists, rain-forest hunter-gatherers, or Nordic seafarers).

"If I wrote the Book of Rooster ... I have a bridge in New York that you might be interested in buying." I think L. Ron Hubbard got there ahead of you!

Kaji, Yes and no, depending on the specific issue. So lets talk specifics. Lets say that 95% of a county wants to paint all the public schools blue. But a 5% minority believes that blue is an obscene color, for religious reasons. If the schools were painted blue, they could not morally send their kids to public schools and would be forced to pay for private education. So who is right? I believe the majority has an obligation to oblige the minority, either by keeping the schoolsa neutral color, or by otherwise funding the education of the minority children. Now this is different from the 5% minority wanting the schools to be painted green, again for religious reasons. The majority thinks that green is an obnoxious color and doesn't see the need to paint the schools in any case. Here, the majority has no obligation to oblige the minority.

A fascinating aspect of LDS theology (and perhaps that with which traditional Christians have the most trouble) is the belief that "God" (the Judeo-Christian-Islamic diety) is not alone in our universe and that there are many such Gods, although all of our world owes fealty to our particular God. Indeed, if I understand correctly, any LDS follower who dies within the faith becomes a God (or perhaps God-like being?) himself. [This understanding comes from readings in comparative religion; I welcome comments and corrections.]

SSScout, I could never afford my own horn (other than the bugle), always relying on the school. Once I left college, I gradually lost the chops. Last year, a friend of my daughters brought over his euphonium and let me play. No chops, but I was amazed at the residual "finger memory" I still had.

I've seen Penn & Teller a time or two but I missed that show. It sounds like I didn't miss much. Probably would have been more entertaining if they had a tiger or two, or maybe smashed some watermelons... Packsaddle asks an intriguing question about LDS theology. I am not LDS but, from the outside, it seems to me that LDS are Christians to the same extent that Sikhs are Hindus or Baha'is are Muslims. That is to say, they trace their origins to Christianity but have significant theological differences to the extent that most (traditional) Christians might not recognize the theology. Of course, this is only my own observation (and is not meant to offend either LDS or Christians).

Well, the old oak tree is doing just fine (and shedding loads of pollen over the new Chevy truck). They're pretty hardy trees. Ford is still denying any responsibility for their exploding trucks. I doubt we'll ever see a nickel from them. I'm moving on with life.

scoutldr, Even the Jamestown settlers knew the summer climate in Virginia is miserable! Yes, predictably miserable. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to host a summer Jamboree here in Texas either, and for the same reason. My point is that given the choice, I'd much rather spend a week of my summer camping in the Rocky Mountains.

L'b, you've got a point. Back when my two big, strapping Life Scouts were cubs, yes, they enjoyed BL a lot more than they do now. But to interest them now, it would have to be online with sound effects and car crashes. Or aliens. Or both.

I gotta say though, that your throwaway line "... presumably all human ..." gave me pause. Do you know something that we don't?

Rooster, I certainly apologize if it appeared that I was suggesting that Mr. Bush condoned such behavior. I referenced him merely to give context to Mr. Allens name; some people might not have been familiar with Mr. Allen. Perhaps I should have merely said "one of the top advisors to the current administration", or something to that effect. The political affiliation of Mr. Allen is completely irrelevant; this type of illegal and immoral behavior is apolitical. Of course my point was that when highly placed public figures engage in such petty larceny, it makes our jobs as Scout leaders even more difficult.

That is sad news indeed. Even sadder is the message these kids get from the top, when one of President Bush's top aides for domestic policy (Claude Allen) is arrested for larceny from Target stores and resigns in disgrace.

I imagine it's difficult for a print medium to be competitive for boy's attention these days. Despite all the image polishing and up to date graphics and kewl art design, BL is not interactive nor multi-media. Today, BL is subsidized by the organization and could not survive in a competitive environment. To grab the market, BL needs to go online.

For one, I wouldn't mind going back to Farragut State Park in Idaho. The summer climate in Virginia is miserable for camping.

My top four: C.O.P.E.. I don't know about how other councils do it, but here in Capitol Area Council, our COPE weekend is world class. It easily ranks among my top Scouting experiences. Philmont. Not a surprise, but still an experience to last a lifetime. Jamboree. I attended as a youth in 1969 and as an adult in 2005. Every scout should have this opportunity. Scoutmaster. Topping my list has to be the privelege of serving as Scoutmaster to a great troop. I am constantly renewed and invigorated by my association with these terrific young men.

I was also Bugler as a Scout and I loved it (that's why I asked the question - I can't believe our troop has had so much trouble getting anyone to be Bugler!). Like packsaddle, I remember holding the mouthpiece in my armpit on cold mornings. My favorite call was "Tattoo". And (true confession time!) like SSScout, I also played the Euphonium in HS band and also was Drum Major. Small world! My favorite piece on the field was "The Purple Carnival" by Alford and my favorite concert piece was Holst's "Second Suite". I've totally lost my chops however. Several years ago I found my old bugle in the attic and was chagrinned to find that I could no longer play more than a few bars.

Well, congratulations to the Gators! There's always next year. I think I'll go root for the Cubbies now ...

Speaking of records that will "stand an awful long time" ... how about 88 consecutive winning games? How about EIGHT consecutive NCAA Championships?! (to be fair, it WAS Notre Dame that snapped the winning streak!)

I would avoid the use of poisonous chemicals on campouts. My favorite fire starting trick was using the Magic Fire Wand. It was a small, sturdy branch with a convenient tri-fork, painted red and gaudily adorned with feathers, rabbit fur, beads, and oh, did I mention the strike-anywhere matches discreetly taped to each of the prongs? The patter was adapted from Native American lore, with a bit of Prometheus thrown in. From a distance of 15 feet, the rapid scrape of the match head against a bit of sandpaper (taped to a rock in the fire lay) is unnoticeable and magical.

Alas, I was camping at Conclave all weekend and will be at the troop meeting tonight during the game. But Scouting WAS my first passion before UCLA basketball! (As an undergrad I attended every home game for four years and never saw the Bruins lose!) "We're looking over our dead dog Rover...!"