DanKroh

I second the question about the ages of the boys who have not yet earned the AOL. Is there some reason that they do not want to earn the award? Why wouldn't they take advantage of the 5 months remaining until they finish 5th grade to try to complete the requirements for AOL? My experience in our pack is that boys who do not get their AOL by February do not cross over then and, instead, stay with the pack until the end of the school year. Can't say for sure how many of them have still gone on to earn the AOL at that point. It has been my impression that the few boys who did not earn the AO

Your high school AP Psychology teacher is using outdated information. And unless you take a COLLEGE level psychology course at a university where there is a religious bias (or from an instructor with a religious bias), you will never hear that again. And just read what you said, "One of my best friends is bisexual, and he agrees that he wasn't born gay, that it is a choice for him." OK, so he was born bisexual. Which gender he decides to enter a relationship with may be a choice, but who he is attracted to is not. He IS bisexual. But this, like religion, is another issue where b

Well, actually, I agree that you should decline to work there, but for different reasons than Ed. You implied in your post that one of the reasons you make so many tips in this establishment is because you are an "extremely attractive exotic-looking male". So basically, you are presenting yourself as "eye-candy" to you customers. My feeling is that this is somewhat duplicitous on your part. How are you going to react the first time one of your customers flirts with you or makes a pass at you? How are you going to react the first time you are called by a homophobic slur by someone o

Rooster, so "peace on Earth, good will toward men" is NOT an appropriate sentiment of the Christmas season? I just want to be sure, so as not to offend. SR540Beaver, I agree with you in principle, as long as respecting my "right to believe" also means that my beliefs will not be publically mocked or belittled, and that I won't be told I'm going to the Christian's hot place because of my beliefs. For example: "I respect your right to worship the Devil himself and to condemn your soul to eternal suffering because of it" Nah, that kind of respect doesn't work for me, either.... (N

Ahhhh... If I may reminisce for a moment (and at the risk of sounding like an old fart), I remember when gaming meant pencils, graph paper, character sheets, dice, books, and if you were really into it, miniature figures.... But I do remember a lot of the same comments made about D&D back in the day. What's the appeal? Doesn't it teach violence? Won't it make my child antisocial? Well, I think with both D&D and video games, what you do or don't get out of it depends a lot on how you play. Our D&D campaigns were just that, well-planning, imaginative, epic adventures t

Nicely said, Semper. And may the spirit of Christmas bring you and yours great joy, blessings, and peace.

Ed says: " Dan, I respect your beliefs." Well, I'm very glad to hear that Ed. However, I am concerned about how quickly you were willing to compromise ALL your beliefs to admit that. I asked: "Ed, could you please specify which of your beliefs you would have to compromise to be respectful of a Pagan Scouter's beliefs?" To which Ed replied: "What beliefs would I have to compromise? All of them."

So Ed, then how do you reconcile the fact that as a Scouter, you swear to uphold the Scout Law, which says you should respect the beliefs of others, to the fact that you feel you cannot respect my beliefs without compromising all of your own?

Ed says: Earned a pagan Scouters respect how? By compromising my beliefs? Or by caving in and saying I believe in something I don't? Actually, Ed, you don't have to earn my respect. I give it freely until such time as you might prove yourself unworhty of it. But I'm truly curious, Ed, could you please specify which of your beliefs you would have to compromise to be respectful of a Pagan Scouter's beliefs? Could you also specify what you think you would have to say you believe in that you don't in order to be respectful of a Pagan Scouter's beliefs? For me, I have to say tha

Ed says: Respect is earned. I must have missed the version of the Scout handbook where the 12th point of the Scout laws reads: "A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others as long as that respect is earned and he thinks those beliefs are valid and true." In my version of the Scout Handbook, Ed, the Scout law ends "He respects of the beliefs of others." Period, end of statement. So tell me Ed, with these statements: "Saturnalia was basically a sex & booze orgy!" "The god Saturn? And pray, what does this go

Semper, I have thought of another answer to your question for your consideration. Some people believe that respect is earned by being given. If your worshipper of the "Spirit of Intolerance and Disrespect" does not give respect to others, then he has not earned respect for his beliefs in return. Personally, I think respect should be given by default (not earned), but it can also be taken away if it is not returned in kind. I will respect you and your beliefs up until the point when you have been disrespectful to me and my beliefs, then I am no longer under any obligation to give my r

Semper asks: If one's 'religious belief' involved the worship of the Spirit of Intolerance and Disrespect, calling him or her to be blatantly disrespectful of all religions other than their own, as well as those that follow them, then by your own words, you would respect that belief and would therefore not be offended by the comments of such a person? Ah, I thought I smelled a "trap" in your question. I was hoping I was wrong, but at least your trap shows imagination. While I would respect their right to have that belief, I would draw the line at them expressing their intolerance an

Semper asks: So, should I take that to mean that all beliefs are equally valid and true? Depends on the nature of the beliefs. If it is a belief about something that is observable and verifiable, then no. If you believe that the sky is green, then that belief is not true. However, if we are talking about religious beliefs, they are for the most part unverifiable by anyone else. So yes, unverifiable religious beliefs are all equally valid and true because they are valid and true to the person who holds them, and therefore, deserving of respect by the rest of us. Rooster said in a

Nope, you wouldn't be silly. You simply have a different belief about Morrigan than I do. However, I would praise you for your knowledge of Celtic mythology. However, I am interested in the answers to two questions from my last post: 1. Do you disagree that there is intolerance for the beliefs of others within certain groups of Christians? 2. What denomination of Christianity to you personally subscribe to?

Well, thank you SemperParatus, for your sincere interest in learning more. Just to clarify, the belief that I feel was being disrespected was my belief that Jesus was a great teacher, but not necessarily divine. This belief has been called "silly", and that it must result from "ignorance". If those are respecful words, then I'll eat my neckerchief. To clarify my position on "Merry Christmas", I am not bothered by the greeting itself (when given in the appropriate spirit), but rather the assumption that I must be Christian. But you asked me to define my beliefs for you. Sure thi

SemperParatus says: Are these the actions of a mere teacher? Never said there was anything "mere" about Jesus. Actually, the phrase I used was "great teacher". I guess you also missed the part where I said that I think he was certainly "touched" by God. And the actions I had in mind were more along the lines of how he lived his life and how he treated the people around him, rather than a laundry list of the miracles he may have performed. Things like (just a few examples): Asking the rich to help the poor. Calling for an end to discrimination based on social class. Showing c

Well, then Rooster, I thank you for the good intentions of your Christmas greeting, and wish you and yours a sincere and heartfelt Happy Yule. May the return of the sun shine bright blessings on your house.

Kudu says: I'd say just the opposite. The accounts of his supernatural miracles are suspect, but his moral allegories as recorded by his chosen disciples may be intact. That's an interesting theory, but here's my theory. In studying other languages, my experience is that the words for ideas and abstract concepts are much more nuanced, and much harder to translate than the words for actions and concrete concepts. Therefore, it is more likely (assuming that no one writing the Bible has out and out lied about events and ideas), that more complex, abstract concepts (like divinity and morality

Well, SemperParatus, since you have (IMHO) the cheek to demand that I justify my beliefs to you.... I base my label on actions rather than words. Words are cheap, and can be misinterpreted and misquoted. Actions speak much louder. It is how Jesus lived his life that I admire, how he treated the people around him, rather than what he actually prosletized. Now, I do have to make some assumptions that Christ's actions have been relatively accurately portrayed in the Bible, but I find it more likely that his words might be distorted than accounts of his actions. Now, I am not disrespect

Yes, Jack Lewis' quote is an excellent summation of the intolerance of many Christians for beliefs that do not match their own. You know, if you wanted to believe that Herne was a nice myth, but you didn't believe he was a god, thank you very much, I would not be offended as a follower of Herne. In fact, you could believe that Herne was the devil incarnate as long as you were at least respectful to me to not say it to my face. I'm not going to dictate to you what you have to believe about my gods. In fact, I couldn't give a hoot what you believe about my gods, as long as you are respectfu

Rooster: Why do you suggest that non-Christians will be, or ought to be, offended when others wish them a "Merry Christmas"? Well, how about that it assumes that I celebrate Christmas, which according to you, must mean that I am a Christian (since it is silly for non-Christians to care about that holiday). On the other hand, why would a Christian be offended by being wished "Happy Holidays"? Ed: Cool planet? That's it? That's what I figured. Nothing! Well, not being a follower of Saturn, I can't tell you what the appeal is for those people. However, I can't tell you what the ap

Rooster says: Jesus proclaimed that no one could come to the Father except through Him. He made it clear in many different ways, if you want salvation, you must accept Him and His perfect sacrifice on the cross. In order for those words to make sense to anyone, one must believe in Jesus divinity. So you believe. I don't. The difference is, I'm not trying to tell you what you can and can't celebrate based on your beliefs. If you want to celebrate Hannukah or Yule, go for it. If I want to celebrate Christmas based on my beliefs about who and what Jesus was, you don't get to naysay me. I'm s

Rooster says: Your statement is truly a foolish one. Jesus Christ was either who he said he was, or he was a mad man. If he is not who he said he was; theres no reason to recognize Christmas. Christians and others, who present Jesus as merely a great teacher and/or philosopher, have not examined His life or His message. They are attempting to intellectualize Christ as someone other than whom he really was and is Gods son. And your statement is equally foolish. What makes you think that I have not examined the teachings of Jesus only because I do not accept the idea of his divinity? And w

Ed says: Saturnalia was basically a sex & booze orgy! Wow, now there's a statement that couldn't be farther from the truth. In ancient times, Saturnalia was a harvest celebration, marked by feasting, gift giving, and the relaxing of social structures that allowed slaves to be treated as equals to their masters for the day. Today, Saturnalia is a celebration of the harvest, and the rebirth of the Sun, like many other solstice celebrations. BTW, Ed, the Roman Empire was not a religion. Many religions actually florished during the Roman Empire, including Judaism and many

Kahuna says: Regardless of the history of why Christmas is celebrated on December 25, that is the holiday celebrated on that date. The trees are Christmas trees. Yeah, and Yule is the holiday celebrated on the winter solstice, in some Pagan traditions. My tree is a Yule tree. So what's your point? Again, part of the problem is that Christmas is not the only winter holiday that has an evergreen tree as it's symbol. So by calling them "holiday trees", people are at least giving a passing nod to the fact that they might be representing different holidays for different people. It h