ahofer

Ok, I thought we had worked out differences of opinion in this thread about what constitutes reverence or belief in "God" but now I'm not so sure again. I still think there's plenty of room for individual interpretation in the scout principles, if you can somehow avoid actually declaring yourself an atheist. And I think that believing in the possibility of God (in some form, including belief in and reverence for the mystery of nature and evolution) allows agnostics to include themselves in the scouts without any ethical lapse. To think otherwise is, to me, clearly religious bigotry, demanding

Crew21_Adv: I understand the problem of posers creating controversy on web forumns; with Edge, I'm quite sure this is NOT the case, as I received a thoughtful, personal message from him this morning thanking me for my support, and I think there haven't been any posts on this thread by him since the first two. Thanks again for your thoughts.

scoutldr: GREAT reply. It's so encouraging to see a forum exchange that, for a change, brings people closer to an understanding instead of escalating out of control. When we remove the heat of emotion from the discussion, we ARE far closer than it first appeared. Thanks very much for listening with an open mind and striving for better communication. I see your points and agree with them. My own concern was also to get this scout (and other agnostic scouts) to think before they blurt out "I'm an atheist" before an Eagle board of review. I believe many who think of themselves as atheists ma

scoutldr: I don't mean to ridicule anyone, and you're entitled to whatever beliefs and opinions you have, and I do respect that. If however, you think a scout is a troll because he doesn't believe what you believe, then I do think it's sad, especially if you're a scout leader. It doesn't matter whether he used the word first or not. As to whether he's an atheist or not, as I said in a previous post, at 17, and without a formal religious background, he may be confused as to the distinction between an agnostic and an atheist, and there's a big one. I meant only to provide him with

John-in-KC: Thanks for your post about Scouting's support for those of Buddhist and Hindu faiths. It's nice to see strong evidence of support for those who don't follow a monotheistic path.

Crew21_Adv (and others): Thanks for YOUR last post, I believe we've found common ground. As you pointed out, it's easy to become emotional about these issues, and I did so in my first post. My writings were never aimed at those of faith who respect those of other beliefs -- or those who question their beliefs. My frustration was only with those who told EdgeofThorns that he didn't belong in the scouts. In his first post, he first described himself as agnostic (questioning), and only later described himself as "atheist" (with quotations). Perhaps he's confused as to the distinction. Eithe

Crew21_Adv: I apologize if you were offended by anything in my previous post; I intended no disrespect to any person, and if that's the way it came across, then I'm guilty as charged, and will try to avoid it in the future. My frustration is not aimed at any person who declares their religious faith; rather it is with those who would judge others and impose their standards on them. I've never criticize anyone for their beliefs, and I do respect them; for all I know they're right and I'm wrong -- I only believe that no human knows for sure. I do NOT feel that others should believe what I

EdgeOfThorns: don't listen to those who call you a "Troll" or belittle you because of your lack of explicit religious beliefs. Those who hold others to their strict interpretation of "God" represent all that's WRONG with the BSA. It's unfortunate that the national organization is held captive by the bible belt, but know that there are many thousands of scouts, leaders and parents who share your dilemma. Those who believe that a strictly defined religious belief is a requirement to leading a "moral" life and to membership in this organization are themselves acting immorally, and intolerantly.