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May 31st, 2013
04:19 PM ET
Baptists plan exodus from Boy ScoutsBy Daniel Burke, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor (CNN) - For Southern Baptist pastor Tim Reed, it was Scripture versus the Scouts. “God’s word explicitly says homosexuality is a choice, a sin,” said Reed, pastor of First Baptist Church of Gravel Ridge in Jacksonville, Arkansas. So when the Boy Scouts of America voted to lift its ban on openly gay youths on May 24, Reed said the church had no choice but to cut its charter with Troop 542. “It’s not a hate thing here,” Reed told CNN affiliate Fox 16. “It’s a moral stance we must take as a Southern Baptist church.” Southern Baptist leaders say Reed is not alone. Baptist churches sponsor nearly 4,000 Scout units representing more than 100,000 youths, according to the Boy Scouts of America. That number could drop precipitously. The Southern Baptist Convention, the country’s largest Protestant denomination, will soon urge its 45,000 congregations and 16 million members to cut ties with the Scouts, according to church leaders. The denomination will vote on nonbinding but influential resolutions during a convention June 11-12 in Houston. “There’s a 100% chance that there will be a resolution about disaffiliation at the convention,” said Richard Land, the outgoing head of the Southern Baptists’ Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, “and a 100% chance that 99% of people will vote for it.” “Southern Baptists are going to be leaving the Boy Scouts en masse,” Land continued. Roger “Sing” Oldham, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention, emphasized that local congregations make their own decision on the Scouts. But he, too, said he expects Baptist delegates, which the church calls “messengers,” to voice their disagreement with the BSA's decision to allow gay youths. “With this policy change, the Boy Scouts’ values are contradictory to the basic values of our local churches,” Oldham said. Several religious groups with strong Scouting ties support the new policy. “We have heard from both those who support the amended policy and those who would have preferred it would not have changed,” said BSA spokesman Deron Smith. Faith-based organizations charter more than 70% of Scout chapters, providing meeting space and leadership, according to the BSA. “There have been some organizations that have decided not to renew their charters with Scouting," said Smith, "but we can’t quantify the impact of the amended policy." The National Jewish Committee on Scouting, the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which sponsors more Scout units than any other faith, all endorsed the change. The National Catholic Committee on Scouting, which is run with oversight from a bishop, said Thursday that allowing gay youths in the Scouts does not conflict with church teaching. Each bishop will decide whether or not to allow churches in his diocese to charter Scout units, the committee added. “We ask that Catholic Scouters and chartered organization heads not rush to judgment,” said Edward Martin, chairman of the National Catholic Committee on Scouting. But the Rev. Derek Lappe, pastor of the Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Bremerton, Washington, has already made up his mind. “I do not feel that it is possible for us to live out, and to teach, the authentic truth about human sexuality within the confines of the Boy Scout’s new policy,” said Lappe. The priest told CNN affiliate FOX16 that his parish will part ways with the Scouts and develop its own programs. There may soon be an alternative to the Scouts for social conservatives like Lappe. John Stemberger, founder of On My Honor, a group that opposed the Scouts’ change in policy, plans to convene conservatives in Louisville, Kentucky, in June to consider forming a new Scout-like group, which could be up and running by the end of 2013. “Churches and Scoutmasters are looking for leadership and direction,” said Stemberg, an attorney in Orlando, Florida. A number of conservative religious denominations already sponsor their own groups. For instance, the Southern Baptists have the Royal Ambassadors, an explicitly Christian program founded in 1908 for boys in first through sixth grade. (A similar group called Challengers equips older boys in “mission education.”) The name comes from the New Testament, in which the Apostle Paul tells Christians to be “ambassadors for Christ.” The estimated 31,000 Royal Ambassadors pledge “ to become a well-informed, responsible follower of Christ; to have a Christlike concern for all people; to learn how to carry the message of Christ around the world; to work with others in sharing Christ; and to keep myself clean and healthy in mind and body." While not as outdoorsy as the Boy Scouts, Ambassadors do camp and play sports, said Land, who was a member of the group during the 1950s. But instead of merit badges for archery and bird study, young Ambassadors earn patches for memorizing Bible verses and mission work. Southern Baptists said they are preparing for a surge of interest in the Royal Ambassadors at their upcoming convention in Houston. “We really have an opportunity here to strengthen our RA programs,” the Rev. Ernest Easley, chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, said in a sermon last Sunday, “and to get the boys in a program where they’re going to be protected, where there’s a high moral standard and where they will have an opportunity to learn about camping, missions, evangelism in the local church.” soundoff (10,821 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 Next » |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Dog gone gays screw up everything.
Allowing gay boys in scouting personally affects you in what way? NEWSFLASH: They've always been there.
"Dog gone gays screw up everything"
Yeah, just like those darn blacks in the sixties, and those annoying suffragettes a century ago.
We should have never let you women vote.
Look what's happened.
Aw Michelle, don't sound so disappointed surely you can find something else to screw up and with, darling! 😉
Once religious extremism walks out in "droves" America's Boy Scouts will get back to be American ... as apple pie.
I'm sorry, the BSA was a Christian organization from the first. I lament that they have turned their backs on their values in the pursuit of money and acceptance by the pop culture. With the Christians out of the organization, the BSA will plunge into the abyss, not become more American... but wait, my mistake... America is turning its back on it's values too and is also plunging into the abyss. So, you may actually be right.
Can they be more hypocrits than this???!!!
Royal Ambassadors pledge “ to become a well-informed, responsible follower of Christ; to have a Christlike concern for all people; to learn how to carry the message of Christ around the world; to work with others in sharing Christ; and to keep myself clean and healthy in mind and body."
Wasn't the Christ, that I love and respect, the one that taught his followers..."Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." How can they wrap themselves in beign responsible Christ followers having a Christlike concern about the people, when they so brutally destroy his teachings by allowing bigotry and discrimination in their circle?
Jesus's ministry embraced those that the Jewish marginalized. He would be appalled at what His ministry has turned into.
Preach it.... this is exactly what these religious extremeists need to hear. I as a former scout and scoutmaster approve of this change because the bible was written to be a guidw for each person and how we individually live our lives. Yes it may be a sin, but in turn are they (the church) not sinning as well by violating the commandment you mentioned. Also the bible mentions we are supposed to turn thy other cheek... excuse me but how arw they doing that? by my count thats 2-1 in favor of the church sinning... we all are not perfect as we know god gave us free will and we must respect and advise not FORCE beliefs on people. And before anyone sugfests i have been happily Married to my wife for almost 9 years and am not GAY.
There are a lot of strange ideas about Jesus on here. He actually came to divide, not to be tolerant. No one should be shamed for breaking their affiliation with the scouts, especially if it goes against their religious beliefs. Just because a very LOUD faction continues to insist that gays were 'born that way,' many people, including some gays don't agree. What a shame that the rights of a minority has now denied a huge percentage of Boy Scouts to continue, unless they do so against their beliefs. How is that fair? I am so tired of the constant, "Are you on our side or not (and if you are not, then we devalue you and call you an evil bigot)?" persecution question that is poisoning everything in society.
I think Jesus got angry at times especially when His house was allowing sin and other things instead of worship, did he not. It is one thing to be kind to your neighbors and share the gospel. However, allowing sin to be ok without rebuke is not. It is not religious extremism it is our right to believe what we want and to have a different moral understanding than others. If they wish to change and in-process of You may think it is ok but others don't that is what makes this country great the freedom of religion.
Dee, the problem here is the hypocrisy of hating one group of people and not another. Jesus clearly said that if a man gets divorced and remarries he is committing adultery, but I don't hear the Baptists screaming about divorced people.
Jesus also clearly said that rich men will not get into heaven, and they should sell all their possessions, give the money to the poor and follow him. But people just don't want to, so they ignore that part of his message.
Bosco, I'm not a Baptist but I believe they view remarriage after divorce as adultery and a divorced man cannot serve as a Deacon. They seem pretty consistent.
Good-bye!
adios
Oh, the irony.
Jesus taught love, but not de-pra–va-tion. Boys scout is for Boys, not doves
Thanks for the input, Cletus, but you don't get to decide what an organization is for unless you're on the board. The only "board" you have any understanding of is the one you nail over your windows when it's fixin' to storm.
the Boy Scouts are doomed. Their support is crumbling from both sides.
They cannot appease the rabid Left & cannot please the fundamentalist Right.
The mushy middle supports no one.
Again with the crystal balls. You don't know that the organization is "doomed."
The 'mushy middle' is often the moderate voice of quiet reason and where people usually stand on issues. It's the zealots who try to divide society who insist that extreme views are legitimate who make the headlines. Loudly, confidently proclaiming what we all need to believe, sometimes they can persuade otherwise sane, moderate people to believe their dogma, but in time, the truth prevails over shouting and the country comes to its senses. Few people today would admit they once favored racist policies, for example (though the cult-of-Westboro Taliban is an extremely bigoted exception).
A cult that divides families, society (the cult-of-Westboro)... is shamelessly destructive. Look at the hatred in the eyes of the Westboro zealots the next time you see them on TV. They are YOU. They are what your cult stands for: hatred in the flesh. THey know nothing about God's love. They are a spiritual perversion. Maybe God is directing Westboro to appear on TV so the world can see how evil your cult is. Judging from the comments here, God's plan is working perfectly.
What makes you think Boy Scouts is going to dry up without the baptists? I'd be shocked if even all the baptists quit. Even if their troops move to a synagogue. This is only BSA, not Boy Scouts worldwide. How many more Baptists will leave their church based on this? How many more baptist boys will end up turning to other sinful behavior with their additional idle time? Christianity went 1200 years after Jesus died on the Cross without baptists, I'm pretty sure the Boy Scouts will last 1200 years after they quit. "If you are not my enemy you are my friend."
Cult pride. What do you expect from the cult that once referred to their 'pope' as "America's Pastor". Delusional people who think that Dante's Inferno (the source of the hell they adore so much) is a sacred text.
The good news is that neuroscience researchers hope we can some day treat religious fundamentalism as a curable mental illness. The cult-of-Westboro = American Taliban. They are talibanana's.
This is a cynical membership drive. All hood-wearing new members welcome. The cult-of-Westboro is a cult of hatred, division and derision.
Do any of you rabid thumpers have a single cite for any negative consequences of legal gay marriage? Go ahead and cite it. It's legal in how many states now? And in how many countries? Can you prove that it's caused a single problem?
Have at it, you sniveling cowards.
@Tom
The idea of gay marriage makes them feel all icky in their tummies.
Isn't that reason enough to deny gay fold equal rights?
@Doc ... It makes them feel something that scares them...but it's not in their tummies...
What I have to laugh at, doc, is that whenever I have posed the above question to these fucktards, all that ever occurs is crickets chirping. They can't find a single thing that has occurred in any place where gay marriage is legal that would be considered a negative consequence. They're completely tongue-tied.
Idiots, every one of them.
'cowering in fear, he says... the first book of genesis... the first chapter of creation... from physical life form from plants to animals to birds to , hummm, humans... verse 28 for sure.... And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens, and all animals that move upon the earth.
question for you... if the creator saw reproduction right... how can two of the same s ex breed and reproduce?
The real purpose of this gay-bashing witch-hunt is simple: it's a cynical membership drive and gay-bashing is the last resort for the cult that can no longer openly claim that gawwwwwwd loves slaves who know their place and have separate water fountains & restrooms. What do you expect from the cult-of-Westboro?
How aboyut HIV/AIDS ? How many millions did it kill ? That nasty lifestyle disease has infected innocent people. How is that for a start ? That's what GAY marriage has led to. Everyone forgets because well, that happened 20 years ago. I look at that as a warninig. Its wrong. It goes against nature itself.
@one, in our secular society that whole bible quote thing is meaningless.
Money, Tom. We, the people, grant monetary benefits to certain groups., like married couples who file a joint tax return.
Such hatred. It seems that the most intolerant, bigoted hate filled group around is the gays. Go figure...
Hey flippy................not everyone has .
Good news to share
Bono at TED 2013: Eradicating extreme poverty doesn’t have to be a dream
http://www.one.org/us/shareworthy/bono-at-ted?gclid=CIGe8cj4w7cCFcye4AodlFIAnw
@casual, i imagine after a lifetime of persecution and subjugation it would make a person bitter.
Oops flappy
snowboarder – your quote.... and in our accepted current society, you are right in the understanding...
@one, in our secular society that whole bible quote thing is meaningless.
BUT a question for you... 60 years ago, people had respect for the words of the book... 30 years ago, less respect,,, 10 years ago, even less respect
the book says God never changes... He is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow... IF He has not changed, then who has... the creator or the created ones.... and if you ever read the book you will find what the Creator says about those who go and do their own thing... they increase in knowledge AS they forget their Creator, worshiping the creation more so than the Creator.... so, who moved... The Creator or the created... ??
@Flatpicker
Let's run with your theory that AIDS is a "lifestyle" disease.
If that is the case, then wouldn't allowing gay people to enter into legally recognized, monogamous relationships be a positive choice? If one chooses to get married, one ostensibly also chooses one single s.exual partner for life.
Nosepicker, I hate to break it to you, but HIV/AIDS wasn't caused by gays and it isn't a consequence of gay marriage. Now finish eating those boogers and try again.
@one, our knowledge has evolved and we rely less on supersti tion and mythology for guidance. christianity had a lock on indoctrination for hundreds of years in this nation just like islam does in other parts of the world. it is simply an erosion of the brainwashing.
"question for you... if the creator saw reproduction right... how can two of the same s ex breed and reproduce?"
First of all, show evidence that a creator exists. Then explain why gays exist if they're not made in the creator's image? Now tell me this: since when do all straight couples reproduce? Is it required? Do tell! Why don't you produce any legal language for any state's marriage license that says so. Thanks in advance.
@tom, that is very true. so often the gay marriage argument turns to the ability to reproduce, yet there is no requirement for procreation in marriage and not even a test for the ability to procreate. it is an empty argument, like the rest.
Exactly, snow. The morons that use this argument never seem to figure out that god and the bible never said that those who can't reproduce for any reason may not marry. There's no injunction against the elderly marrying, is there?
They see only what they choose to see and they're inconsistent in their beliefs.
I think they are afraid their kids will 'catch' gayness... near as I can figger... but, you can never really understand crazeeeeeee... so you may as well stop tryin'.
I love how christians play the reproduction card, as if this planet weren't already overpopulated, as if their religion didn't call for celibacy. Humans reproduce, even with the presence of gays. Then there's the AIDs thing. They blame gays, yet the people least likely to contract AIDS are women in same-sex relationships. Their arguments simply don't have a leg to stand on.
I think Doc is right. It's icky feelings and fear.
First of all, show evidence that a creator exists. – just look up some dark night. see the universe? read the logs of what is being discovered out there? read the logs on how the earth was placed in just the right position to be able to sustain carbon life? all you got to do is watch the news daily ...
Then explain why gays exist if they're not made in the creator's image? -all human form is made in the image of the Creator... such as, God spoke – you speak, thru a mouth... God wrote with His fingers... you type with yours.... God walked among ... takes feet, could continue on that one... but the difference is God cannot sin... humans were given a choice to choose..,. choose blessings, choose curses... (if you do not follow the Creator's suggestions, then He will not offer the protection you need to get thru life without major headaches....
Now tell me this: since when do all straight couples reproduce? Is it required? – some do not reproduce... don't see where it is a requirement, just that if you wish to reproduce, then it takes a hetero couple to do it... the Creator says it was GOOD – the Creator says same s-ex is not good.... seems to me He choose good, since He is good and He is love...
Do tell! Why don't you produce any legal language for any state's marriage license that says so. – as for human reasoning, i don't choose to follow that path, nor be involved in that way of life. i prefer the Way of Life set forth by the Creator of human life... if you purchase an item, any item, is there not a guide 'book' to keeping it maintained and in running order...? car,,
Thanks in advance. – you welcome... and thank you for the mental challenge you present... i forgot why i was atheistic back many years ago before I discovered the instruction book to maintaining my operating system
@one, what kind of nonsense is that? there is life on this planet because it is suitable for life. if it were not suitable, there would be no life.
as for what gods are purported to say, that is simply the imagination of men.
"First of all, show evidence that a creator exists. – just look up some dark night. see the universe? read the logs of what is being discovered out there? read the logs on how the earth was placed in just the right position to be able to sustain carbon life? all you got to do is watch the news daily ..."
Mud puddles think the holes they're in were made in their sizes, so as to perfectly fit their contours, dingus. There's no evidence that simply because life exists here it must have been "created" or that this planet was made specifically for us to inhabit. None. Nada. You choose to believe that. Doesn't make it a fact.
When you have any evidence, get back to me. As it is, you are woefully ignorant of science.
Romans 1:26-27 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Romans 13:14
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
don't forget to read the rest of the story tho... liars, cheats, hetero fornication – same judgement
Which makes absolutely no sense as it was written 2000 years ago by some fearmongoring idiot.
Great! Are you starting a masturbation club?
My blabtist pastor says that's why gawwwwd made livestock. I LOVE love animals.
Before you use the bible as an excuse for discrimination, please prove that your god exists.
pathetic. i do not understand why some people refuse to think for themselves and instead allow their decisions to be made by someone's interpretation of an ancient book of myths.
this irrational religious fear of hom 0se xuality has got to stop.
@snowboarder
=>if you were present during Jesus ministry 2000 years ago, and it unfolded just as the gospels describe, would you believe?
don't understand how you figure it is myth when archaeology and science have proven it to be historically right...
No, they haven't, One. You would like to believe they have, so you ignore the lack of evidence for the accuracy of the bible.
One Solution: What pseudo science books are you looking at?
@One Solution
Archaeologists have unearthed the ancient city of Uruk, including the remains of its might walls.
I guess that means that Gilgamesh really was a demi-god who ruled for 125 years and visited the Underworld.
@One, that is a blatant lie. there is no archaeological proof of any deities or their children.
Hey Chad have you checked out your link yet...............on the quarter back goes long.
View source ?
@chad, at best the gospels are a gross exaggeration, a tall tale grown taller in the retelling. at worst they are complete fiction.
i see, i see... said the blind man to his deaf daughter....
fast question.. where thruout the entire book does it say deities had kids. only kind can reproduce after its own kind...
@one, don't some of those myths suggest jesus was the son of a god?
i believe He was... born of a physical "jewish' woman,,,
when you believe in a Creator who can do whatever He wishes (the book i read, and believe, says that nothing is impossible for the Creator to do)
the book also says that Christ is the 'firstborn' of many... seems the Creator might have a lot more in mind,
even you, snowboarder, after you get off the slopes
@one, but there is no reason other than brainwashing or wishful thinking to believe that to be true. the entire christian doctrine is absurd and clearly the construct of a supersti tious human mind.
@snowboarder
=>if you were present during Jesus ministry 2000 years ago, and it unfolded just as the gospels describe, would you believe?
?
The gospels are a lie Chad so there would be no need to become a follower during that time, it's why they had to copy other pagan religions during that time to get people to believe in the fairy tale.
Don't know if I would or not, and neither do you, Chard. No one knows exactly what one would do in a given situation until it occurs.
Why bother to ask such a stupid question?
@Adam "The gospels are a lie Chad so there would be no need to become a follower during that time"
@Chad "If you were present during Jesus ministry 2000 years ago, and it unfolded just as the gospels describe, would you believe?
?
Just say "No!" so that Chard can move on to his stunning reply. . .
Chad you are if......................BUT if does not work.
Is chadie now the if guy ?
Liberals will not be happy until all values are destroyed in america.....
What values are being destroyed? The "value" of hating people because they're different? The "value" of discriminating against others and depriving them of the same rights you have because you think your god hates what they do?
Do you know how ridiculous you are?
Liberals won't be happy until everyone regardless of belief/disbelief/sexual orientation/color/ect are treated with the basic same equal rights.
I'd love for the religious to give up their silly bigotries, but I'd settle for each of them to embrace Matthew 6:6 (NLT), "But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private."
Not very Christian of them.
Love thy neighbor...by kicking them to the curb.
love thy neighbor, hate the sin.... not the same thing as hating your neighbor... quote it right
Since that's not in the bible, One, it can hardly be misquoted, right? Or are you the original author of that phrase?
many places thruout the book i read... try lev. 17 –
try psalms, proverbs, etc... also new tes-tament the entirety... surely you have read it, have you not?
Most of the conflicts between people of different religions start simply because they disagree about "facts" that are every bit as meaningful as the names of Santa's reindeer....
Rudolph is a false reindeer, not included in the original manuscript.
Clement Clark Moore's writing was inspired by the spirit of Santa Claus Himself!
Actually, Rudolph was a marketing ploy made up by the Montgomery Ward department store...which is now defunct. Rudolph, however, lives on.
It is merely an accident of history that it is considered normal in our society to believe that the Creator of the universe can hear your thoughts while it is demonstrative of mental illness to believe that he is communicating with you by having the rain tap in Morse code on your bedroom window...
Exactly. I'm an atheist and occassionally think about what it would take to convince me. If a god spoke to me I'd think I was hallicinating (maybe from a parasite or brain fungus thanks to show like House) and go straight to the ER. A god would have to kill me and take me to the afterlife before I believed. I can't blame the Baptist or other religions for leaving though. I mean they can believe and their belief is based on particular texts and their god is all knowing and such (like they believe) then god would not have allowed the text to go into print ... I've read fantasy novels with more realistic and seemingly powerful and intelligent gods: gods who destroy inaccurate texts or such (thinking of the Mistborn novels). Ok, I'm rambling, sorry.
Sad to see the Baptists are traveling on the wrong side of history yet again. And they honestly wonder why they're losing membership. It's the reason I gave up on that denomination years ago. Good people but the leadership juts keeps failing them.
Jesus taught love.
Baptists teach hate.
Baptists clearly aren't followers of Christ.
Fundamentalist Baptists aren't so much Christians as they are Preacherists. In short they follow the teachings of Preachers, not Christ.
Nothing new. Jesus directly addresses this in Luke 6:46 (NLT), "So why do you keep calling me 'Lord, Lord!' when you don't do what I say?"
Chicken Baptists are afraid of gay people.
"Chicken Baptists afraid of Gay people ?" Why would baptists be afraid of gay people ? I doubt they are afraid. Maybe afraid of the HIV/AIDS virus that gay peole are the cause for spreading world wide and killing of millions. I am sure there is another disease right around the corner that will be next. nature has a way of correcting itself.
Hey, flatearther? You do realize that you can't contract AIDS through casual contact? So are these baptists afraid that they will suddenly become gay if they are around gay people? Is that their excuse for bullying children?
You Jesus fanatics have it all wrong...as usual. The greatest threat to a boy in a scout troop is the Christian heterosexual pedophile scout master, not some fellow scout his own age who happens to be gay.
And you know this how?
Abe: The stats say so. http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html
Abe, most pedophiles that prey on children aren't gay. Do a little research and break out of your preconceived notions.
For Southern Baptist pastor Tim Reed, it was Scripture versus the Scouts.
“God’s word explicitly says the Jews killed our saviour” said Reed, pastor of First Baptist Church of Gravel Ridge in Jacksonville, Arkansas.
So when the Boy Scouts of America voted to lift its ban on Jews on May 24, Reed said the church had no choice but to cut its charter with Troop 542.
“It’s not a hate thing here,” Reed told CNN affiliate Fox 16. “It’s a moral stance we must take as a Southern Baptist church.”
I think it should have been the other way around (gays strt their own organization), but they should start a new organization based on their ideals. When the current BSA falters and dries up the new one with morals will be the one to turn to. Hopefully this time they will ensure the board of directors will have the stones to maintain their philosophy they built the organization on and not buckle to crybabies.
Matthew 22:39
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
All the law... not just those few words... Paul said 'follow me as i follow Christ.' Christ said 'you say you love Me and do not keep ALL my commandments... then........ you read the rest jn 14:23-
Poor Don. I'm sorry that you are made uncomfortable by people who are different than you, but the world is changing. Ignorance-based discrimination against children is no longer considered to be moral in a world where studies show us that homosexuality is normal and not harmful.