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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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Shouldn't be a big deal. You would think now that they are open that the gay communities will help sponsor. Right?
A poster below wrote that God hates the sin of homosexuality.
Religions that agree with the poster's statement claim such a notion as an absolute moral truth. We know such notions are founded in ancient writings from millennia past. For many things we have learned about through science, beliefs have had to adapt to keep from looking silly and being out of date with current knowledge. This is simply another time where fundamental religions are struggling to keep up with current knowledge and throwing a hissy fit about the discomforting situation they find themselves in.
We know that homosexuality has always been a naturally occurring feature across many species including mankind, and science is now getting closer and closer to answers on how it survives across generations. Now that the scientific research shows that homosexuality is not a choice, but formed very early via epigenetic factors (resistant to change), religions that abhor homosexuality look sillier than ever on the issue. For Christians in particular, I would also say their wildly conflicting Biblical interpretations regarding a wide array of topics including this one is just another indicator that their objective truths are anything but objective.
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Psychology
The American Psychological Association states "there are probably many reasons for a person's sexual orientation and the reasons may be different for different people", and says most people's sexual orientation is determined at an early age. Research into how sexual orientation in males may be determined by genetic or other prenatal factors plays a role in political and social debates about homosexuality, and also raises concerns about genetic profiling and prenatal testing."
Professor Michael King states: "The conclusion reached by scientists who have investigated the origins and stability of sexual orientation is that it is a human characteristic that is formed early in life, and is resistant to change. Scientific evidence on the origins of homosexuality is considered relevant to theological and social debate because it undermines suggestions that sexual orientation is a choice."
The Royal College of Psychiatrists stated in 2007:
"Despite almost a century of psychoanalytic and psychological speculation, there is no substantive evidence to support the suggestion that the nature of parenting or early childhood experiences play any role in the formation of a person's fundamental heterosexual or homosexual orientation. It would appear that sexual orientation is biological in nature, determined by a complex interplay of genetic factors and the early uterine environment. Sexual orientation is therefore not a choice."
Biology
The following is from the article:
Homosexuality ultimately a result of gene regulation, researchers find (12/11/2012 – LiveScience)
[ The search for a "gay gene" may be off-target, new research finds. Another process called epigenetics that switches genes on and off may explain why homosexuality runs in families.
Epigenetics are heritable changes caused by factors other than DNA. Instead of traits getting passed down through the genes, epigenetic change happens because of the way genes are regulated, or turned on and off.
These genetic regulators may be the reason homosexuality persists in nature despite the fact that gay people are less likely to reproduce, suggests the new study published in the journal The Quarterly Review of Biology.
"These things have evolved because they're good for the parents, but they sometimes, not [with] high frequency, but sometimes carry over" into offspring, study researcher William Rice, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told LiveScience. In a male fetus, Rice and his colleagues write, an epigenetic change that benefited the mother may lead to "feminization" of sexual preference — homo- or bisexuality. The same may be true for epigenetic changes passed down by dad to a female fetus. (The terms feminization and masculinization of sexual preference refer to sexual orientation only — not to physical or personality traits of the offspring.)
The findings add to past research suggesting gay men haven't died out, because female relatives of gay men tend to have more children on average than other females. The study researchers specifically found that two genes passed on through the maternal line could produce this effect.
Hormones, epigenetics and orientation
Rice and his colleagues focused on epi-marks, which are molecular changes that act like temporary "switches" to turn genes on and off. If a gene is a blueprint, the epi-mark is the construction foreman who makes sure the product gets built. An epi-mark also determines when, where and how much a gene is expressed, according to the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis.
These molecular switches are usually erased very early in the developmental process, but they can be passed down from generation to generation, too, Rice said.
Some epi-marks are particularly important during fetal development, when they promote normal physical development in the sexes despite natural variations in testosterone during pregnancy. Researchers know that fetal exposure to too much testosterone can masculinize the genitals, brain or behavior of a genetically female fetus. Likewise, too little testosterone can make a genetically male fetus more feminized.
But here's the catch: There's lots of overlap between the levels of testosterone male and female fetuses get exposed to. That means there must be another side to the story, Rice and his colleagues wrote.
That side appears to be epigenetics, Rice said.
"Early in development, we think these epi-marks are laid down so that girl fetuses will be relatively insensitive to testosterone and male fetuses will be relatively sensitive to testosterone," Rice said.
Biological behavior
Thus, if an epi-mark that kept a mother from getting exposed to high testosterone in development gets passed on to her son — the opposite sex — it could desensitize him to testosterone, contributing to his sexual preference for men. Similarly, if a male-specific epi-mark from dad gets passed to a daughter, it could "masculinize" her sexual preference, making her more interested in women.
These findings could explain why twin studies show that homosexuality runs in families, but no "gay gene" can be found, Rice said. In identical twins, there's about a 20 percent chance that if one twin is gay, the other will be too. If genetic change were responsible for homosexuality, you'd expect a much higher match, Rice said. Epigenetics, however, can explain the heritability without the need for a specific genetic change.
The hypothesis could be tested by examining epigenetic marks in parents of kids with gay versus straight offspring, Rice said. There are, of course, concerns that this knowledge could be used by parents who want to avoid gay offspring, Rice said, but that concern already exists around certain hormonal conditions in utero, which are known to contribute to an increased chance of offspring being lesbians.
"That cat's already out of the bag," Rice said. He added that an understanding of the biological underpinnings of homosexuality could help emphasize that same-sex behavior is not "unnatural."
"In fact, it's a major part of the natural world," Rice said. Fourteen percent of Western gulls raise chicks in female-female pairs, he pointed out. And 8 percent of male sheep show zero interest in fertile ewes, but get sexually excited by other rams. ]
And............Biggest JOKE under the SUN.................NO heaven or horn-y red devil..........never has been !
Heaven for atheists? Pope sparks debate
By Dan Merica, CNN
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/23/heaven-for-atheists-pope-sparks-debate/comment-page-43/#comment-2372761
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/21/vatican-pope-didnt-perform-exorcism/#comments\
http://legalnews.findlaw.com/article/0bj7cdy2zIcqA?q=law+OR+lawsuit+OR+legal+OR+%28court+AND+law%29
PS Do a simple search for Prof. Higgs.............the church hates that = True Comedy Gold !
And worth sharing RCC !
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
Now I now why I don't practice religion, and why religion is dwindling in America.
Let freedom ring.
C. S. Lewis claimed that he was convinced that absolute truth exits. "Mere Christianity" by C. S. Lewis.
@psychology, "Fourteen percent of Western gulls raise chicks in female-female pairs"
Does this mean that Jesus will have to send those gulls to hell to suffer eternal damnation ?
The major religions of our particular tribe codified the tribe's common ideas about right and wrong. If most people feel something is icky, their religions will certainly support them in that. Really, it's what religions are for, I think. They tell us what we must and mustn't do and why, and along the way provide answers to anything that seems mysterious. They also evolve, slowly, under a selection pressure that keeps them right at the edge of absurdity.
to the poster who posted the apa what a joke this was just introuced recently into the apa. people do your research there are board members of the apa who are gay GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT !! . LOL! There are gays in the courtrooms in the classrooms in every sector of society so it is with Christians there are christians in every sector of soceity.
another tactice to sayw society inot their stupi belief system. its against nature its against the law of God period.
Baptist's are the Biggest and most vile of all Bigots!!! They have no idea about the Love of GOD. The are a Sect not a Religion. The should all look deep into a mirror and their eyes to see the Hate and Filth they project to the World. TO HELL WITH BAPTIST BIGOTS, MAY THEY ALL ROT IN HELL!!!!!!
If they do rot there, expect they will have a lot of gay company. Don't mock the truth or demand that a lie is the truth.
Funny i thought gay meant happy people i guess we really see the ugly lifestyle in full force
Let's assume god actually exists. He created the universe with billions and billions of suns and planets. Many of them may have life like our planet. Given all that, what is among his top priorities ? Well of course, it is what consenting humans do with their s3x organs, and who they do it with. For god, this must be a much higher priority than promoting world peace.
Remember to ask Him that when you die.
The pastor wants a similar type Boy Scouts group in church to "protect them". Are you kidding, where do you think the most abuse exists? – In the church.
All will be judged by Christ and not by man. It will be a righteous judgement. The light of truth will shine on all. There will no excuses and no conning Christ.
@jim, apparently you are not aware that everything you are saying is an ancient myth.
So you say, Jimin, so you say.
Big deal.
I say all will be judged by Thor, and he's one grumpy mofo, and if you don't believe in him, you'll be getting that big hammer up the wazoo for all eternity.
There, absolutely equally valid claims.
One One; yes jim from NM believes in a bunch of myths. Sadly there are many like him. I'm sure that when he was young he believed in Santa. Now I hope he has matured and doesn't believe that any longer. But he hasn't matured enough to drop the other myths.
Tim Reed is sending a message based on morals and God's will. A great day for because it's NOT OK to be gay.
How do you know it's not ok to be gay?
The bible and God said so!
@ Justice – based on the morals found in the Bible??? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Good one! Biblical morals like ra-pe is okay, slavery is okay, genocide is okay, child abuse is okay.
Yeah – right – A highly moral book!
@ Justice: Sorry, forgot something:
Stupid t-wat.
Ah yes, the argument from authority. I don't need to say anything else. But, thank you for your honest response. It's more than the religious usually give.
So Justice-If god commanded you to kill one of your kids-if you have any-that would be ok?
Justice-I would assume you believe god created the different animal species. Whoops-over 1,500 animal species have been observed with gay behavior. Hmm-why would god want to do that?
It is amazing to me different religious groups think they know the real truth. Do they ever think that their beliefs are determined by geography? Of course not-so they continue to declare they are the ones who pray to the one and only god. They also have the only key that unlocks what god truly wants. So sad in this day and age. Start looking at reality-reality that prayers do not work. We could have the entire world pray for a week for an end to cancer-result nothing. Reality that works of art where created to make a religion seen all the more authentic. But do we use logic in regards to religion-no-that is bad. I could go n and on- but until you have a full grasp on reality-I guess religions will hang on with their particular belief system.
No, they would not think it because their religion prohibits them from thinking – that's why it's faith.
What is your reality? That matter evolved from nothing? That matter which evolved from nothing somehow produced life from non-life? That the amazing complexity of this planet and universe are endless results of mere chance?
William-here it is straight and simply-I do NOT pretend to know how everything was formed. But I do not make up a god to explain things that man has not yet understood. Remember when man did not understand lightning-and they thought god was angry. We moved past that. Remember when the church said the sun revolves around the earth. Whoops we have gone past that. Remember when the Catholic Church said the Big Bang was a bunch of bull. Now the church has said that is how it worked. I do not use religion to cover up things I do not understand.
The religious are proving themselves to be more and more irrelevant..............and ignorant
They were (maybe still are) racists, so what would you expect.
Good for him, I'm sure there are plenty of others who feel the same way and will do the same. There are plenty of men of the faith that will not comprimise the truth that practicing openly gay relationship is contrary to the bible. and if they want to engage in those matters then go else where, where its tolerated but not in my house it won't. I guess people who live that lifestyle want to force their own belief on the church as well. Not happening.
Now that's an interesting statement. What would you do if your child was gay?
Cindy-You are so brainwashed. Wonderful that you have the power to understand what god really wants:)
Practicing a gay relationship may be contrary to the bible but it is not immoral.
Oh OK, they're forcing their beliefs on your church, let's whip out the persecuted christian card shall we?
Let's see we have:
Bibles in every motel room
God on our money
Prayer before public events
Christian cable networks 24/7
Discounts on insurance for being Christian
Churches every 6 blocks in every city over 100,000
Laws that prevent non-Christians from holding public office
Christian bookstores in every town over 12,000
God in the Pledge of Allegiance
Televangelists 24/7
Christian billboards along the highway advertising Vacation Bible School and “Repent or go to He.ll”
Federally recognized Christian holiday
Radioevangelists 24/7
Religious organizations are tax free
75% of the population claims to be Christian
National day of prayer
God in the National Anthem
Weekday Christian education for elementary students.
Christian clergy led prayer at Presidential inaugurations
Please, take the Christian whine line somewhere else.
to M poster that oes not have the reply
if my child was gay ? what kind of question is that ? LOl
Excellent point M!
I know family members who were gay and suffered mental anguish for their choices now regret ever living that lifestyle.
can you imagine almost 20 years lost trying and then come to the realization that you have no wife or children Please on't tell me about adoption.
thats another defense mechanism and excuse.
pastor a good job
Cindy-–if my child was gay ? what kind of question is that ? LOl. You sure are not getting it! Guess the lightbulb is a little dim. Especially with the LOL at the end.
How the hell does gay person affect your life directly? Are you afraid your children are going to become gay if they associate with someone who by no choice of their own is gay? You are aware that being gay is natural...right? That the buybull has no authority is reality and that teaching your children that hating someone based on their sexual orientation is bigotry that is not based on evidence?
Educate yourself with something other than a 2000 year old book that has been shown to be wrong on so many other things.
"Lifestyle". That word alone proclaims your ignorance. Being gay is no more a lifestyle (which implies choice) than being straight is a lifestyle.
If you don't want gay people in your house, that's your right. Believing that "God said it's a sin" because the bible says so doesn't make you any less a holier-than-thou bigoted ho-mophobe.
I am happy to say that I am glad I am not a southern baptist, i.e., I am not an idiot.
Your approach to debate is to call those with whom you disagree idiots? Nice.
Don't be so idiotic with your idiocy from loonsville central. We loonie birds need a nifty place to enamor incessantly at! 👿 😀 🙁
ALSO SUE KFC
THEY HAVE BEEN CLONING BONELESS CHICKENS I JUST SAW 2 MORE ADS
REPORT THEM TO THE NEAREST AUTHORITIES
Hmmm! The Southern Baptists are leaving the Boy Scouts!!! I wonder what Jesus would do!!!
Jesus loved and forgave people who chose sinful lifestyles. He also told them to stop sinning.
William: Sin is only a biblical, it does not apply to everyone and being gay is not wrong, your bigotry on the other hand is quite wrong.
Jesus was more the YMCA and bathhouse sort. I can't see him in Scouting.
shelly; the way things are going I would not be surprised to find out, real soon.
It's funny how many people claim to know what god thinks, and what god wants.
And how do they know the mind of god ? They have a book written by people 2000 years ago.
How stupid and arrogant.
SUE CNN
BOYCOTT CNN SPONSORS
DO NOT BUY 1 MORE PRODUCT FROM ANY BUSINESS THAT SUPPORTS NAZI CNN
GOD HATING NAZI FASCISTS DISCRIMINATE AGAINST CHRISTIANS
VIOLATE FREEDOM OF SPEECH
AND SUPPORT TERRORISM
CONTACT ADL
MARK LEVINE
RUSHBO
wHEN A SECRETARY WRITES FOR THE BOSS, IT DOES NOT MEAN THE MESSAGE IS ANY LESS MEANINGFUL BECAUSE IT IS DICTATED.
Thats the typical remark for some one that is explained the truth of the bible. Sa to see how a lifestyle makes people evil and full of hatered contrary to the name gay . Some thing to think about Hmmmm!
cindy: It's not a lifestyle bigot!
SUE CNN
BOYCOTT CNN SPONSORS
DO NOT BUY 1 MORE PRODUCT FROM ANY BUSINESS THAT SUPPORTS NAZI CNN
GOD HATING NAZI FASCISTS DISCRIMINATE AGAINST CHRISTIANS
VIOLATE FREEDOM OF SPEECH
AND SUPPORT TERRORISM
There are no !st Amendment issues involved when commenting on a private corporation's website. Perhaps a remedial civics class ?
So much for freedom of speech, eh? Like I said, the American Taliban – their vision for America.
And btw, lol??, you're much more entertaining when you post as faith.
Property of hindu atheists, crook self centered by faith.
Works for me. Love the sinner but not the sin.
Love the bigotry hate the bigotry.
A poster below wrote that God hates the sin of homosexuality.
Religions that agree with devin's statement claim such a notion as an absolute moral truth. We know such notions are founded in ancient writings from millennia past. For many things we have learned about through science, beliefs have had to adapt to keep from looking silly and being out of date with current knowledge. This is simply another time where fundamental religions are struggling to keep up with current knowledge and throwing a hissy fit about the discomforting situation they find themselves in.
We know that homosexuality has always been a naturally occurring feature across many species including mankind, and science is now getting closer and closer to answers on how it survives across generations. Now that the scientific research shows that homosexuality is not a choice, but formed very early via epigenetic factors (resistant to change), religions that abhor homosexuality look sillier than ever on the issue. For Christians in particular, I would also say their wildly conflicting Biblical interpretations regarding a wide array of topics including this one is just another indicator that their objective truths are anything but objective.
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
lol??
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
lol??
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
One would think a church would be for Christians only, a safe place to enjoy a family reunion. They should do their evangelizing during the week and Sundays should be reserved for feast days. Keep out the sneakin' riff raff that just want the food. The Baptists allowed some goofball attorney to insti*tute the altar call. They were warned about the pharisees.
I don't recall anything in the Bible about Baptists. Jesus told Peter to found his Catholic church. So I guess the Baptists are going to hell for not being Catholic. I guess.
Keep on guessing in your hindu atheism, stupid self center ism, way of every hindu idiot, ignorant secular, self centered to spew his hindu idiotic ism, secular ism, self center ism.