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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 » |
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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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What a joke organized religion has turned out to be. Jesus would certainly recognize them, he has seen them before. Sad, truly sad.
You might be laughing with the crowd, but for the wrong reason.
"Mat 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."
There is nothing more pathetic than people using religion to excuse their hatred, bigotry and ignorance.
Seems to be one of the primary uses for it. That and dodging personal responsibility.
Rickapolis is that what you use for your bigotry and ignorance? After all, it was Thomas Jefferson that wrote: "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship." The members of this church appear to be fools for Jesus. Who's fool are you?
Bibliophobics sure are proud, and I don't mean all that trash you read. But don't bother.
1Cr 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.
Christianity much like islam is the religion of hatred.
"Fools for Jesus" Too funny, and oh so true.
@Ray – it's not "who's fool are you"... it's "whose fool are you". Am I the only one who went to class that day?
Nice comment Ray.
Let's just exclude a certain group of people we don't approve of, because that's what love truly is about. Treating adults that way is disgusting, treating children that way is down right repulsive.
Approve of? Approval has nothing to do with it. Do the ten commandments require my approval or my obedience?
And treating christians and calling them names is the right thing to do right? Hypocrite
@sup: Whether these people are truly Christians is questionable.
120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer.
What?
I think some people are just destined to be dumb.
Makes sense to me.
Lots of these religious nuts believe the earth is 6000 years old because some fool added all the ages of the people in ....ready?...the Bible! The same idiots think that Jesus (god to them) hates gays and he never said a word about it. But that is being used as a basis for hatred and bigotry by these religious idiots. Go figure...
What's really irrational LinCa is thinking that all of the universe, the good, the bad, the amazing creations of wine, and poetry and vision and music and mountains came from nothing...just appeared. That's really wacky!
I have never, in three years of reading LinCA's posts, ever heard her espouse such a view. In fact, I would consider her the most intelligent, lucid and articulate poster on this site.
If you are referring to the Big Bang, please get your facts straight first.
I guess I will consider gays on the same moral level as the Southern Baptists the day I hear of a group of gays quitting an organization because it allowed Southern Baptists to join, trying to deny Southern Baptists the right to serve their country or telling a goup of Southern Baptist children that they are degenrates or sinners.
Until then, the gays have the moral high ground in this debate.
Why? they don't have to support the BSA...They don't agree with them. Gays have a self-serving interest not a moral high ground. It's very simple
bj, We all support the boy scouts since out tax dollars are used for goods an facilities provided by the military and parks services and federal legislation has required that public schools be available, even in towns than explicitly voted to not offer the tax payer funded facilities to discriminatory groups.
So very sorry, meant to click "reply" but hit "report abuse" in error.
Southern Baptist children don't have to worry about others telling them they are degenerates and sinners – the adults in their lives tell them that all the time. Fundamentalism, in all it's incarnations, is both shame-based and fear-based. It's all about sin, going to h$ll, sin, the devil, thinking 'bad' thoughts, sin, being 'unclean,' needing redemption, sin, etc, etc.
Not only do the gays and those of us who support them have the high moral ground, they also have strength and grace, instead of fear and shame.
Please tell me how that is any different than me not supporting the Baptists because they let non-whites in?
Good. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Dear Baptists,
Try acting like Christ for a change.
David.
We do. That is why we follow His commandments. He said if we love Him, we are to follow those commandments.
Yes, Jesus is God. Meaning he wrote those words in Leviticus and He created Paul (who wrote those words in Romans and 1 Corinthians). God says NO and so did the SBC.
Santa says "ho-ho-ho", so what's your point? Both Santa and "god" are fairy tales. Oh, and nice nickname, BJ. Trying to tell us something?
Christians found a way to tell a Pagan story BETTER than the Pagans; the rest is a painful and bigoted history for everyone in their wake. One needs only a brain and an ounce of logic to realize there is no heaven/hell, and since FOR REAL no one has EVER come back from the dead to tell anyone anything different, I choose to live as if there is nothing beyond this life on earth. Live life to its fullest sincere Christians and refrain from judging because if you truly believe in "God", then you purportedly KNOW damn well that's his/her job. The SBs have every right to take their toys and play with them elsewhere and the BSA will be better off without them.
Faith: unhappy mixture of insanity and ignorance.
It takes an inordinate amount of 'faith' to think the UNIVERSE came into existence by chance, from nothing...absolutely no 'creator'...no designer and no engineer (so to speak)...Just poof or bang...goo and electricity and then life and love and liberty and libel suits.... LOL..As a very strong Christian I don't think I have enough of that kind of magickal faith. Can you atheists spare some????
Yes, and Jesus rode on the backs of dinosaurs, right? I think I saw a fossil of a t-rex with a saddle on it.
bj, I think you'll find that most atheist don't claim to know the details of how the universe came into being. That's the difference...most of us are comfortable not knowing all the answers.
bj, you need a lot more than just faith. But they don't sell brains, so you're out of luck.
Baptists are so predictable. Weren't they vocal against blacks marrying whites? Weren't they vocal in their opposition of integration? They are a really scared group of people, especially considering their supposed "everlasting life".
150 years after founding their religion to protect slavery they now have a black president. Give them another 150 and, if they survive that long, we will likely see a gay president of the SBC. Hey...maybe even a woman one day...
A woman? Never! To Baptists, women are just baby-incubators and kitchen help.
Don't worry Troop 542. There are plenty of other churches that will welcome you. Bet that Minister has an issue with bi-racial marriages too.
Should we depend upon the innate goodness of humans and human intellect to guide us, to insure kindness and compassion.
Ya, that and the rule of law. Useing thiesm to guid humanity has never worker for the majority, just the elite
So who will be the next victim of the Southern Baptist Minister ? Will their next target be The Girl Scouts ? Where Dose it stop? Your Doctrine is Flawed and you can't fix that by Discrimination and Prejudice ..... Charles Bowen Solomon Stone
Why would one be surprised that we would line up with what we consider our Authority; the Bible. One would be considered without anchor to have no absolutes in life. If my or public opinion is my strategy, then I am without an anchor. At least respect that we are consistent. Tom
it is becoming easier and easier to support the removal of tax exempt status for organized religion.
Then how about keeping witheverything your bible says?
Don't just scream about gays, protedt everyone who mixes fabrics, marries a non-virgin, divorces, eats shell fish ...
Consistent? Cherry-picking the Old Testament is being consistent? The ten commandments are fine, but we'll eat shellfish because Jesus said it was ok. Oh, wait....no he didn't. You people don't have a beam in your eye, you've got a whole friggin' tree!
Religious faith is the one species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of correction.
that's a good quote
I nth that.
Love it! Hitchens?
"Rom 10:17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Sam Harris.
*Applause*
Pastor Tim Reed has taken southern Baptist Prejudice to a new all time low ...We should thank him for exposing his churches misguided doctrine, by leaveing his church ,maybe the loss of his ministry will open his mind to the lies that the bible has perpetrated upon the masses......Charles Bowen Solomon Stone
It is prejudice to follow one's beliefs?
Hitler Had Beliefs he followed them, need i say more ....Charles Bowen Solomon Stone
Geez, Mark – are you serious? If your beliefs are based on prejudicial thinking, then YES.
Seriously, how are some of you still alive? Do you have handlers who remind you to breathe, because you're too dim to remember to breathe on your own?
Let us all follow God’s teachings on morality: if a man discovers on his wedding night that his bride is not a virgin, he must stone her to death on her father’s doorstep (Deuteronomy 22:13-21).
New book or the old one – that were His words, weren't they?
No surprise here. Baptists were among the first to rebel against integration and civil rights, as well as interracial marriage. History does indeed repeat itself. Very sad that Baptists do not seem to learn from past mistakes; rather they continue forward and gloat in their hypocrisy.
And are no doubt the first to write so many hate-filled bigoted comments in response to the new cheerios add featuring a biracial family that they had to kill the comments section on you-tube.
YES!!! Now I don't have to worry about my children hiking in the woods and sleeping in tents with baptists!!
LOL!
Truth!
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.
If your going to cut and paste your hate-mongering against Christians instead of coming up with your own original arguments, at least cite your sources so I don't have to keep google-ing them, or is plagiarism ok in your little hate-filled world?
@ Noname – there was no mention of Christianity in the original post. How was that hate-mongering?
Apparently No Name thinks his religion is the only Christian Religion ...Is that true no name are baptists the only christians....Most Christians are'nt as in your face as the Sothern Baptists and Yes this is an original post....Noname needs to think outside the box a little more ... I'm with The 50 Foot Underware on this one.....Charles Bowen Solomon Stone