From: rhaar@albert.cs.gmr.com (Bob Haar)
Newsgroups: rec.scouting
Subject: Re: Jesus vs. Cub Scouts?
Date: 5 Oct 92 18:15:28 GMT
Reply-To: rhaar@albert.cs.gmr.com
Organization: G.M. Research and Envirnmental Staff

In article 8306@infonode.ingr.com, stevenst@iaserv.b1.ingr.com (Todd Stevens) writes:
|>Having been practically coerced into becoming an assistant den leader 
|>for my son's bear den, I figured I'd better read through his bear book
|>to see what I was getting myself into.  In chapter 2 I read about the
|>Emblems of Faith Achievement where the scout receives the Religious
|>Emblem Square Knot.  I was greatly disturbed to read about the Buddhist,
|>Hindu, Islamic and Jewish emblems that I, serving in a leadership
|>position, might have to award as an achievement someday.  As a Christian,
|>I would find it extremely difficult to award someone for any work done to 
|>further beliefs that discredit Jesus as Lord and Savior.  I was wondering
|>how other Christian scout leaders have handled this moral dilemma.  I just
|>hope it remains a hypothetical situation for me!
|>

This post bothered me in a couple of ways. I get the impression that
Todd is dedicated and concerned, but the misconceptions inherent in the
post are troubling.

At the Boy Scout level, the religious awards are earned and awarded
through the scout's religious organization and its leaders, not by the
troop leaders (unless they overlap).  Isn't the same true at the 
cub level?

If you read in the Scout Handbook where the scout law and oath are explained,
you will find that "A scout is reverant" includes respecting the religious
beliefs of others. And doesn't the mulitude of different religious
awards lead you to know that BSA does not endorse any specific religion?

Scouting, as it exists in the BSA, is a religious movement in the sense
that it holds that spirtual development is an integral part of the
maturation process, and that you cannot have good moral development
without a commensurate religious growth.

I firmly believe that these tenants are right. As the Chartering Orgainization
Representative and an elder in the Presbyterian Church, I take this
quite seriously. But the approach that I take is to explore and
encourage each scout's own religious growth following the direction
that he and his family choose. I have no problem working with boys
who are Jewish, Moslem or Hindu. Many of the boys who describe themselves
as Christians are not actively involved with any organized church.
What really matters is the the scout is examining his beliefs and is growing
in his understand of his own spirituality.

Instead of encouraging the cubs in your den to get the religious awards,
how about encouraging them to explore the differences and similarities
bewteen the major religions of the world. Let the cubs and their parents
know what is available in the way of religious awards, but don't make
earning them a part of the den activities unless all the cubs happen to
be from your church.
 




		Bob Haar
		Chartered Organization Representative,  Troop and Pack 188
		    BSA, Clinton Valley Council, Pontiac, Michigan, USA. 
		Ordeal member, Chippewa Lodge #29, WWW


---
	Robert Haar               InterNet : rhaar@gmr.com 
	Computer Science Dept., G.M. Research and Environmental Staff
DISCLAIMER: Unless indicated otherwise, everything in this note is
personal opinion, not an official statement of General Motors Corp.


Newsgroups: rec.scouting