Scouts' Honor
“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).
Does the general public wonder why there are pro-homosexual stories almost every day in the newspaper and why they have heard about controversy after controversy for the last 35 years? Marvin Weir points out that the news media has been promoting homosexuality since at least 1979. He wrote recently of a headline in the March 3, 1979 Dallas Times Herald. On the front page where it could not be missed appeared the words in prominent print: “Anti-Gay Evangelist Taken Off TV.” James Robison stated that the “gay movement is despicable and a perversion of the highest order.” He subsequently was taken off the air by TV station WWFA, whose spokesman said: “We believe that our religious programs should not deal with such matters.” Robison then scheduled a rally, which Mike Huckabee called the springboard for the development of the Moral Majority.
How presumptuous is it for a TV station to sit in judgment on Bible programs that make Biblical points! If the station can make the determination that one form of sin cannot be discussed, what is to prevent them from determining that any form of sin should not be condemned? The same amount of arrogance it took to decide that homosexuality is not a fit subject for a religious program could also decide that fornication, adultery, gambling, or any other sin is not fit content. (Perhaps this is the reason that so much religious programming consists of fluffy pop psychology rather than Scriptural teachings.)
Of course, since 1979, the drumbeat has intensified and grown louder. When this writer presented two articles (kindly written) to the Denton Record Chronicle back in the late ‘90s, the editor was displeased. He refused to publish the third one. The reader of the newspaper or the viewer of television news programming should ask himself when was the last time he read a story that was unfavorable to homosexuals. The answer will probably be, “Never.” It is not normal for the members of any group in society to be perfect.
But it is not sufficient for homosexuals to gain notoriety and “equal rights” (which they already had before they became vocal about their sexual preferences). They want to infiltrate every group where their practices have not had approval. They have made inroads into the military, thanks to our current president. They have won “tolerance” from various church denominations. They desperately desire to “out” prominent sports’ figures. And now they have won over the Boy Scouts.
The Decision
About 60% of the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America recently shamed themselves by lifting its ban on homosexual members, which is certain to be the genesis of an exodus from a once-great organization. Some have already said they will never wear the uniform again, and plans are under way to form an alternative group. Many lamented the “tragic decision” of the Scouts to place “sex and politics” above their “timeless principles.”
So far, they have upheld the ban on homosexual scoutmasters, but homosexual advocates have already set their sights on getting that changed as soon as possible. They only view this decision as “a step in the right direction” and expressed disappointment that this decision “doesn’t include everybody.”
What a sad day—that such a wonderful experience for boys will now be tainted by perversion (as defined in the Bible)! No institution is safe or immune any more from attack. Just as certainly as the men of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house and demanded to have the angels brought out to them, so people of the same ilk are surrounding every decent organization and demanding to be let inside where they can spread their perverted ways. It does not matter if people do not want to allow them in; they will keep battering down the doors of opposition until they succeed.
The Mormons
An anomaly has occurred in this situation. According to Molly Hennessy-Fiske, nearly 70% of Boy Scout troops are “sponsored by religious organizations, the largest among them The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints.” So if 70% of all troops are supported by religious groups, how is it that 50% of the national council voted to accept homosexuals? Do the religious groups have no say-so in the matter, or have they surrendered to the news and entertainment media as well? No answer to that question is readily available, but we do have an official, yet puzzling, statement from the Latter-day Saints’ organization.
It begins with citing their 100-year association with the Boy Scouts because they had “a mutual interest in helping boys and young men understand and live their duty to God and develop upright moral behavior.” Incredibly, they affirm that they will continue to do so. Are they blind? Are they even conscious? Are they not going to raise any sort of protest but just blithely accept homosexuals into the troops they sponsor?
If they want young men to “understand and live their duty to God,” how can such a lofty ambition co-exist with the new Boy Scout policy? One’s duty to God includes teaching the morality that Jesus and His apostles taught and practicing those principles as well. One’s duty to God involves identifying sin and encouraging people to depart from it. Do the Latter-day Saints really think they are going to be allowed to do their duty toward God? They continue by saying:
The Church’s long-established policy for participation in activities is stated in the basic instructional handbook used by lay leaders of the Church: “young men…who agree to abide by Church standards” are “welcomed warmly and encouraged to participate.”
That’s all well and good, but the new policy of the Boy Scouts will not allow them to continue to require their Church standards. How could they have missed this? Have they not opposed homosexuality in their Church standards? If they have, they will not be allowed to do so henceforth. What can they be thinking? Are they going to try to operate as they always have and let their policy be challenged? If so, that action will probably not take very long. At this point they muddy the waters.
Sexual orientation has not previously been—and is not now a disqualifying factor for boys who want to join the Latter-day Saint Scout troops. Willingness to abide by standards of behavior continues to be our compelling interest.
The naivety is really powerful at this point. Is this paragraph disingenuous? For how many years have boys been coming to them and notifying them at the outset they are homosexuals? And then are we to believe they were told, “That’s all right, as long as you behave yourself?” Is anyone buying that? Yet that is what they want people to believe their policy will be now. But suppose two homosexual boys do not behave themselves. Are the Mormons going to kick them out? And if they do, how long will it take the ACLU or some other liberal group to slap a lawsuit on them? It will be interesting to see how that situation plays out.
We cannot imagine what could possibly have prompted any religious group to go along with the results of this disgraceful decision. As is often the case, if the religious groups had stood together and fought this change, it might not have occurred, but there is one thing we all continue to learn as time goes on, and it is that religious denominations and cults can no longer be counted on to uphold Biblical morality.
The Girl Scouts
“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Pr. 13:20). A great deal has been written of late in society and in the church trying to disprove the idea of “guilt by association.” In one sense, a person does need to be careful of drawing unwarranted conclusions about someone. Just because a person was in the vicinity when a fire was observed to be breaking out does not mean he started it. However, if he spent all of his time with arsonists, we would have a right to get a little suspicious.
Who are the following people: LeRoy Carhart, Peter Singer, and Kalthleen Sebelius? Carhart is a late-term abortionist and has been a strong advocate of partial birth abortion. Kathleen Sebelius is now Health and Human Services Secretary, but she refused to stop Tiller the Baby Killer in Kansas when she had the opportunity. Peter Singer is a philosopher who wrote Animal Liberation in 1975 and also supports infanticide and euthanasia.
In May of 2013, all of these people spoke at a global conference called, “Women Deliver.” The conference was on behalf of WAGGGS, which stands for World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. The Girl Scouts USA is a co-founder of WAGGGS. Why would the Girl Scouts want to associate with any of the speakers mentioned above—or with other groups that were present, such as Amnesty International, the Guttmacher Institute, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and United Nations Population Fund?
According to an article dated May 31, 2013, Sydney Volovski wrote that the breakout sessions of this conference included topics such as, “Outing and Addressing Abortion Stigma” and “Why I Perform Abortions.” Is it difficult to see where the leadership of the girl scouts is trying to take them? Sydney says that she felt betrayed because the Girl Scouts, once upon a time, promised to remain neutral on certain issues, but they fund aggressive abortion “rights” and “hang out” with others who feel the same way. Do parents want this kind of influence for their daughters?
The Future
A fellow wrote in the newspaper a few days ago that he had a gay scoutmaster in the 1940s, and everything worked out fine. He said, “I was only 12 at the time.” One wonders where he grew up because the word gay was not so misused in those days; it meant “carefree and happy.” Also, no one ever sensed that someone was a homosexual back then; most of us never heard of such a thing until we reached maturity. How did a boy of 12 have such broad knowledge in those days? Anecdotal evidence such as this man offered is not only suspicious; it cannot be proven.
Scouts were founded to help young people become responsible citizens—to teach them skills. Would the founders be shocked to see that young girls are being encouraged to have abortions and that homosexuality is encouraged among boys? Yes, by ending the ban, there is now an encouragement for boys to engage in that kind of perverted behavior. It shows us that without question, some of the greatest ideas, started for the most noble of reasons, can be infiltrated to advance someone’s social agenda.
Christians must live their lives in the world and must try to shine as lights in the world. But increasingly, because of the wickedness in the world, we are feeling forced to withdraw from the world. Many Christians have opted for private schools or home schooling for about 40 years because of the drugs, the alcohol, and the profanity in the public schools (which depends on the school district). Many parents are sending their children to “Christian” universities (although fewer and fewer are available since many of them have been taken over by liberals).
Now it looks as though those who want to maintain Christian values will need to start their own scouting groups. It is unfortunate to have to do so, but the ungodly and the profane leave people no other choice. Those who remain with the Boy Scouts, who are welcoming homosexuals into their midst, and those who remain in the Girl Scouts, which are encouraging young women towards immoral behavior, will probably regret those decisions in years to come. The Bible contains a saying: “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:6).
Everyone should ask the question, “How did Sodom become so thoroughly perverted? Did all of the inhabitants wake up one day and say, “Hey! Let’s try homosexual behavior”? No, things spread a little at a time. First, there is condemnation of certain behavior. Then it’s: “Well, you know there are some talented people who engage in that behavior; maybe we should show a little more tolerance.” Then that which was once recognized as “vile” and “against nature” becomes more commonplace, and even those who would never engage in the practice become ardent champions of those who do. This is what has happened here and elsewhere. The only thing left is to punish those who fail to conform to the rest.