Atheist in the Pack

[Hal_Crawford]

Aquaticeagle:

 

I think if you read the last line of Merlyn's post you will see that he is being sarcastic. You may find his sarcasm in bad taste but I can assure you (based on reading a lot of his posts) that Merlyn does not see atheists as second class citizens.

 

Hal

[TheScout]

A properly educated child should know who their creator is at a real young age. It is the first thing taught in any religious education class.

 

If they have poor parents who do not see to this development, the least we should do is make sure the kid knows this is not acceptable. In the long run it is in the best interest of the child.

 

Who cares about the BSA numbers? Are we know a consumer product whose only purpoe is to appeal to the masses to maximize numbers. If people do not care about our beliefs, we should not want them in.

[SSScout]

*ahem*

"Reverence to God and reverence for one's neighbor and reverence for oneself as a servant of God, is the basis of every form of religion. The method of expression of reverence to God varies with every sect and denomination. What sect or denomination a boy belongs to depends, as a rule on his parents' wishes. It is they who decide. It is our business to respect their wishes and to second their efforts to inculcate reverence, what ever form of the religion the boy professes."

 

==Robert Baden-Powell, "Aids to Scoutmastership"

 

That said, if the form of reverence the parents choose is NOT to believe in a "higher power", then all the Scout Leader can do is not pass on the requirement. And remind the Scout that he has been asked to make a promise. Has he kept that promise? Is it no longer possible to attempt to keep that promise?

 

So as to not keep repeating ourselves, see: http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=227967&p=1

 

There are worthy youth organizations without a religious componant.

 

(This message has been edited by SSScout)

[Novice_Cubmaster]

How many of you wanted to be a fireman (or policeman, whatever) when you were 10?

 

How many of you, now that you're adults, are fireman (whatever) like you wanted to be at 10?

 

Same goes for a 10 year old atheist. Life hasn't dealt them enough cards to tell'em how to play their hand.

 

NC

[aquaticeagle]

"A properly educated child should know who their creator is at a real young age. It is the first thing taught in any religious education class."

 

And if we knew for an absolute fact that there is a creator and who that creator is...I would agree with you. We don't though and that is why it is called faith. A properly educated child should be taught to think for themselves and make their own decisions when they are old enough to think objectively about faith and religion.

[aquaticeagle]

"Aquaticeagle:

 

I think if you read the last line of Merlyn's post you will see that he is being sarcastic. You may find his sarcasm in bad taste but I can assure you (based on reading a lot of his posts) that Merlyn does not see atheists as second class citizens.

 

Hal "

 

Wow, I feel like an idiot now. I guess I just read a little and flew somewhat off the handle. I apologize for that. I've been having a lot of issues with this and other sensitive "Scouts in the News" type topics so I'm a little touchy. Thanks Hal.

[TheScout]

"And if we knew for an absolute fact that there is a creator and who that creator is...I would agree with you. We don't though and that is why it is called faith. A properly educated child should be taught to think for themselves and make their own decisions when they are old enough to think objectively about faith and religion."

 

It is not OK for a child to learn objectiively the wrong faith. It is the salvation of the child's soul for all of eternity we are talking about.

 

What if the child is allowed to think forhimself and becomes a viciously anti-semetic national socialist. Is that OK? The child came to it through their own reason.

 

[GernBlansten]

So if a child believes in Santa Clause, I guess we need to take that as fact too.

[TheScout]

Of course not.

[aquaticeagle]

"It is not OK for a child to learn objectiively the wrong faith. It is the salvation of the child's soul for all of eternity we are talking about."

 

I agree. Since none of us know what the "right" faith is, wouldn't teaching any of them possibly qualify as teaching the "wrong" faith?

[aquaticeagle]

Also, faith is a very very personal issue. Would you agree? So shouldn't a person's faith be decided by the person and not by his/her parents or teachers? After all, "it is the salvation of the child's soul for all of eternity we are talking about", not the parent or teachers soul.

[TheScout]

Like I said you can't let a child decide anything he/she wants?

 

What if he decides through reason to be a anti-semetic national socialist. What then?

[cardinal50]

My take is that BSA requires a belief in a higher power in the universe, interpreted by most people as a god or God. Period.

It should be up to a boy's guardian(s) to make that determination and to guide the boy insofar as what his duty to this "higher power" is.

That satisfies the requirement.

If this cannot be done, most likely the boy will be better served by some other youth organization.

Many boys have gone on to be exceptional people and citizens without the benefit of BSA.(I think.)

[aquaticeagle]

"Like I said you can't let a child decide anything he/she wants?"

 

I didn't say that a parent should let a child decided anything he/she wants. This just illustrates my point. A child should not be allowed to make all decisions that affect their life because they are not mature enough to do so. That is exactly why an issue as important as faith and religious belief should not be addressed until the person is old enough to do so for themselves. Of course they can be taught about religions but not taught which one they should believe.

 

When asked about religion by a child, a parent should say something along the lines of:

 

"There are many questions that we don't know the answers to and people all over the world have many different ideas about the answers to those questions. I'll answer any question I can as best I can but this is not something that you need to worry about until you get older and can decide for yourself what you think the answers are."

[TheScout]

If you believe there is only one right way, why wouldn't you teach their child that right away to ensure they don't make the wrong decision.