Doublespeak:
The Boy Scouts of America are under such an assault for their stance against homosexuality.
On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.
The “doublespeak” we are facing is to make homosexuality “morally straight.”
The Issue:
Next week, May 22 and 23, the 1,400 member National Council of the Boy Scouts of America will meet in Grapevine, Texas, to vote on the inclusion of open and active homosexual boys and scout leaders into the organization.
Two compromise proposals have been suggested. One is to allow each Boy Scout troop to decide its membership and inclusion criteria. The other is to allow open homosexual boys into the organization but disallow homosexual men into leadership.
How We Got Here:
The Boy Scouts have been subjected to a multitude of prolonged attacks against its traditional stance against homosexuality. Following are the pressures mounted against that principled stance.
Corporate America:
American Corporations pay the bills for the Boy Scouts of America as they do for many non-profit organizations. In 2010, sixty-nine of the Fortune 500 companies, about 1 in 7, donated nearly $5.3 million to the Boy Scouts. Pressure to stop corporations from supporting the Boy Scouts generally comes from within. Homosexual activists work very hard at having corporate “non-discrimination policies” put in place that include non-discrimination based on “sexual orientation.” Once that becomes company policy, organizations such as the Boy Scouts are targeted for defunding.
Law Suits:
The Boy Scouts spent millions of dollars defending their right to maintain their exclusion of homosexuals. The case was ultimately argued before the Supreme Court in 2000 and the Boy Scouts won in a 5 to 4 decision. The suit involved an Eagle Scout named James Dale who became an Assistant Scout Master before declaring himself homosexual. Mr. Dale now lectures on diversity at major corporations.
Government Censorship: Separation of Church and State:
Because the Boy Scouts motto includes the phrase “duty to God,” the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Boy Scouts in 1981 for their use of U.S. Military bases for meetings and Jamborees. The ACLU was successful in disallowing the Boy Scouts use of bases by over 400 Scout troops. Other facilities were purchased and are being developed, but cost over runs have left the organization in dire financial straits.
The Collapse of Religious Opposition:
Many Boy Scout chapters meet in and are sponsored by mainline churches. Many of those churches have forsaken the Christian worldview of marriage and are allowing active homosexuals into their clergy. The Mormon Church, which was the stalwart in California’s Proportion 8 effort and has used the Boy Scouts extensively as their youth program, has indicated it may not stand in opposition and may in fact favor the proposals.
Boy Scout founder Sir Robert Baden-Powell, said, “Scouting is nothing less than applied Christianity.” It may become something else next week.
Please pray for the gathering and for those voting in next week’s meeting in Texas. And encourage those in Scouting to stand for the true meaning of a “morally straight” life.
Yours in Christ,
May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.’ Psalm 25: 20-21
