By Heather Sells - CBN News Reporter
On February 6, 2013 I wrote the text below in brackets. Since then the leaders of the BSA decided to leave the decision of whether to ban homosexuals, to a larger group of people by surveying current members nationally.
This decision thus put off the responsibility on the board entirely, of which remain two highly proactive gay men.
Here is my text from Feb 2013, then follows the most recent news:
[It is been in the news that the Boy Scouts of America are being influenced by gay activists to change their policy regarding their ban of homosexual membership.
It appears that because there are two gay men on the board of the BSA that have also promoted their lifestyle agenda on other organizations and are doing the same at the BSA.
In a letter to the BSA through their online service, this is what I decided to convey to them:
Please remove Jim Turley of Ernst & Young and AT&T's Randall Stephenson from the board as you make your decision this week on whether to allow a homosexual agenda to influence the BSA.
Stand up and do what is right in God's eyes. Love these men, but draw the line of righteousness.
Whether or not the reader of this blog agrees with this issue at hand, it is obvious that the BSA has policies that offend people. However it is the right of the BSA to have their policies.
What is occurring here is of manipulation and inside politics to change their policies, not for the matter of principles, because we see that sponsors have been influenced to remove their monies.
Money is an important factor in any organization, however it is not to be a tool to bring moral change. Yet money is a vehicle that does test the morality and stewardship of an individual.
There is a profound statement that says where your treasure is that is where your heart is. The sponsors that have pulled out of assisting the BSA have had their hearts changed towards the Boy Scouts of America. How did this occur? Is it due to these Board members?
Is the agenda obvious?
As in any type of political maneuvering, little steps are taken to influence which then lead to more steps and gradually changing an entire culture, if possible.
The pattern is plain as we look at our own government. Why was Pres. Obama asked in an interview recently about his opinion on the Boy Scouts of America? Along with the President, the media is one of the influencers here. This type of promotion should not be coming from the president on down. He is not on the board of the BSA. His influence is within government not organizations like the BSA.
One of the most serious questions to ask is what would change if the BSA did adopt a new policy and strike down their ban? How would this affect all the Boy Scouts and leaders? Will there be a greater trust or a lesser trust for parents to allow their sons to be involved in the Boy Scouts of America?
Perhaps the Canadian Boy Scouts organization can interject an answer to these questions due to the changes that took place in their organization and what has happened since then. What is being referred to is their decline in membership, their loss of camps and loss of monies. Is there a direct correlation? You have to ask the Canadians.
One must also go back to the laws and oaths of the Boy Scouts of America that emphasize being morally straight. What was their original reason for making this declaration? Are there principles involved here that bring strength to their organization or a weakness?
Ask the leaders in the BSA who have been there for years and years and perhaps you will get an answer to these questions.]
Recent News:
The Boy Scouts of America is proposing to lift its ban on gays for youth members - but not for adult leaders. The proposal now goes to roughly 1,400 Scout delegates who will vote next month.
Scout executives say this latest proposal is based on surveys which show that while the majority of adults in the scouting community support the current policy, they are conflicted about removing youth solely on the basis of sexual orientation.
Ellen Samek of Moms of Boys Scouts shared her thoughts on the case on Newswatch, April 19.
In January, word that the Boy Scouts might lift their ban on gay members erupted in a PR nightmare. Gay activists gathered more than a million signatures and the Scouts stalled making a decision.
"I think Scouting right now is trying to manage some tensions, said John Stemberger, founder of On My Honor, a new coalition that opposes open homosexuality in the Scouts.
"One tension is a lot of troops and units in the Northeast that are sponsored by more liberal churches against the tension in the South and Texas that have a lot of conservative churches," he said.
Churches sponsor more than two-thirds of all Scout units. The largest are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the United Methodist Church, the Catholic Church and Baptist churches.
So far, Southern Baptist leaders and Catholic bishops have taken public stands against allowing gays, and at least one group is coming together to oppose it.
Stemberger says the Scouts stand to take a huge hit if they allow open homosexuality.
"I think you'll see a mass exodus not only of major denominations but of common sense parents saying 'We can't trust Scouting anymore," Stemberger said. "There's not that moral consistency throughout the program."
Many conservatives point to Canada as an example of what could happen.
After making a similar change in 1999, Scouting membership there has dropped more than 50 percent to less than 100,000 today.
And problems aren't limited to the boys. Girl Scouts in the United States have been losing ground since 2003. That decline could be traced to 1993 when they dropped the word "God" from their pledge of honor, allowing girls to substitute whatever word they wanted.
That move, plus concerns about a liberal curriculum, prompted Patti Garibay to found American Heritage Girls.
"Parents want to teach their kids right from wrong, and they want to do it not just through Sunday school, but through everyday life," Garibay said.
At more than 600 troops and growing, this new organization emphasizes biblical principles, outdoor activities and a pledge to love God.
Whatever decision the Boy Scouts make, it may no longer be possible to move forward without losing members on one side of the issue or the other.
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