Serious issue here

illudium_phosdex · Apr 24, 2013

neen1 said:
I don't want to discount your sons feelings, but in all the years my boys have been in Scouts (Tiger and both are now Life Scouts), they have never had to change in front of other boys or take showers in the presence of other boys. Even at camp. Showers are all individual stalls with locked doors and changing rooms (at least at the camps we have gone to). Maybe in the bath house at the pool it's more locker room like, but I do believe there are changing rooms for the boys if they want to use them. Also, adults ALWAYS have separate shower/changing rooms from the boys (that's part of the Youth Protection training EVERY adult volunteer must take). I think the gym locker room at school is more of a open environment than at Scouts.

Yeah, I had to take the same Youth Protection training when I was a den leader and I know that the scout master of our son's most recent troop is super vigilant to the point that he will even cancel a regular meeting if at least one parent can't stay. I guess in some ways I'm an over protective mom.

Luther073082 said:
Well then I have no issue then. Just as long as you are doing it because what they teach conflicts with the teachings of the church and or it makes your son uncomfortable and not because of some fear of gay people.

I have always found the Boy scouts an odd organization anyways, sort of hypocritical. You can be a member of any religion but you must believe in a God. That makes no sense. Either you pick a freaking God and demand that all members worship and/or believe in said God. Or you just be neutral on the whole God thing and let everyone join.

I personally would be worried about the influence of the American Civic religion over that organization to where that becomes the religion that they preach.

I don't find it easy to trust organizations that try to occupy some crazy middle ground like that. To me you either pick a religion and go with that, or you stay neutral on the religion thing and make no demands upon the belief in God.

Really, I couldn't have said any of this any better. It's one of the reasons that I'm kind of looking, right now, at more secular organizations like Future Farmers of America. I did Girl Scouts up to 4th grade and then switched to 4-H until I graduated high school. It may be worth looking into getting involved in 4-H because then maybe there won't be any religious issues. I don't remember there being any issue when I was in it.

I talked again to the kids and asked them they were upset at all about not doing scouts any more. They both told me that the only thing that bothered them about it was that both had planned to get their Eagle Scout and Gold Award (the Girl Scout equivalent to the Eagle Scout). I'm kind of bothered by that too. Like we've taken an opportunity away from them. These two awards are the only awards that someone can get as a child and still include on a resume when they're 50.

LilLamb219 said:
Well, it started out that both girl and boy scouting organizations did have the Christian God until they saw the need to be more inclusive as the years passed by. Then it was them saying that the prayers or songs they sing aren't to any one god but the one that you worship...to me that always felt icky.

Exactly! The thing is, once they started being all inclusive, they both should have just dropped the religious bit altogether. I think the Girl Scouts is actually moving more that way in that they allow girls who protest to drop God out of the GS promise.

Luther073082 · Apr 24, 2013

illudium_phosdex said:
Yeah, I had to take the same Youth Protection training when I was a den leader and I know that the scout master of our son's most recent troop is super vigilant to the point that he will even cancel a regular meeting if at least one parent can't stay. I guess in some ways I'm an over protective mom.

Really, I couldn't have said any of this any better. It's one of the reasons that I'm kind of looking, right now, at more secular organizations like Future Farmers of America. I did Girl Scouts up to 4th grade and then switched to 4-H until I graduated high school. It may be worth looking into getting involved in 4-H because then maybe there won't be any religious issues. I don't remember there being any issue when I was in it.

I talked again to the kids and asked them they were upset at all about not doing scouts any more. They both told me that the only thing that bothered them about it was that both had planned to get their Eagle Scout and Gold Award (the Girl Scout equivalent to the Eagle Scout). I'm kind of bothered by that too. Like we've taken an opportunity away from them. These two awards are the only awards that someone can get as a child and still include on a resume when they're 50.

Exactly! The thing is, once they started being all inclusive, they both should have just dropped the religious bit altogether. I think the Girl Scouts is actually moving more that way in that they allow girls who protest to drop God out of the GS promise.

I can appreciate the value of an organization that stays totally neutral on politics and religion.

If you are not going to do that then you need to pick a side.

swinkler · Apr 26, 2013

Hummie · Jun 20, 2013

As an avid boy scout person for many years and mother of three Eagle Scouts, I can totally relate to you and understand your struggles. We moved to other packs/troops until we felt we fit in instead of quitting. But if we had not found a place, we would have quit.

It is very hard to leave something you've put so much of your heart into, but know that you are following God's leading and that can never be wrong.

Mrs Awesome · Mar 11, 2015

I think, that as a concerned Christian mother, you have every right to be weary of the liberal/leftist leanings of the GSA! You should do whatever you can to protect your children spiritually, and taking them out of GS is one way of doing that.

I use to have so much fun as a GS when I was younger and I always imaged that, if I had daughters someday of my own, they'd be in GS as well. But in light of all that is going on within the organization now? No way! My future daughter's spiritual health is much more important than some GS badges!

There are, however, alternatives to the GSA! So, don't feel afraid that your girls won't have something positive to do if they're not in it any longer. I personally don't know much about them yet, but try looking into the American Heritage Girls. They are supposed to be a Christ-centered alternative to the GSA.

Hope this helps!

Serious issue here

illudium_phosdex

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Luther073082

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illudium_phosdex

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Luther073082

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