I spent one or two unmemorable years in Cub Scouts. I respect what it takes to become an Eagle Scout. But all in all, I don’t have strong feelings about the future of Scouting, or a feeling that I have a big stake in it.
That said, I think I must part company with the rest of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy on Thursday’s decision about “openly gay” Boy Scouts. The main reason is that I’ve read this:
Yesterday’s BSA press release said:
Today, following this review, the most comprehensive listening exercise in Scouting’s history the approximate 1,400 voting members of the Boy Scouts of America’s National Council approved a resolution to remove the restriction denying membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation alone. The resolution also reinforces that Scouting is a youth program, and any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting. A change to the current membership policy for adult leaders was not under consideration; thus, the policy for adults remains in place. The BSA thanks all the national voting members who participated in this process and vote.
According to AP, some 61% of the members of the National Council who cast a ballot voted in favor of the Resolution. In a Points of Clarification memo, the Scouts say:
Some have asserted that the proposed change for youth runs counter to values of and raises concerns among Scouting’s religious chartered organizations. We are unaware of any major religious chartered organization that believes a youth member simply stating he or she is attracted to the same sex, but not engaging in sexual activity, should make him or her unwelcome in their congregation.
(Emphasis added)
I detest the lazy slanders of both left and right. The left says things like “homophobic” and “anti-gay.” The right (Family Research Council’s Ken Klukowski, for instance) says things like “BSA now says that open homosexuality is fully consistent with Scouting values.” It’s all epithets all the time, with no clarification of the substance. In KlukowskiLand, for instance, acknowledging same sex attraction is indistinguishable from a gay sex show by the campfire for the entertainment of the assembled troop.
This is, as they say, not helpful. I’m having trouble seeing how BSA has “redefined timeless values.” It’s not about not given personal offense to people who think “I’m personally offended” (or hurt) is a trump card. It is about not being untruthful, even if lies are good money-raisers.
I had not heard of the book Unlearning God, but I’m going to have to consider purchasing it, because it’s sheer luck (or, if you prefer, providential) that I didn’t have to go through what its author went through coming to Orthodoxy.
The first couple of times I invited some of my Protestant friends and family, the service was not entirely in English – a little Greek or Arabic was explainable and acceptable. When a real live bishop was coming to visit, I broke out the first-century letters from St. Ignatius and boasted about how the mystical and true Church manifests itself in a special way when the bishop is present. Some of my seeker friends were excited about this and decided to come and visit.
Of course, the bishop chose to chant almost the entire service in Arabic. I was defeated. I was experiencing a real, incarnational relationship with God and yet could not explain to others why whole parts of the Divine Liturgy were in a different language. I wanted Orthodoxy to be the faith tradition for them, where they could find meaning, healing and encounter God in a real “come-and-see-for-yourself” way. Which language was spoken became a real issue for me as it does for most Protestant seekers and seasoned converts.
I felt like such an American elitist when I demanded the services be entirely in English from my priest. I told him I knew I needed to embrace Orthodox spirituality and worship but could not, would not, if I had to learn Arabic, Russian or Greek.
(Excerpt “What Language Is This?” at Journey to Orthodoxy, emphasis added)
For all my conflicted feelings about Frank Schaeffer, I’ll give him this: he came into Orthodoxy, I believe, in a Greek parish, and in urban Boston where the service likely was mostly in Greek. I don’t know that I’d have made it had St. Alexis parish in my hometown not been all-English from the day I first set foot there. I don’t think either of its convert Priests are even fluent other than in English.
The author, by the way, is a kindred spirit in at least one other way, too:
I stand with Wendell Berry and offer:
A Warning to My Readers
Do not think me gentle
because I speak in praise
of gentleness, or elegant
because I honor the grace
that keeps this world. I am
a man crude as any,
gross of speech, intolerant,
stubborn, angry, full
of fits and furies. That I
may have spoken well
at times, is not natural.
A wonder is what it is.
Evernote is one of a few cloud-based applications that have changed how I process, store and organize information. They’ve now added reminders, which I have no doubt truly is one of the most-requested features.
For now, it’s just on Mac, iOS and Web, but Windows will reliably follow. But I’m not going to abandon Nozbe.
* * * * *
“The remarks made in this essay do not represent scholarly research. They are intended as topical stimulations for conversation among intelligent and informed people.” (Gerhart Niemeyer)
Tipsy Teetotaler ن 