Just a Clarification
26 July 2005 by BobJust read an article called Scouting and America and came across something that probably is indicative of a common misconception about religion, oppression, and the state:
…[I]t is unfortunate that the Boy Scouts of America has been under sustained attack by Left-wing activists in recent years. The BSA is a private organization that, as the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in 2000, has the constitutionally protected right to maintain its own code of honor. Specifically, the BSA may exclude those who insist on practicing atheism and homosexual behavior, which clearly violate the Scout Oath and Law.
Umm, as far as I know, all we did was pull their funding (as we should have). We never, like, outlawed the organization or anything. This seems to be the distinction lost on most people. As Ron previously posted, there is a clear difference between constraining religion and blocking the doors to places of worship or ripping crosses off the necks of believers. The first involves a legal understanding of pluralism and neutrality, the second involves intolerance.
Concerning the BSA, people are still free to join and practice their bigotry (along with knowing which bugs to eat, creating fires at convenient times, and tying very complicated knots). God Bless America.
UPDATE: This post has nothing to do with the recent deaths of four scout leaders.
27 July 2005, on 7:39 pm
“Practicing atheism….”
Exactly what is involved with such a practice? As an atheist, I would like to know. Have I been missing something? Is there some daily or weekly ritual I should be performing? Is there some sort of “anti-rosary” I should be saying? I mean, all I have been doing is living my life without attending religious services or saying prayers. Religion has no relevance for me, other than the devastatingly negative effect it seems to be having on world politics.
Now I fear I have been remiss. May I still claim status as an atheist, even though I haven’t been “practicing” anything? Or should I be defiling crucifixes and eating christian babies? Should I be going door to door like christians and mormons and 7th day adventists to proselytise my unbelief? Please, someone enlighten me as to what it will take for me to be considered a “practicing atheist.”
shade
28 July 2005, on 11:04 am
Oh, you didn’t get the leaflet & starter kit? You’ve got a lot of catching up to do. First:Covet thy neighbors wife Next: Pan fry sections of the Koran and Bible (if absolutely necessary, you may replace ONE of the two ingredients with some pages of “Dianetics”) with some pork and eat it on Sunday. Finally: Go out in the street and punch the first priest/nun you see.
Or, it could be taken as meaning “practicing” rational thought and scientifically and logicaally approaching issues of existence.