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Re: [at-l] Girls Are Better Than Boys

MaryDotson wrote:

> I just can't believe that BSA argued before court that the lessons to teach
> our youngsters are homophobia and religious intolerance.

Sigh.  As part of my continued self-exposition, I will take the
bait and discuss two of the terms in that posting.  My apologies
to the list for the pursuit of an off-topic topic.

1. "Homophobia."  The term is a marvelous piece of public
relations, in that it does a 180-degree turnaround of the
question of  whose mental health is suboptimal.  Opinions
vary, but since there is a moral issue involved, it is perfectly
reasonable for the BSA to proclaim homosexuality as
abnormal, and to refuse to sanction the behavior.

2. "Religious Intolerance."  Another role-reversal, I think.
I notice that the term is most often used as a way of
legitimizing the rejection of both Christianity and its
practitioners.  Particularly when the Christian has the
audacity to assert that good and evil are real things, and
not just cultural norms.

The Scouts do not have a narrowly defined catechism that
they require for membership; but the idea of God -- be it a
theistic or deistic model -- is ingrained in the tenets of the
organization.  They don't reject Pentecostals, Catholics,
Jews, Moslems, or (as far as I know) Hindus, but there
_must_ be a line somewhere, past which the Scouts
would have to say "All right, bleep it, we won't believe
in anything."

     -Tom Williams


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