On My Honor, I Will Do My Duty...

The Boy Scouts of America have had a profound impact on American life.  Many young men were formed by the traditions and vision of scouting.  I am one of them.  I was not the best Boy Scout, but I can say that my life was positively impacted by my time as a scout and my time as a Cub Scout leader.  It is because of that history that it pains me so much that the Boy Scouts of America have not only affirmed their discriminatory stance against gay Scouts and leaders, but done so at a time when GLBTQ youth are at risk of bullying and discrimination in so many other parts of their lives.

As a person of faith, it is not unusual to find yourself having to find ways to navigate between theological principle and realities in the world.  I am morally opposed to aggressive warfare, but I still pay my taxes that help fund aggressive war because it is part of the social contract that I pay my taxes and that I be allowed to speak against their use for war.   Although I would prefer a perfect world, this is the only one I have. 

Part of a healthy theological life is, I believe, living it publicly and using our theology as a foundation for living.  Do I propose forcing my own theological beliefs on anyone?  Of course not.  What I do propose is that a life of faith cannot be lived in isolation on Sunday mornings or within the community of faith as a whole.  It must permeate every aspect of our lives both public and private.  Sometimes those convictions and our daily living fit neatly together and sometimes they do not.  So it is not new for me to have to come to personal theological terms with a decision by an organization of which I am a part. 

But this is different.

After searching my heart and prayerfully considering what my conscience and spirit will allow, I have concluded that I can find no room for principled compromise with the Boy Scouts in the wake of this decision.  Although I still believe in the underlying principles of scouting and the importance of teaching young men the values of honor, discipline and good citizenship, I cannot agree with doing this by institutionalizing discrimination and homophobia.  As a Christian I cannot endorse the institutionalized discrimination against a whole segment of humanity for no reason other than prejudice.

I do not deny that it is the right of the Boy Scouts of America to set their membership requirements as they see fit.  The Supreme Court has spoken on this issue clearly.  It is their right, but that does not make it right.  It is in fact profoundly wrong for an organization that has a rich heritage of forming young men into good citizens to take a stance that is antithetical to the core values of the very democratic society they embrace. 

At the heart of scouting is duty and honor.  In fact the first words of the Scout Oath are "On my honor, I will do my duty to God and my country."  I belive those words.  It is because of that that I find myself duty bound to disaffiliate myself from the Boy Scouts.  It is the only way I can discern  to honor duty to my God who abhores human division and my country that is founded on the principle of equality.  This morning I wrote to the Quapaw Area Council which oversees the area of my home in Little Rock and expressed my strong disagreement with the Boy Scout’s decision and my decision to disaffiliate.  I deeply regret that both of those acts are necessary.

It is my fervent prayer that the Boy Scouts of America will rescind this decision, embrace the high calling of scouting and become a bold witness to young men that there is no place in an honorable life for discrimination.