Boy Scouts Remain "Morally Straight"

Since 2008 I have been a registered Republican.  An accident of birth, perhaps, but true to this day.  I sometimes consider changing my official status to independent, which is more accurate, but then I would miss out on things like this.  Since the 2008 caucus, where I was a regional delegate, I have been added to every extreme right wing mailing list.  I get emails from MN for Marriage, Michelle Bachmann's campaign, Dan McGrath of protectmyvote.com the MN Voter ID advocacy group, Focus on the Family, and more recently the Family Research Council.

What follows is the complete content of one of their recent emails, as originally presented.  I'll let you read it for yourself without my commentary, save to point out their use of the phrase "morally straight" to describe their fellow anti-gay organization the Boy Scouts.  I shall return below once you have returned from bizarro world.

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What Can Brown Bully for You?

The Boy Scouts are experts at survival, which certainly comes in handy when the Left is trying to shut them down. Despite relentless pressure to make its message more politically correct, the Boy Scouts have kept their commitment to keep the organization "morally straight." Unfortunately for millions of young boys, not everyone in America respects that decision. Instead, their stance on homosexuality has often made the Scouts the target of harassment, ridicule, and now financial bullying.

After the July announcement that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) would uphold its ban on homosexual scout leaders, corporate supporters have come out swinging. Computer giant Intel was the first to pull its support. Now, Georgia-based UPS is following suit. After years of generosity, UPS (whose policies are 100% aligned with the homosexual movement) said it was pulling the BSA's funding because its non-discrimination policy doesn't match UPS's. In a statement, UPS executives announced that they would "cease all future funding to the Boy Scouts until gay Scout leaders are welcome within the organization."

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. What UPS and other corporations refuse to acknowledge is that the Scouts' policy isn't a matter of intolerance--but security. After hundreds of cases of child sex abuse plagued the organization, the BSA tried to create a membership criteria in the best interest of kids' safety and parents' rights. Over the years, the Boy Scouts have paid millions--possibly hundreds of millions--to boys victimized by same-sex predators. And the financial toll was nothing compared to the emotional trauma of these children, whose lives are forever scarred by those encounters. For more than 100 years, the Scouts have focused on instilling character and leadership into America's boys. They aren't about to compromise that mission just to placate liberal companies and activists.

As usual, the Scouts reacted to UPS's announcement with the grace and class that is so rarely extended to them. "We are disappointed to learn about this decision, but respect everyone's right to have and express a different opinion," said BSA spokesman Deron Smith. "Unfortunately, this decision will have a direct impact on the youth we serve in local communities." As a private company, UPS has every right to determine who it supports. By the same token, so do we. With whom will you stand?

U.S. Takes a Term for the Worse

The election may be over, but the time of choosing has just begun. While none of us can predict what the next four years will hold, we can safely assume that the President will try to make good on his promise "fundamentally transform America." As our country has come to understand, the path to that transformation leads straight through the heart of the church. The nation made its decision, however poorly, and now Christians must too. President Obama has made it abundantly clear--through his legislation and regulations, his public remarks, and even the full weight of his judicial team--that he believes religion and conscience should take a back seat to his pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, anti-freedom agenda.

FRC will be on the front lines exposing and blocking this extremism. But the time is coming, perhaps sooner than we think, when all Christians will have to choose between being subservient to the state and its social engineering--or heeding the call to discipleship, at all costs. Earlier this year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) recognized that the day is rapidly approaching (August 1, 2013) when faith-based hospitals, charities, schools, and other organizations will have to find the courage to defy an unjust law. "No American desires this. No Catholic welcomes it. But if it should fall upon us, we must discharge it as a duty of citizenship and an obligation of faith."

Now, a full week after the President who trampled our first freedom has been reelected, bishops like Nebraska's James Conley, are digging in for the dark days ahead. "The Catholic Church is not going to back down," said Conley, who will become the new bishop of the Lincoln Diocese on Nov. 20. "We are never going to compromise our principles. We will defy [the mandate] and face the consequences."

Unfortunately for believers of all faiths, the war over ObamaCare is just a preview of the bigger confrontation to come. A member of the President's own leadership team has already warnedthat when religious liberty clashes with homosexuality, religious liberty must lose. For millions of American parents, business owners, teachers, and military chaplains who refuse to treat same-sex "marriage" as the equivalent of natural marriage, those beliefs could have serious government consequences. Are we, as a movement, willing to face them?

In the Manhattan Declaration, signed by hundreds of thousands of Christians, the answer was clear. "Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar's. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God's."

On convictions of faith, the choice is ours. Will we dial down or double down on truth? In a new column, FRC's Ken Blackwell and Bob Morrison suggest, "Resistance with Respect."

** For all of the Obama administration's offenses, America still has a lot to offer the world in promoting religious freedom. Tomorrow, we'll explore how the U.S. can help the Christians across the globe who are suffering physically, financially, and emotionally for their faith. Join us for an important webcast this Wednesday at noon, as we partner with Voice of the Martrys to highlight the persecuted church and how you can make an impact. Special guests include: Todd Nettleton, Director of Media Development, Voice of the Martyrs; Dr. Thomas F. Farr, Director of the Religious Freedom Project, Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs; Dr. Hormoz Shariat, Founder, Iran Alive Ministries; Emmanuel Ogebe, Nigerian Christian Attorney; myself, and more. Click here to watch live or to access the archived video.

*** The Supreme Court's calendar isn't entirely filled, but FRC's Ken Klukowski has a preview of one of the more compelling cases--especially after this year's election. Check out his latest Breitbart column on next year's challenge to the Voting Rights Act.

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Now that that's over, let me point out a few of the more egregious passages. (emphasis mine)

In a statement, UPS executives announced that they would "cease all future funding to the Boy Scouts until gay Scout leaders are welcome within the organization."

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. What UPS and other corporations refuse to acknowledge is that the Scouts' policy isn't a matter of intolerance--but security. After hundreds of cases of child sex abuse plagued the organization, the BSA tried to create a membership criteria in the best interest of kids' safety and parents' rights....They aren't about to compromise that mission just to placate liberal companies and activists.

Time and time again we hear this disgusting and completely unfounded comparison between homosexuals and pedophilia.  The FRC has made this claim so many times.  The difference between consensual sex between adults and pedophilia is huge.  Gay men are no more attracted to 12 year old boys than straight men are to 12 year old girls.  Even if this was true, how would this possibly justify banning gay scouts as well as scoutmasters?

The email then switches over to the recent election results.

The nation made its decision, however poorly, and now Christians must too. President Obama has made it abundantly clear--through his legislation and regulations, his public remarks, and even the full weight of his judicial team--that he believes religion and conscience should take a back seat to his pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, anti-freedom agenda.

First of all, Obama hasn't been very active in supporting a woman's right to choose.  He has made some encouraging statements in that regard, but he has largely been silent on the issue.  Obama's continued support from the pro-choice community has largely been a reaction to the increasingly crazy positions that the religious right has been taking on women's issues.

As for pro-homosexual, he only this year affirmed his support for same-sex marriage.  Don't get me wrong, that's a big deal; he's the first president to publicly support marriage equality.

But what is most frustrating is how they portray Obama as "anti-freedom."  The group that wants to limit the freedom to marry, freedom to choose, freedom to end human suffering, and more thinks Obama is "anti-freedom."  Like many right-wing Christian groups, the FRC has confused not getting everything they want with being persecuted. More on that later.

We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar's. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God's.

The problem is what they claim as "God's" keeps growing.  Apparently God has a unique interest in contraception. When you believe that government needs to be led by God in order to preserve religious liberty, you have no idea what religious liberty means.  Take this excerpt from the FRC homepage:

The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution prohibits the government from interfering with a person's practice of his or her religion. We believe in religious liberty for people of all faiths and of no faith, but we deny that minority religions are entitled to greater protection than members of the country's majority Christian faith. Family Research Council opposes any actions by Federal or state legislatures to curb the freedom of religious expression, or to criminalize under so-called "hate crime" legislation any individual who expresses moral beliefs. We oppose attempts by educational institutions to indoctrinate students in a manner which offends their religious beliefs or penalizes them for expressing those beliefs. Similarly, we oppose attempts in the workplace to sanction those who seek to live their lives in accordance with their religious beliefs. We also oppose the forced privatization of faith, which would strip all religious expression from the public square. Faith-based organizations providing social services to the community should have access to government funding on the same basis as secular non-profit groups, without being asked to give up the religious character of their programs or staff. FRC also supports religious liberty around the world as a fundamental human right.-Link (emphasis mine)

The double standard here is enough to induce whiplash.  The FRC opposes "attempts by educational institutions to indoctrinate students in a manner which offends their religious beliefs" but promotes teaching creationism in schools. They support minority rights except when that minority is a religion other than Christianity.  They believe they have a right to not be persecuted, but call it persecution when they aren't allowed to discriminate against homosexuals.

The religious right has fallen into a sort of persecution complex.  If gays are allowed to get married that is anti-Christian discrimination.  When schools are prevented from introducing creationism into the science curriculum, they are persecuting Christianity.  When school mandated prayer is stopped because it violates the first amendment, it's the beginning of the end of America.

Frankly, I'm getting sick of hearing how the incredibly influential and powerful Christian majority in this country is being persecuted.