3 - New rules announced at Scout jamboree next year
The next World Jamboree, sponsored by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), will be held next summer in West Virginia, and recently released its health and safety guidelines for the event, according to the website of the Florida Family Policy Council, which is headed by John Stemberger, board chair of the Christian-based scouting movment, Trail Life USA.
The guidelines state that condoms should be "readily and easily accessible," and that alcohol will be permitted in "confined areas."
The Florida Family Policy Council website points out:
This announcement comes on the heels of the BSA changing its membership policy earlier this month to allow girls to fully participate in local Boy Scout Troop programs and their official name change to remove the word “boy” to transform into the new genderless “Scouts BSA.”Stemberger, who serves as President, released this statement:
“In light of the mandatory condom policy, it is not clear how far down the rabbit hole the Boy Scouts will continue to fall. With the addition of condoms and alcohol, the World Jamboree is starting to sound more like a 1960s Woodstock festival rather than a campout that parents would want to send their children to! All of this should be deeply disturbing to the churches that are chartering Boy Scout Troops. These policies present a clear youth protection problem that the BSA absolutely refuses to recognize. The fact that they are requiring that condoms be ‘readily accessible’ and are communicating this to everyone– including youth participants–shows that the BSA is both anticipating and facilitating sexual conduct between minors at this event. These policies are both outrageous and completely irresponsible.”2 - Judges rule against student privacy
There were several recent court rulings that represented an erosion in privacy protections for students. A case that made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, only to be sent back to a lower court, received a ruling, according to a USA Today story which reported that:
A federal judge said Tuesday that a transgender student at odds with a Virginia high school since 2015 should not have been forced to use a bathroom separate from the boys' restrooms, which he wanted to use.
In 2014, the Gloucester County School Board told Gavin Grimm he could not use the boys' restrooms at the school and would have to use a separate bathroom. Grimm identifies as a man and brought a lawsuit against the district.According to a NBC News story from last year, after the Supreme Court had agreed to hear the case, "the Trump administration announced a change in policy on the transgender issue. The lower court had relied, in part, on an earlier version of that policy." So, it was sent back, and the Federal district judge made the ruling, citing, in part, Title IX, which prevents gender discrimination. However, it has been pointed out that gender identity and transgenderism were not exactly on the minds of Congress when that was implemented - in 1972!
And, in the same week, as the Alliance Defending Freedom reported, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled "against student privacy" in the Boyertown Area School District on Pennsylvania. ADF had reported that...
...During the 2016-17 school year—without informing parents or students—the Boyertown Area School District secretly opened its high school locker rooms, showers, and restrooms to students of the opposite sex, which violated many students’ bodily privacy rights.This was challenged by students and parents in the district. ADF Legal Counsel Christiana Holcomb stated:
“The Supreme Court has already spoken: The real differences between men and women mean that privacy must be protected where it really counts, and that certainly includes high school locker rooms and restrooms. This decision is out of step with longstanding legal protection for privacy. We will continue advocating for these young students.”1 - Seminary trustees reassign President
What is probably the end of merely the first chapter of a story that has had a devastating effect on the Southern Baptist Convention concluded in the past week as the long-time President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was removed from that position and reassigned as President Emeritus by the Seminary's Board of Trustees at a lengthy meeting that was requested by Paige Patterson.
Baptist Press reported on the recent developments and what led up to Patterson's removal. It stated:
Southwestern's trustees convened their meeting in response to controversy surrounding Patterson since late April over statements he made years ago on domestic violence and a teenage girl's physical appearance.The article also said that:
Patterson issued a statement May 10, in which he apologized for a "failure to be as thoughtful ... as I should have been" in describing domestic violence and the physical attractiveness of women in sermon illustrations.
Since the years-old video and audio clips surfaced, thousands of Southern Baptists have signed open letters both supporting and opposing Patterson.The next chapter is likely to unfold at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas. Patterson has been scheduled to present the keynote sermon there. The Patterson issue and the role of women in the churches of the convention will no doubt be topics of discussion and there may be action taken on the convention floor, perhaps in the form of a resolution. Also, there is a hotly contested election for Convention President, with North Carolina pastor J.D. Greear and North Greenville University administrator Ken Hemphill as the candidates - they have been amicable toward one another, jointly asking for prayer for the election a few weeks ago; but supporters of each candidate have been rather vocal online.
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