Saturday, March 7, 1998

Jots and tittles from the world of religion

By Tom Schaefer / Knight Ridder Newspapers

'Fess up: Who is really observing this Lenten season?

And I don't mean worshiping 30 minutes at a midweek service or giving up chocolate for six weeks. I'm talking about serious attempts to observe the spiritual intent of the season.

If you recall, Lent is a time for repentance and prayer, even fasting, though such efforts today seem tame compared to biblical standards.

Taking the pulse of the culture OK, maybe it's more like sniffing the air I'm convinced that the introspective nature of Lent has been at best watered down, at worst forgotten. Of course, I could be wrong. (It wouldn't be the first time.)

I'd like for you to tell me how you nourish your spirit during this season. Are there personal disciplines you follow alone or with others that help you stay on track during Lent?

Although I'm convinced that many people have downplayed the significance of the season, I'm equally convinced that many would welcome some spiritual help, if only someone would provide direction.

Tell me what you've found helpful:

by mail: Tom Schaefer, c/o The Wichita Eagle, P.O. Box 820, Wichita, Kan. 67201; or

by fax: (316) 268-6627; or

by e-mail: tschaefer(at)wichitaeagle.com

Even though we'll be a couple weeks into Lent, I'll print your responses in an upcoming column. It's never too late to start on a Lenten journey of faith.

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"The table has God's fingerprints all over it. We participate in a mystery whenever we eat food. Dead fish, dead figs are transformed into the living tissue of our bodies. Through some mystery brewing deep inside of us, all dead matter comes to life imprinted with our chromosomes. We receive the world's bounty as a gift from God, kill it so we can eat it, bless it, swallow it and convert it into more life." -- Kelton Cobb, "The Christian Century"

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Be prepared -- the motto of the Boy Scouts of America -- takes on a whole new meaning in light of events this week in and out of a courtroom.

In New Jersey, a court of appeals said the organization's decision to kick out a Scout, now 27, because he is gay -- even though he had earned 30 merit badges, seven achievement honors and other awards and had become an Eagle Scout during his 12 years in the organization -- should be overturned.

The decision reverses a lower-court judge's ruling in 1995 in support of the organization. At that time, the judge called homosexuality "a serious moral wrong" and agreed that the Boy Scouts is a private organization that has a constitutional right to decide who can join. The case will be appealed.

Of equal import was a philosophical adjustment in a long-standing policy of the Boy Scouts that required Scouts to pledge obedience to God. The Scouts' national executive board approved a new division of Explorer Scouting that allows each post to choose its religious standards. A Venturing division of the Explorer program (for ages 14 to 20) will retain traditional standards for duty to God, while Career Exploring posts will allow a religious option.

"The change removes the (religion-related) conflict for some of the organizations currently offering Exploring programs, but it allows us to continue reaching youths with our character-building programs," said Gregg Shields of Scout headquarters in Irving, Texas.

In 1993, when the Scouting organization was sued because it prohibited atheists from joining, the leadership insisted that "duty to God" was central to its mission: "If some members of a Cub Scout Den did not recognize a duty to God or other parts of the promise, it would destroy the group's unity," the Scouts' legal brief said.

But countless legal expenses later, things have changed.

Even though the Boy Scouts continues to fight legal challenges that would allow gays to join its organization, it has relented on its requirement that only believers can be part of its Explorers program. Duty to God, it has declared, is now an option for some.

Well, if that's so, then how can gays be denied membership? On whose authority, after all, can homosexuality be said to be "a serious moral wrong"?

Be prepared to think about this one.

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"In the church I come from, we were counseled from time to time to do our first works over. To do your first works over means to re-examine everything. Go back to where you started, or as far back as you can, examine all of it, travel your road again, and tell the truth about it. Sing or shout or testify or keep it to yourself, but know whence you came." -- James Baldwin ("Just the Right Word" by Gilbert Caldwell).

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(Tom Schaefer writes about religion and ethics for the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle. Write to him at the Wichita Eagle, P.O. Box 820, Wichita, KS 67201, or send e-mail to tschaefer(at)wichitaeagle.com )

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(c) 1998, The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.).

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