You have likely heard the fable about the blind men and the elephant. It’s a tale that’s told in many of the world’s religions as a means of explaining how everyone views the diety differently. One version of the story is told:
Six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of the elephant’s body. The blind man who feels a leg says the elephant is like a pillar; the one who feels the tail says the elephant is like a rope; the one who feels the trunk says the elephant is like a tree branch; the one who feels the ear says the elephant is like a hand fan; the one who feels the belly says the elephant is like a wall; and the one who feels the tusk says the elephant is like a solid pipe.[Wikipedia]
What brought this to mind was a discussion we were having last week about the new Boy Scout requirements, particularly the ones at each rank relating to a Scout’s duty to God. Continue reading “Is Scouting a religious organization?”
The Scouting movement is unique among non-faith-based youth groups in that it recognizes and expects a belief and duty to a higher power of its members. It’s part of rank achievements in Cub Scouts, one of the points of the Boy Scout Law, and the first obligation in the Scout Oath and Venturing Oath.