[quote name= I am HST+ handicapped....:tongue_smilie: This. I need a stinking flow chart to tell me what comes first. The names of the forms have absolutely no concrete form of reference for me and my eyes glaze over 30 seconds into a video. His voice is too serene or bland or something.

I guess what frustrates me is that I don't want the Scouts teaching my kids theology, even inadvertently. The lines get so blurry and being a newbie to the organization, I'm trying to determine if we want to continue. I am too old and tired to be an agent of change. I am "respectful" of other beliefs, to use another's words. I would hope they would be of mine, as well. Those beliefs are often mutually exclusive, however. And so, while I'm sure that some in our pack would be uncomfortable having, say, laying on of hands (infrequent even in my experience, but again just for example) and prayer at an advancement ceremony; I find it disconcerting to talk about the East Wind and spirits of animals.

I didn't mean to imply there was ever anything overtly Satanic. I was trying to make a point by stretching the circumstance to an extreme. Though, for many Christians, myself included, there are not "many ways to God", only one--Jesus. Anything that is not the G*d of the Bible is, well, not.

No, not a troll, just a concerned parent. Check your olfactory, respectfully. I am new here though. I have distanced myself from my own tribal affiliations and am more sensitive about the beliefs there. While it's true one cannot "accidentally worship", if the rites of passage involved overtly Satanic emblems, etc., it would give most evangelicals a cause to skedaddle. I appreciate all of your input!

Hi! My son is new this last year to scouts. The troop is sponsored by a church. I have a passing exposure to Native American beliefs because that is, in part, my own heritage. I also came to salvation at a very early age, so that is not my spiritual leaning, AT ALL. I am distressed by the ceremonies that use so much Native American pagan spiritism animism stuff. I don't want to just "do my duty to God", but to actually obey the commandment that says to have no other gods. If we remain in scouts and that is part of the advancement ceremony, my son will not be attending that ceremony, to say the least. The reasons for our lack of participation will be submitted in writing. I wanted my son to have the "guy time" thing. I am determined that it will not be with a compromise to our honoring the holy God. I would appreciate hearing from any parents with similar experiences and how they handled it.