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Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1954, Page 79

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Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America, 1954 79

Ill. EVEN IN A CHURCH-TROOP SCOUTING RETAINS ITS
OBJECTIONABLE CHARACTER.

A. The Authority of the Local Sponsor is Limited.
1. The local sponsor cannot discard the objectionable man-
datory elements of Scouting.

2. The local sponsor can only correct errors privately that
are fostered elsewhere.

B. The Evils That Are Unavoidable When Congregations Spon-
sor Troops.
1. The church troop must accept responsiblity for the errors
of Scouting.

2. The confession of the-church is contradicted.

IV. THE MISSOURI SYNOD HAS CHANGED ITS POSITION
ON SCOUTING.

A. A Comparison of Its 1938—1941 and 1944 Resolutions on
Scouting.

1. The 1938 and 1941 resolutions were unfavorable; the 1944
resolutions, favorable.

2. Changes in Scouting, referred to as a reason for this
change of position, were in effect before 1938 and have
not removed the most serious faults of Scouting.

B. A Plea for a Return to the Former Position.
1. Scouting still has objectionable religious features.
2. We ought to stand together in testifying against them.

The Boy Scouts of America and the Military
Chaplaincy
M. ScHARLEMANN, Pu. D.

My assignment is to present as clearly and concisely as pos-
sible the position of the Missouri Synod on the two questions known
as the Boy Scouts of America and the Military Chaplaincy. These
two problems, it should be added, do not necessarily belong to-
gether. Their ingredients differ considerably. Each one, however,
represents an area of difference in point of view between the Joint
Synod of Wisconsin and The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod.

I. The Boy Scouts

We shall take up the question of the Boy Scouts of America
first. It is very important to understand exactly what the position
of the Missouri Synod is in this matter. Its present approach has
its source in the resolution adopted by the Saginaw Convention
in 1944; namely, “that the matter of scouting should be left to the
individual congregation to decide and that, under the circum-
stances, Synod may consider her interests sufficiently protected.”

This resolution must be understood for what it means and
for what it does not mean. This is no blanket approval of the Boy