"Begin–Begin"[edit]
A ROUSING TALK BY H. T. W. PELHAM
Basically, this article is a mouthpiece that talks a lot about stuff you should "begin" to do. Most of what's in here is fine, but there are a few things here that should be criticized.
Begin to Trust[edit]
| Has it ever occurred to you how much greater the unseen powers of the world are than those which are seen?
How small is the power of a steam engine when compared with the unseen power of gravitation, which makes things fall to the ground, and the rivers run down to the sea.
Look again at the trains on the Underground Railway. There is nothing which you can see to account for the quick starting and travelling of these heavy cars. The electric power comes through the rails; but, if you examine the rails, there is nothing to see of the wonderful current which comes through them from the far distant generating stations. | | Though the inner workings of a train cannot be seen through simple or casual examination, the parts and the science behind how it works still exist, even though they are unseen. However, the unseen but real does not imply the existence of God. The mechanics of a train can absolutely be proven through the scientific method, while there is absolutely no way to scientifically prove God's existence.
As you can see, science and religion do not go well together. |
| Now, the power which you need for your life is not to be found in yourself. No self-development will produce it. That power is away in God, but it can be obtained by you through faith in Him, through Jesus Christ. | | This is a terrible message. The "power which you need for your life" is something that can and should be obtained by personal development, and not through putting all of your time, energy, and confidence into your imaginary alpha male in the sky God. Expecting anyone, let alone an imaginary deity, to solve all your problems for you will never lead to a good life, and will actually cause many more problems for you... (Does this remind you of anything modern?) |
| But let your prayers be real; give up "saying" your prayers, and take to praying. Think for a moment what it is you need, and then just kneel down and ask God to give it to you, and expect to get it. Let your prayers be real business prayers. | | When prayer has been scientifically studied, it has shown that prayer has no noticeable effect. Furthermore, you should spend more time actually doing something to get what you need than begging a man in the sky to give it to you. And this is again telling you to rely on God to solve all your problems instead of you actually doing something to solve them yourself. |
Stick to It[edit]
[...]
| A man is converted, and gives his heart to God. It is all-important that a man should do this, and realize that he has done it; but I would say to those who do not feel that their position is very secure–persevere. | | "Man" in this sense meaning mature male, there are plenty of mature adults who do not believe in God. In fact, the notion of relying on a God to run one's life (as encouraged above) is pretty immature. |
Round the Camp Fire[edit]
Our Object[edit]
[...]
| We feel that the boys of this country are not namby-pamby youths, devoid of imagination, and who know nothing and care nothing about the great world awaiting them. They want to read and know something beyond the dull level of their own street and town.
To this end they are not desirous of wading through pages of blood and horror, impossible detective yarns, of stories in which crime and violence play a leading part.
They want good, healthy stories of adventure, in all parts of the world–stories full of the right kind of dash and excitement. These are the only kind which Boys' Life will publish. Stories that will do their part toward building character in boys. | | As you can see, moral panic existed even in 1911. In this case, the author holds an irrational fear that detective novels cause lack of intelligence and delinquency in youth. |
The Boy Scouts: News and Notes[edit]
| An organization of this kind would fail in its object if it did not bring its members to a knowledge of religion–... | | The aim of the BSA is to build character in boys, as stated in other sections of this article. The encouragement of a scientific and rational worldview would build much more character in boys than brainwashing them into Christianity would. |
| ...–but the usual fault in such cases is the manner in which this is done. In our association, dealing with Jews, Hindoos, Greek Church, as well as with Catholics and Protestants, we cannot lay down strict sectarian ideas–if we would. | | The editor claims that the BSA is respectful towards other religions than Christianity, while the editor tells us in the article "Begin–Begin", that "the power which you need for your life" can only be found in God, "through Jesus Christ." Hinduism, mentioned above, is polytheistic, so they wouldn't just recognize "God," and only Christianity recognizes Jesus as anything divine. As you can see, the BSA was, and still is, a very Christianity-centric organization, as much as they'd like it not to seem that way. |