Sunday, October 09, 2005
Boys Brigade -First For Boys @ 1:57 PM
after reading today's Sunday Times, and being asked by a few frens, I think i should address this issue of BB in RI (at the very least). my family background is kinda buddhist, i think. but i've never been uncomfortable or anything with the way Christianity is weaved into BB. And i've joined Bible Quiz for 2yrs. Wat does this say? BB yes, is a Christian Organisation. We conduct Singspiration, prayers, Christian Education. But we offer this sort of a choice for the Boys. In Christian Education, our teachers give illustrations of stories from the Bible and we often learn wat kind of lessons and such we can apply into our lives. Non-Christians still benefit from these lessons, like those of honesty, of trust and such. When there's more spiritual events involved, we give the Boys an option to join in. most, if not all, do. Junda, ACCAL, has a Taoist family background. he can still take part actively in activities. We do our planning, our execution and events in a more secular environment. We, in fact, operate just like any other UG does. we've got our drill, our physical trainings, our badgework and parades. As a Boy, I've benefitted loads from BB. its turned me from a selfish, immature, angsty yet introverted young kid to a more open, more matured, still emotional but not that angsty teenager. I've benefitted loads as a person, as a friend and as a leader by interacting with Christian friends, understanding the way Christianity works. Adventure Quest, one of our major competitions, aims to promote bonding and the essence of teamwork and perserverence in order to reach our goals. The aim of BB is not to turn everyone into Christians, but to use Christian values, the faith of God to teach and to infuse the character that we should possess in our daily lives. We often see this lacking nowadays in many students. Lack of respect, lack of moral courage, lack of basic discipline. BB helps. Lots.
At the end of the day, BB is still based on two pillars: Christian Education and Disipline. Therefore, yea, we do have religious activities, like prayers and such. Evangelism will occur, but its not forced upon. If u want to reject, no one foreces you to go to church and stuff. we just spread the goodwill of Chrisitianity, our faith. When Boys feel uncomfortable with the Christian part of BB, he can choose to quit. So far, i've onli known of one person who has. Everyone else stayed because they understand the objectives and aims of BB. "The Object of The Boys' Brigade shall be the advancement of Christ's Kingdom among Boys and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-Respect and all that tends towards a true Christian Manliness. "
(mind u, not "turn everyone into Christians, but the promotion of the values one can learn from Christianity")
The purpose of my post today is to explain wat we do in BB to give a clearer idea to ppl. Hopefully everyone has a clearer idea now. Phew...
he left a mark
