The new rules - a question

[tbs]

The moderators of this forum are, of course, perfectly entitled to impose such rules as they consider necessary.  In fact, rules governing legal matters, personal abuse and deliberate trolling are necessary for any online discussion forum.

However, I was troubled by this part of the new rules:

"Prohibited material also includes promotion or defense of alternate lifestyles, other religions, atheism, humanism, or other beliefs that are contrary to the teachings of the Holy Bible."

My concern is that a lot of the topics which concern many sincere, faithful Christians - homosexual persons, persons of other faiths, why persons become atheists, the nature of scripture and how the Church uses it, and what beliefs actually are contrary to the Holy Bible - are thus stifled.  

The above rule would make it impossible to post a thread under the title "Why I Believe the Scriptures are Inoconclusive on Homsexuality" or even to consider whether there are legitimate reasons for some people losing their faith or how a person should relate to Holy Scripture.  Is this really what is intended?  Surely a forum for debate should not be afraid of these issues, should not be afraid of confronting ideas with which they are uncomfortable?  Is the only answer to shut out all the ideas we disagree with so that we don't have to think about them?

[Tibby]

Why don’t we just make a boards group for things of this nature? Islam, Judaism, Eastern religions, Modern Paganism and Wiccanism, Non-Christian's with questions, Philosophy, Questionable Practices, etc.

[Symphony]

Hmmm, thank you tbs.

I'll have to think about this one.  

That's a thought, tibby.

I'm going to print this out, and take a look a this.  Thanks....


One thought that does occur to me, not having the constant barrage here of "alternative" views, does allow for focussed attention on simply "being Christian", and the topics that that involves, and why we believe that.  

And, there are PLENTY of other sites one can go to peddle their respective views, if that is what they want to do...

I'm not sure that we're in a total "vacuum" here, as yours, tbs, might imply?

Just a thought...

[ollie]

Is not this forum " Christians Unite?"

What does that have to do with?:

Islam, Judaism, Eastern religions, Modern Paganism and Wiccanism, Non-Christian's with questions, Philosophy, Questionable Practices, etc.

Christ is the fulfillment of Judaism and there is a connection there, but the others of them have nothing to do with the unity of Christians. Non Christians with questions would also have a connection.

Psalm 133:1.  Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Ephesians 4:1.  I Therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
 2.  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
 3.  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
 4.  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
 5.  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
 6.  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

 Ephesians 4:11.  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
 12.  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
 13.  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Love in Christ,
Ollie

[Tibby]

I a prefect word, you guys would have the right idea. But, this isn’t perfect. For the simple reason that our name has “Christian” in it, people are going to come from all types of beliefs to question us. Instead of making  BEP look like the bad guy and be forced to delete the posts, he can simply move them. Plus, it would attract people from all over to the board, seeking what we have to say. And with the rules like they are, we can keep them under control by keeping them from posting in other parts.

The problem isn’t getting non-Christians to the board. We have plenty of them. The problem is what to do with them! Need proof, fisit the Creationism board, and how it works.

[Forrest]

     TBS;
   If you do not agree to follow the rules then by the rules you should post else where.

Forum Rules:

You agree, through your use of this forum, that you will not post any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of ANY law

    as for debating the rules
   

These and other rules posted by the Administrator of Christians Unite are final and not subject to debate.

      thats it

[nChrist]

However, I was troubled by this part of the new rules:

"Prohibited material also includes promotion or defense of alternate lifestyles, other religions, atheism, humanism, or other beliefs that are contrary to the teachings of the Holy Bible."

My concern is that a lot of the topics which concern many sincere, faithful Christians - homosexual persons, persons of other faiths, why persons become atheists, the nature of scripture and how the Church uses it, and what beliefs actually are contrary to the Holy Bible - are thus stifled.  

Oklahoma Howdy to tbs,

We've been there, have the t-shirt, lost some Christian users, discouraged new Christian users, and are recovering from our injuries. I can guarantee that ADMIN didn't make any hasty decisions about forum rules and what would or would not be on Christians Unite.

In discussing this subject several times with ADMIN, I know his goal is to have Christians Unite as a Christian family forum. That would obviously involve people of younger ages.

I think that most long term users of Christians Unite would agree that many of the threads we used to have on Christians Unite were very destructive of Christian fellowship and caused many Christians to leave. If you had an sexually oriented problem in your immediate family, I doubt it would be discussed openly in church in front of children and the entire congregation. If there was genuine interest in receiving assistance, the sexually oriented problem would be discussed privately with your pastor.

A close example could be given with Islam and other religions that are without Christ and contrary to the teachings of the Holy Bible. If you wanted information about Christianity, I'm quite sure the pastor would not give you the pulpit for 30 minutes each Sunday and try to convert everyone to Islam. If you were really interested in doing anything other than cause disruption and do the devil's work, those subjects would obviously be discussed privately with the pastor. Further, I doubt the pastor would be interested in receiving lessons on why he should convert to Islam.

We have non-Christians who do come here with genuine questions, and they receive all the help they can stand. It becomes fairly easy after a while to determine who is here for help and who is here to disrupt or destroy Christian fellowship. What's really interesting is that non-Christians wanting help don't post messages that disrupt anything. In fact, they are positive for Christians Unite.

ADMIN pays all the bills and obviously makes all the decisions on the free use of Christians Unite Forums. He can certainly speak for himself, but I don't think he wishes to provide pulpit time to the devil. I give thanks that ADMIN has provided this place for Christians to come and have fellowship. As an individual, I agree 100% on the rules and 100% that Christian fellowship is the number one goal here.

In Christ,
Tom

[nChrist]

Why don’t we just make a boards group for things of this nature? Islam, Judaism, Eastern religions, Modern Paganism and Wiccanism, Non-Christian's with questions, Philosophy, Questionable Practices, etc.

Oklahoma Howdy to Tibby,

I know that ADMIN reads quite a few messages on a regular basis. I don't pretend to speak for ADMIN, but I seriously doubt he is willing to pay all the bills in giving equal time to the devil. You could pose this question in the "questions and answers" board if you want to. Recent discussions with ADMIN lead me to believe he wouldn't sponsor those topics if someone else was paying the bills.

I know this is a wild stretch of an example, but I'll give it anyway. What if your pastor decided to add a drinking and smoking area to the church to increase attendance.      Yes, I told you it was a wild example, but I think it could be used for thought in the issues of this thread. After all, how many wild things have people tried to add to Christians Unite? Yes, so-called Christian nudists tried to preach their gospel here. Yes, marijuana use was supposed to be Biblical in a thread that was deleted. I'm sure that long-term users could cite many other examples.

I really don't think the money spent by ADMIN in providing Christians Unite Forums is an issue. If it was, I'm sure that many of us would help pay the bills. I think the real issue is Christian Family Fellowship.

Love In Christ,
Tom  

[nChrist]

But why bar the discussion of whether monogamous, lifelong samesex partnerships?  What is the reasoning behind this?

That's already explained in one of the above posts. If we don't have normal sexually oriented posts, why would we have abnormal sexually oriented posts? Not only is it abnormal, it is an abomination in the eyes of God. However, we don't have that problem since this isn't a sex board.

[ollie]

However, I was troubled by this part of the new rules:

"Prohibited material also includes promotion or defense of alternate lifestyles, other religions, atheism, humanism, or other beliefs that are contrary to the teachings of the Holy Bible."

My concern is that a lot of the topics which concern many sincere, faithful Christians - homosexual persons, persons of other faiths, why persons become atheists, the nature of scripture and how the Church uses it, and what beliefs actually are contrary to the Holy Bible - are thus stifled.  

Oklahoma Howdy to tbs,

We've been there, have the t-shirt, lost some Christian users, discouraged new Christian users, and are recovering from our injuries. I can guarantee that ADMIN didn't make any hasty decisions about forum rules and what would or would not be on Christians Unite.

In discussing this subject several times with ADMIN, I know his goal is to have Christians Unite as a Christian family forum. That would obviously involve people of younger ages.

I think that most long term users of Christians Unite would agree that many of the threads we used to have on Christians Unite were very destructive of Christian fellowship and caused many Christians to leave. If you had an sexually oriented problem in your immediate family, I doubt it would be discussed openly in church in front of children and the entire congregation. If there was genuine interest in receiving assistance, the sexually oriented problem would be discussed privately with your pastor.

A close example could be given with Islam and other religions that are without Christ and contrary to the teachings of the Holy Bible. If you wanted information about Christianity, I'm quite sure the pastor would not give you the pulpit for 30 minutes each Sunday and try to convert everyone to Islam. If you were really interested in doing anything other than cause disruption and do the devil's work, those subjects would obviously be discussed privately with the pastor. Further, I doubt the pastor would be interested in receiving lessons on why he should convert to Islam.

We have non-Christians who do come here with genuine questions, and they receive all the help they can stand. It becomes fairly easy after a while to determine who is here for help and who is here to disrupt or destroy Christian fellowship. What's really interesting is that non-Christians wanting help don't post messages that disrupt anything. In fact, they are positive for Christians Unite.

ADMIN pays all the bills and obviously makes all the decisions on the free use of Christians Unite Forums. He can certainly speak for himself, but I don't think he wishes to provide pulpit time to the devil. I give thanks that ADMIN has provided this place for Christians to come and have fellowship. As an individual, I agree 100% on the rules and 100% that Christian fellowship is the number one goal here.

In Christ,
Tom

Good response.

Ollie

[Reba]

 The christians are troublesum enough  

[ollie]

The christians are troublesum enough  

A quote from A4C!

"DITTO"

[Ralph]

  I prefer the judgment of BEP. He has had experience with the forum far more than our own. We cruise his forum for those posts which most interest us, but he is responsible for the well-being of the entire forum. I have no complaints against his stewardship.

[nChrist]

Oklahoma Howdy to Ralph,

Thanks Brother, I appreciate the confidence. It is a matter of prayer for guidance and certainly the assistance of many sweet Christians who use Christians Unite Forum. I consider my efforts to be working for you, and I appreciate the encouragement. I also appreciate the kindness and forgiveness when I make a mistake. I enjoy working for you and pray that Christians Unite will continue to honor God and be a place of fellowship for HIS children.

Love In Christ,
Tom  

[Symphony]

 Reba:  The christians are troublesum enough  

 You don't mean me, do you??  


bep:

If we don't have normal sexually oriented posts, why would we have abnormal sexually oriented posts?


   excellent point