Please Read Before Posting: FAQ for Biblical Discussion and Debate

[JesusIsHardCore]

Thank you for looking through this FAQ!
Firstly, if you have questions about the rules, please feel free to contact me. Remember – this isn’t a dictatorship, it’s a ministry. All of us moderators are here to help!

Let me lay a few guidelines:
1) Respect: Please be respectful of others, and if you have an issue with the way that a situation was dealt with, or how a person responded to you please address the person or forum staff in private. Please do not take matters into your own hands, but rather let the forum staff handle problems. This has been quite an issue recently, and it greatly limits what the forum staff can do to handle a problem.

2) Biblical support: This has been mentioned many times recently, and here I will clarify. At this point there is no official requirement for posting supporting Bible verses in replies. However it is extremely beneficial in proving your point. We encourage you to use scripture in your posts! Simply saying ‘it’s in the Bible somewhere’ is not good enough. For example: I know a man who insists that the Bible specifies a dress code, and that all men must wear a suit and tie, and all women must wear dresses if they’re going to attend church. This thought is merely tradition, and not Biblically supported. Discussing the topic with him is futile since he cannot prove it Biblically.

If you would like to discuss my example you may post a thread about it.

3) Mature topics: We have a mature interests forum in which only members 16 years and older can view. Some topics are split between the two areas so that more mature discussion can take place while not exposing younger members to things beyond their understanding.


Posting new topics:
These rules are specific to this section of the site only.

Discussion:
An act or instance of discussing; consideration or examination by argument, comment, etc., esp. to explore solutions; informal debate.
*Definition example from Random House Dictionary


Clearly, topics in this section of the site bear more weight than the topics in the general forums. Please keep this in mind when posting new topics.

New topics in this forum need to:

New topics must be approved by the forum staff, please be patient. Do not repost your topic somewhere else.
Posting the same topic twice is double posting (even in different forums / sub-forums)see section 1.05 of the forum rules.

• Be specific, covering a definite topic, and not a topic in general.
• Be original, (not to overlap another topic on this site)
• Be orderly,
• Be open, leave the topic open for others to respond

If you have a general question, for example “what does it mean to be baptized?” this would be best to be posted in the “Questions, or New Christian” area of the site. A topic such as the example I gave can be easily answered, and can cover a wide area of topics in itself. This is not ideal for a discussion, and must be posted in a more general section of the site.

Topics posted that do not comply with the standard given here will be removed, and warnings may be given at the discretion of the forum staff.



Replying to existing topics:

1) Blue sky posts: Some things are best left unsaid. This area of the site is for discussing topics, if you don’t have anything beneficial to the topic please refrain from posting. Simple replies such as "I don’t agree with you", or "let me think about that", posts that do not benefit the discussion may be deleted.

2) Personal attacks: Posts singling out or specifically attacking certain members will be removed. This kind of post does not benefit a discussion, and only causes division and anger.

3) Reputation: Rather than cluttering up a topic by quoting someone and saying, “Thank You”, or “I agree”. Please use the reputation system instead. Details can be found here >> Forum Reputation

Simple replies to thank another member or to agree with another member will be deleted.

This FAQ will be updated periodically as the need arises. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions. (updated 6/09)


God bless,
Philip - Jesusishardcore