Forum Replacement and Closure of GA

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arborvita

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This announcement is to make everyone aware of Exploring Chirstianity in Outreach that will replace Questions By Non Christiains.

The FSG's are below
Exploring Christianity Forum
This is a forum where non-Christians are encouraged to ask questions about those aspects of the Christian faith which seem hard to understand or accept, and where Christians can enter into discussion with them on these questions.

We recognize that real seekers are looking for real answers, and the first reply given may be insufficient to achieve this. It is acceptable for the Original Poster (OP) to probe the answers given, and to continue the discussion on lines which help to clarify their understanding of the Christian faith. If another non-Christian seeker wishes to ask questions about the Christian faith, they may start their own thread. No more than one non-Christian (the OP) may post in a thread.

All Original Posts (OPs) -- the posts that start a new thread -- must contain an identifiable question about the Christian faith. Questions and statements that are direct flames or that imply a flame against Christianity, Christians, or any other group are inappropriate to this site, and will be removed.

The following guidelines apply, in addition to, or as clarification of, Christian Forums rules.

Blasphemy
The site-wide rules prohibit all blasphemy on this site. To clarify, members will not speak in a disrespectful way of the Christian God. Expressing disbelief in God is acceptable, as is questioning Christian beliefs, but this should be done in a polite, respectful manner.

Statement of Faith
All replies in this forum must be in accordance with the CF Statement of Faith (SoF). This means that your replies cannot disagree with the SOF. As an example, you may not answer a seeker’s question with a statement that God is not a Trinity, nor may you state that Jesus was merely a very good, human leader. All replies must help the questioner to understand Christian beliefs and practices, and the theology on which they are based.

Flaming
The site-wide rules prohibit flaming on this site. In this forum, all respectful discussion of the questions presented by Christianity is welcome. However, you may not attack the character, intelligence, or reputation of other members. This is considered flaming. You may not express or post hatred against another person or group, or refer to other posters or groups by derogatory or insulting names. This applies to all members, whatever their beliefs. In general, you may discuss the topic at hand, but not the poster or the people who hold to different beliefs/opinions.

Debate
This forum is for discussion of questions with non-Christians. There are some areas of theology in which different Christians may believe differently.
In these cases, we would ask Christians to refrain from debating the matter here. You may point out that there is a differing viewpoint, but please do not use this forum to debate with other Christians. If Christians wish to discuss various doctrines with other Christians, they should do so in the Theology forums.

Also as noted in the title of this announcment General Apologetics will be closed as of Saturday, October 25 around 10 PM CST.


Here is a statement from Lee
http://christianforums.com/showpost.php?p=47885292&postcount=68
I want to reiterate my vision for CF, something the staff and advisors have been working hard to implement in these recent weeks. I am weary with how CF has become a place of debating, strife, and infighting. My vision, simply put, is for CF to be a place for Christians to fellowship online, a hangout so to speak. While I would encourage sincere non-Christians to participate in some areas of the community, our focus is becoming much more inward focused, centering around the body of Christ which involves prayer, encouragement, edification, sharing burdens, and always forbearing one another in love. Those who want to endlessly debate against Christianity or promote other faiths than Christianity might find other boards more to their liking as CF probably won't be much "fun" for you any more. I hope this helps some to see the direction of where CF is headed.

This announcment is going to be open and there will be some admins to be here to help facilitate discussion. Please post within the rules so the thread doesn't get heated and or closed.

If you have a complaint go to the Suggestion and Complaint Box.


God Bless,

Matt
For the Advisors and Lee
 

Radagast

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Criada

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That's http://christianforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1037

I presume the theme is exploring Christianity by genuinely interested non-Christians?

And I assume that exploring Christianity by Christians is best done in the edification forums?

Yes, the forum is primarily for dialogue between non-Christians and Christians, in order to give a venue to explore complex issues and difficult questions.

There are a number areas where Christians can discuss their faith, in edification and in the congregational forums. :)
 
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synger

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There are many places on CF for Christians to explore their faith.

Congregational forums provide a place for like-minded believers to fellowship and learn

Theology provides forums for discussing the minutiae of various doctrines

Edification provides forums to share information and experience about some of the spiritual disciplines common to Christians (praise, prayer, fasting, devotionals, etc.)
 
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Bombila

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Quote: ....Those who want to endlessly debate against Christianity or promote other faiths than Christianity might find other boards more to their liking as CF probably won't be much "fun" for you any more. I hope this helps some to see the direction of where CF is headed. - Lee Dodd

The direction is plain, and the misinterpretation of the motives of most non-Christians is equally plain. This was insulting when first posted and is still insulting to those of us with an actual interest in debate and an actual interest in theism, in particular Christian theism, which deeply affects our daily lives in ways too numerous to name, both subtly and overtly.
 
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Lisa0315

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The time has come for me to go.

I came here a wide-eyed baby Christian. I leave a bitter but wiser one. You have no clue what it means to be a Christian. Closing down GA does not make the questions go away. It just means that you no longer have to answer them. It means that a stronger and more loving Christian will have to break through the bitterness and ill-treatment before questions can even be answered.

Please ban me now. I am done with this place. I will keep my ear to the ground and if this place is sold, I will return. Lee D is disobeying the command of Christ to go into the world and spread the gospel. Jesus never said create hidey-holes and cross the street in case a sinner crosses your path.

Lisa
 
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synger

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Quote: ....Those who want to endlessly debate against Christianity or promote other faiths than Christianity might find other boards more to their liking as CF probably won't be much "fun" for you any more. I hope this helps some to see the direction of where CF is headed. - Lee Dodd

The direction is plain, and the misinterpretation of the motives of most non-Christians is equally plain. This was insulting when first posted and is still insulting to those of us with an actual interest in debate and an actual interest in theism, in particular Christian theism, which deeply affects our daily lives in ways too numerous to name, both subtly and overtly.

I read it somewhat differently, that if I have an actual interest in learning about Christian theism, then I would not be among the subset of "those who want to endlessly debate against Christianity or promote other faiths". I can see your interpretation -- that all non-Christians should go to other boards -- but I don't think that was Lee's intention. My understanding is that those who are interested in learning about Christianity are very welcome to ask questions and engage in discussion in Exploring Christianity. And everyone, Christian or not, is still very welcome to participate in the 250+ open forums on the site.
 
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ravenscape

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This is my last CF post. I have some regrets, but they're mostly old and dusty at this point. No need to ban me unless you feel you must. My self-restraint was forged and tempered in the fires of the now defunct Discuss Rules forum.

kthxbai

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synger

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The time has come for me to go.

I came here a wide-eyed baby Christian. I leave a bitter but wiser one. You have no clue what it means to be a Christian. Closing down GA does not make the questions go away. It just means that you no longer have to answer them. It means that a stronger and more loving Christian will have to break through the bitterness and ill-treatment before questions can even be answered.

Please ban me now. I am done with this place. I will keep my ear to the ground and if this place is sold, I will return. Lee D is disobeying the command of Christ to go into the world and spread the gospel. Jesus never said create hidey-holes and cross the street in case a sinner crosses your path.

If anyone wants to follow me out the door, I will be at Talk Rational.

Lisa

I'm sorry that you feel you must leave for good, Lisa. I have greatly appreciated your contributions to the many threads you've participated in.

Personally, I think that this change will be more likely to bring answers, not less. In open debate in GA, the actual question easily could get lost in the back and forth between believers and non-believers. I know I often lost track of the OP in the pages-long threads in GA, with the vitriol slung from all sides. With this new structure, I sincerely hope that the discussions will be more closely framed by the actual original post, and thus I anticipate that people will actually get their questions answered more thoroughly than they have in GA.
 
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[serious]

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This is my last CF post. I have some regrets, but they're mostly old and dusty at this point. No need to ban me unless you feel you must. My self-restraint was forged and tempered in the fires of the now defunct Discuss Rules forum.

kthxbai

Raven
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You will be missed. Given the recent changes (not just this, but a variety of public and nonpublic decisions) I will be stepping down from staff altogether While this is Lee's site, I do not feel I can endorse the new direction he is taking it.
 
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Bombila

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I read it somewhat differently, that if I have an actual interest in learning about Christian theism, then I would not be among the subset of "those who want to endlessly debate against Christianity or promote other faiths". I can see your interpretation -- that all non-Christians should go to other boards -- but I don't think that was Lee's intention. My understanding is that those who are interested in learning about Christianity are very welcome to ask questions and engage in discussion in Exploring Christianity. And everyone, Christian or not, is still very welcome to participate in the 250+ open forums on the site.

Lee interprets debate by non-Christians which is not immediately viewable as 'pro-Christian' as trolling or mocking (quote: 'fun'): I think that is quite obvious, and it is insulting.

The vast majority of those '250+ open forums on the site' are poorly attended because very few people are interested in them, as you no doubt know, or they are forums strictly to do with people seeking help with various life problems. C&E remains a forum of interest to me; I have friends there, and that includes the regular crowd of creationists, as I believe AVET1611 would testify. How long before Lee decides there is too much questioning of Christianity going on there, and closes that forum as well, seeing as there is already a CO origins forum?
 
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Tenebrae

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I wont be financially supporting this site any more.
And in all likely hood, I will be leaving this site for good.

This is a bad decision. But then again as the leadership of this site doesnt give a rats whether they are putting stumbling blocks infont of christians, why would i expect them to care about the non christians.

In reach is a joke, simple as that
 
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Criada

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Lee interprets debate by non-Christians which is not immediately viewable as 'pro-Christian' as trolling or mocking (quote: 'fun'): I think that is quite obvious, and it is insulting.

The vast majority of those '250+ open forums on the site' are poorly attended because very few people are interested in them, as you no doubt know, or they are forums strictly to do with people seeking help with various life problems. C&E remains a forum of interest to me; I have friends there, and that includes the regular crowd of creationists, as I believe AVET1611 would testify. How long before Lee decides there is too much questioning of Christianity going on there, and closes that forum as well, seeing as there is already a CO origins forum?

I don't think that the idea here is that everyone has to be 'pro-Christian', any discussion is welcome, otherwise the forum would be pointless. The type of posts which I think Lee is referring to are those deliberately mocking without being willing to engage in any actual discussion.
 
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CaDan

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No peace among the nations without peace among the religions.
No peace among the religions without dialogue among the religions.
No dialogue among the religions without investigation of the foundation of the religions
~Hans Küng

This has been my signature here, on and off, for about three years.

I do not believe Escalate Media as the owner of the christianforums.com domain will work to achieve goals with which I agree. I do not believe the Advisors will work to foster any sort of ecumenical dialogue. This is not the Christian Forums I joined many years ago.

CaDan is gone. rigorist continues.

s/ CaDan
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former Policy Super Administrator
former Theology Administrator
 
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Bombila

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I don't think that the idea here is that everyone has to be 'pro-Christian', any discussion is welcome, otherwise the forum would be pointless. The type of posts which I think Lee is referring to are those deliberately mocking without being willing to engage in any actual discussion.

You may think that; from this side of the great divide, that is not what it looks like.

Have you read the FSGs for the new forum, Exploring Christianity? Let me quote:

"We recognize that real seekers are looking for real answers, and the first reply given may be insufficient to achieve this. It is acceptable for the Original Poster (OP) to probe the answers given, and to continue the discussion on lines which help to clarify their understanding of the Christian faith. If another non-Christian seeker wishes to ask questions about the Christian faith, they may start their own thread. No more than one non-Christian (the OP) may post in a thread."

In other words, there is no opportunity for non-Christians to support each other, to help a 'seeker' formulate difficult questions, to bring up points the OP may not have thought about. Not all non-Christians are as verbally able as others, and theism is a difficult subject to discuss even with the best of intentions. It is a format I will not participate in, and I seriously doubt there will be much traffic there.

This is a shutting down of debate, a shutting out of non-Christians, all that will be left soon is a mirror, where Christians argue against their own reflections.

I am sorry.
 
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Radagast

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Have you read the FSGs for the new forum, Exploring Christianity? Let me quote:

"We recognize that real seekers are looking for real answers, and the first reply given may be insufficient to achieve this. It is acceptable for the Original Poster (OP) to probe the answers given, and to continue the discussion on lines which help to clarify their understanding of the Christian faith. If another non-Christian seeker wishes to ask questions about the Christian faith, they may start their own thread. No more than one non-Christian (the OP) may post in a thread."

I don't think that's a great change from the old QNC rules, actually.
 
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Lord Emsworth

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*Stares at CaDan's avatar*
avatar24881_107.gif

Mhmmm ... That reminds me:

This is the floorshow, the last ideal
It's populist, got mass appeal
The old religion redefined
For the facile, futile, totally blind

--- The Sisters of Mercy, Floorshow​

And all the rest of the lyrics. Nail. Head.
 
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