Poll of TAW for rule

[Davidnic]

To vote in this poll you must be a member of the Orthodox faith in line with the statement of faith for this area. Keep discussion civil. I might close the thread and reopen it after a cool down if things get contentious and I will not be online to moderate.

Do you want this rule:

Supporting the dignity of African Americans as equal and in the Image of God does not require the support of the Black Lives Matter Network. The movement to draw attention to the systematic inequality that many face does not require one to support the Black Lives Matter Network.

Black Lives Matter Network has a mission statement against the faith of this area, promotion of the organization is not allowed. The Black Lives Matter Network promotes the LGBTQ agenda as part of their mission. Promoting that black lives matter and they are, as all of us, made in the Image of God is allowed. Promoting social justice in line with the teachings of Christ is allowed. But supporting the Black Lives Matter Network is not.

Such actions will be considered a violation of the statement of faith for supporting things not in line with our beliefs.

Images will depend on their context. Images used directly by, or in imitation of Black Lives Matter Network organizational graphics will not be allowed.

Publicity from or for the organization will also not be allowed.

A picture relevant to a theological discussion of the topic that happens to have the words in signs, would be fine as long as they are not used repeatedly to goad.

With regards to images, there will be a grace period where violations will be dealt with through a staff discussion with the poster rather than a warning, until the community is comfortable with the moderation of this aspect.

Please evaluate whether your thread or post is more appropriate for the political forums rather than the congregational area.

 

[gzt]

It would be odd if the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America were somehow blocked from posting here because of a hopelessly vague and inaccurate rule.

 

[Hermit76]

It would be odd if the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America were somehow blocked from posting here because of a hopelessly vague and inaccurate rule.

The Bishop and jurisdiction have blocked scores of their followers on Twitter. A good number of them never even had any interaction with the accounts. I think this rule is far from the arbitrary exclusions that they practice. At least they would know why they were banned from the forum.

 

[tapi]

I do not see this sort of rules as helpful. Even if one disagrees with some (or many) of the tenets the organization, suppression will not convince anyone to change their opinion on the subject but most likely will have just the opposite effect.

 

[Davidnic]

Keep discussing. It's why we ask.

 

[Hermit76]

I think it is very important that we have such rules. We actually have many similar rules already. The goal of the rule isn't to convince the individual of their wrong but to maintain the forum as a true reflection of the Church.

 

[FenderTL5]

The organization Black Lives Matter promotes the destruction of the nuclear family..

What is the source for this statement?

 

[gzt]

The bigger issue is that threads on this forum get turned into an open debate on whether people they disagree with are really Orthodox and to goad them into fighting about it, no matter what the current subject is. In doing so, they are trying to make things which are not doctrinal or dogmatic into iron laws, even if, for instance, the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is on the EDIT: other side of the issue from them. You can't have a discussion on a forum like this if people keep trying to drag the discussion down in this way. We have to start from the fact that we are Orthodox Christians in good standing with the Church who assent to the teachings of the Church and work to live by them.

 

[gzt]

More to the point, if people keep wanting to debate my profile picture, if that's what this is about, I added this like three years ago because I felt it was important for Christians to affirm that Black lives matter. Somebody started a thread I didn't want to engage in here questioning whether an Orthodox Christian could affirm that statement and has been questioning my Orthodoxy ever since at almost every opportunity, whether the discussion had anything to do with that specific issue or not. This is always off topic and always an attempt to goad a fight. I'm not going to stop affirming that Black lives do matter.

 

[Hermit76]

What is the source for this statement?

From: https://blacklivesmatter.com/what-we-believe/

 

[Davidnic]

What is the source for this statement?

The BLM who we are statement includes:

"We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement"

Multiple interviews and statements by the organization echo that in stronger language. As well as "dismantle cis gender" and in their words foster a "queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise)."

 

[Davidnic]

I have to go make supper please keep discussion polite.

 

[Platina]

How long will this poll run for before a decision is made?

 

[Davidnic]

I originally had it set for 3 days. But a week seems better. So next Tuesday.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

BLM is an identity politics, racist, abortion-loving, socialist, un-Christian pile of manure. I love this rule!

 

[InnerPhyre]

The BLM movement is not a monolith.

 

[Hermit76]

The BLM movement is not a monolith.

The fallout of opposing BLM seems very monolithic. Just ask those who have lost their jobs, security, and lives (oh wait) doing so.

 

[archer75]

I'm in agreement that the organization itself is not to be trusted, but I don't think we should police logos (avatars) on TAW.

 

[rusmeister]

The BLM movement is not a monolith.

Whether or not, ask the people who it has already crushed and killed. Ask Jessica Doty Whitaker's family whether it matters if it is monlithic or not. Like it or not, the statement is polarizing. Christians SHOULD care about racial injustice, though there is so little we can actually do about it. But they should not countenance deliberate polarization or identifying with a slogan so heavily identified with evil action and intention. Choose another slogan and keep fighting injustice, if you think you really can. If one holds on to the slogan for dear life in spite of its divisive and destructive effects, then methinks they care less about racial injustice and more about their own identification (assuming they're NOT actually supporting the evil organization itself).

 

[rusmeister]

I'm in agreement that the organization itself is not to be trusted, but I don't think we should police logos (avatars) on TAW.

Are you OK with waving red flags in front of bulls?
What exactly would it take for you to agree that it can't be countenanced?
Young mother, 24, is 'shot dead in front of her fiancé after saying "all lives matter"' | Daily Mail Online