Our Top 7 rules for commenting

Hey! Where did those comments go?

When it comes to our comments policy, I’ve always believed that Christians should be able to glorify Christ with their words and actions, without me imposing rules.

That hasn’t happened, in spite of our updated Comments Rules of Conduct Policy. And so I have implemented a new website tool that allows me to disable all comments on all posts here with the click of a button. After months of babysitting the comments section here, I can’t tell you how liberating that feels.

With the click of that same button, I can bring back all of those thousands of comments at a future date. But for now I am going to leave our posts – past, present, and future – comment bicker free.

This status will remain for the duration of a much-needed break I am taking from most social media and discernment writing. Both Marsha and I are committed to our purpose of exposing darkness to the light and encouraging readers to compare popular teachings with Scripture, but it’s dark work, and I need to step away.  I will spend this time in the Word, serving in our new church, and ministering in an extended family situation. So we encourage you to take the time you normally would spend commenting here and use it to spend time with Jesus Christ in His breathed-out Scriptures.

And by all means, do share the resources we offer with your loved ones.

In case you are wondering, this is our comments policy, which will be reinstated at a future date:

This is not a free-for-all, nor are commenters entitled to be unbiblical or unkind.

Here is our official Comments Rules of Conduct here at BereanResearch.org:

  1. No attacking other commenters. Help expose wolves, but don’t harm the sheep.
  2. Use Scripture, not ad hominems. (See, “What is an ad hominem?“)
  3. Those who defend cults, false religions, or counterfeit movements will be removed from the community.
  4. If you hope to win your Calvinism/Arminian argument, trust me, you won’t. It’s been tried. No one wins. Therefore, refrain and don’t complain when we remove these fruitless arguments.
  5. Links to outside organizations are automatically put in moderation for review, to ensure we’re not leading anyone to apostate sites. Even links to Scripture can put a comment in moderation.
  6. Keep it short, and don’t paste a bunch of stuff we all have to scroll through. If you have a lot to say, consider breaking your comment into several posts.
  7. I may not get around to reviewing your post as soon as you would like me to.

Yours in Christ Jesus,

Amy

12 Responses to Our Top 7 rules for commenting

  1. Maggie September 15, 2017 at 4:32 pm #

    Q, poke the bear much?

  2. rascott247 September 15, 2017 at 8:59 pm #

    Following rule #2 goes along way toward proving rule #4 false! I know many former Cs and As that became former Cs or As because of scripture. It’s not about winning arguments it’s about sticking to scripture.

  3. Seeking4facts September 18, 2017 at 12:02 am #

    Hi Amy:

    Thank you for this explanation of the top 7 rules for commenting on these forums. I especially agree with the first 2 rules. I’ve seen many comments on various articles breaking these two. I get that people are passionate about what they believe — that’s a good thing, but it doesn’t justify people being rude, especially Christians. There’s always a kind and respectful way to express any opinion or idea (while standing firm (not compromising) on one’s understanding of Christian values).

    The YouTube video on various forms of ad hominem attacks was excellent!

  4. Seeking4facts September 18, 2017 at 12:07 am #

    However, I could use some clarification of the 3rd rule:

    “Those who defend cults or counterfeit movements will be removed from the community.”

    Can you provide a list of the cults and counterfeit movements that you are talking about? The New Apostolic Reformation would be one, right? I’m guessing Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientology, to name two others.

    What about other faiths and/or religions? Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, etc? What about Atheism? Can people talk about things that these faiths teach in order to refute or (for people who belong to these faiths) defend them? As Christians, don’t we have a responsibility to share the Gospel or correct anyone from these faiths and/or religions that might make a post? Or should we just ignore posts by anyone that belongs to one of these faiths and/or religions?

  5. Seeking4facts September 18, 2017 at 12:11 am #

    What about Orthodox and Catholic Christianity? The RCC, for example, claims to have been around for almost 2,000 years and has, at a minimum, been around since 380 C.E. and the Edict of Thessalonica which made it the state religion of the Roman Empire. They’re also the largest Christian denomination in the world so they can’t be called a cult. And they worship God, accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, and teach the Trinity, so I don’t think that they can legitimately be called a counterfeit Christianity whatever else their faults and doctrines (that Protestant denominations disagree with) are.

    The reason that I’m asking is because, as you know, I’m doing research on all of the different Christian denominations to determine which are teaching legitimate interpretations of Scripture and which are not. I know that a lot of people posting here are convinced that the RCC is the “Whore of Babylon”, and maybe it is. I just don’t know . . . yet. Research continues. I also know that Catholic apologetics are not allowed, but Protestant apologetics are, which is fine. I’m not interested in posting apologetics either way.

    However, I’ve also read a lot of historical inaccuracies and baseless claims, accusations, etc. like the nonsense Alexander Hislop published in “The Two Babylons”, and incorrect information doesn’t benefit anybody. If folks want to condemn the RCC, Orthodox Churches, Muslims, etc., it should be based on accurate historical facts and it’s always best to “trip them up” with their own words, like quoting the Quoran to point out errors in Islam.

  6. Seeking4facts September 18, 2017 at 12:14 am #

    About that, I’ve found an excellent article by the Christadelphians, who also teach that the RCC is “Babylon the Great”, that explains why Alexander Hislop got things very wrong, but I wasn’t sure whether Christadelphians are an authentic Christian denomination and whether posting the link was acceptable. I also found another excellent article that refutes the nonsense claim that Muslims worship a moon god that has been floating around since 1992. They do worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob just like Christians and Jews do. That much we all have in common. Would that link be acceptable as a comment on an article specifically about Islam and Muslims?

    • berlorac September 18, 2017 at 11:45 am #

      Not sure if this is allowed under the rules…. Seeking said, [They do worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob just like Christians and Jews do.]

      No, not quite. Muslims claim to follow the God of Abraham, this is true. However, they do NOT continue on through Isaac. Instead, they come through the line of Ishmael. Isaac, not Ishmael, was the son of promise.

      • Manny1962 September 18, 2017 at 2:49 pm #

        Hey B! If Christ is God, and Islam denies Christ, don’t they in essence deny the true God? If they deny Christ that means God is not triune so they also deny the Holy Spirit, therefore they deny God again! Islam is a cult, same as the RCC. Blessings brother!

        • berlorac September 18, 2017 at 3:32 pm #

          Agreed, Manny. They deny the deity of Christ, viewing Him as a prophet, at best. They do not worship the God of Abraham, that’s for sure.

          • Maggie September 18, 2017 at 4:42 pm #

            Manny and B,

            Although Allah in Islam is not the Triune God, some Muslims converted to Christianity still use the name Allah for the Triune God. (GotQuestions states some Christian converts from Islam prefer the word al-Ab instead, meaning God the Father.)

          • Maggie September 18, 2017 at 6:06 pm #

            Hi, Manny!
            Although Allah is an old Arabic word for “god,” Allah in Islam refers to “the God” because Islam is monotheistic. I think a fair comparison is the use of the term “baal” in the OT, which could refer either to a god or specifically to the idol Baal.

  7. Aaron September 18, 2017 at 2:50 pm #

    Sorry, I misspelled prevenient.