could you please give us guidelines

[Jenny]

could you please give us guidelines of what is appropriate or not appropriate so our posts discussing how our faith has brought us through our difficult times are not deleted?

[Feathery]

I second this request, although I can't imagine how difficult it will be to answer this question for us, moderators. I appreciate that you want to keep the peace here and keep this board a positive place. This board does rock, thanks for everything you do!

I wonder if someone wants to comment on the reasons MommaCass' comment was closed to help us learn?

[jmwmommysings3]

Still kind of new here but... ditto what the others said! Thanks!

Jessica

[Forum Administrators]

The post you are referring to was not deleted, but was moved temporarily so our admin team could review it. It was placed back very shortly after concerns were reviewed. Your post was within guidelines and did not conflict with posting guidelines.

We hesitate strongly to add rules or requirements or instruction on the issue of religious sharing. It is a very delicate topic. What we can advise, and what contributed to concern in this situation, was your first two posts in the thread that quoted or paraphrased scripture and did not include your reason for sharing this on the Life board. To help clarify, proselytizing in and of itself is not appropriate for our forums. Sharing to support others (unless they state it is not welcome), or even yourself would not be viewed as violating posting guidelines.

Please see this thread for further clarification.
http://forums.helpher.org/viewtopic.php?t=13311

Thank you for respectfully addressing your concerns.

[IslandDreamer]

When I saw this post, Jenny. I cracked up. Preggo brain has truly hit you, eh? lol...We all agreed to guidelines when joining that included the stuff that is reposted. Me thinks someone is pregnant

[angie]

Dear Admins,

I don't mean to be sticky, but I would really like your definition of proselytize. To quote my favorite movie, "I do not think that word means what you think it means."

I am not coming at this as a Christian, BTW. I am actually UU and equaly open to all theological systems. And while I certainly haven't by any means seen all the threads, I can say that I haven't seen *any* proselytizing.

What I have seen is various parties stating their chosen religious beliefs. I have also seen posting that I interpret as a confusion of the meaning of "freedom of religion". It is unfortunate that many people interpret that phrase as meaning "freedom from religion". More specifically, a religion that they don't agree with. ie: "I have the right to express my religious beliefs, but you don't". And while this has historically been directed at non-christian parties, our society is moving in the opposite direction. This happens in cycles, most recently in the 1960's. As a global society, we strive to be more tolerant of other groups, and pride ourselves on working toward that. However, we need to guard that in doing so, we don't swing to the opposite end of the spectrum and simply shift the chosen outcast.

If you desire all posters to have religious freedom on the boards, then that should include the christian ones. If a wiccan, hindu, or buddist can post a religious quote, then the christian should be equally able to. The mere presence or absence of a specific deity in the quote should not be the deciding factor.

Pursuant to such, here is the definition of proselytize:

[quote]Quote:
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This pros·e·ly·tize (prÃ…Â

[aaronsmommy]

Yes, we are all using the same definition.

The guidelines on religion are left very open on purpose so people of any religion are free to share things that are important to them, as long as they are respectful of others.

There was some question about a post, and it was briefly moved (but moved back and not locked), and so we wanted to offer suggestions on how to make posts clearer and avoid confusions for those who were concerned. Adding an explanation or disclaimer for religion topics is not a "rule" but would help prevent the possibility that a poster's intentions may be misunderstood.