Christian Forums

So, I was just wondering...why are people who might have no faith, atheistic tendencies, anti-Biblical world views, etc...deleted from the forum?  I have no problem pointing out fallacies in their arguments and moving on.  Is it one of the rules or something?

Just wonderin'.

People who are most likely Christians on their way to Heaven with the rest of us get banned, too.

It's not the person, and it's not the message, and it's not even the viewpoint.  It's all in how it's presented.

There are folks who are still here who some might think ought to be banned, or at least some may wonder why they haven't been banned -- it's all in how well they do not breaking the forum rules.

(No, "Stop boring Janine with your hobbyhorse issue" is not a Board rule.  More's the pity.)

Some people show some sort of willingness to discuss things, and manage to avoid wholesale rule-breaking; those get worked with quite extensively before they'd ever get banned.

And even if they're banned, it's not normal that their posts would be deleted.  Nothing gets deleted around here unless it's terribly offensive.

Big Mike,

People who are honestly searching for the truth and searching for God usually aren't deleted.  The ones who are deleted are those who come here for the specific purpose of fighting, blaspheming, or attempting to destroy the faith of believers.

Must be a hard call to make sometimes or when to make it    to you guys and girls

Does the person get any warnings by email etc or just cant reply anymore?
How do you know if you are stepping over the line ?

Quote from: janine on Fri Jan 25, 2008 - 19:32:33
Some people show some sort of willingness to discuss things, and manage to avoid wholesale rule-breaking; those get worked with quite extensively before they'd ever get banned.

Quote from: janine on Fri Jan 25, 2008 - 19:32:33
More's the pity.

I guess that's why I'm still here and allowed to post.

I'm fully behind the moderators judgment here.  I've been on other boards where there were individuals that managed to stay technically within TOS, yet their presence always caused disruption.  Their purpose being entirely as stated before, here about causing problems, fighting, etc. and I've seen many opt out of those boards because the moderators would not act.  I like the fact, this is a safe place to be, that we don't have to worry about outsiders and non beleivers opting in just to cause problems or challenge our beliefs, this is why I'm here, it's about being around like minded people that believe in the same doctrin.

Quote from: Big Mike Lewis on Fri Jan 25, 2008 - 17:31:11
So, I was just wondering...why are people who might have no faith, atheistic tendencies, anti-Biblical world views, etc...deleted from the forum?  I have no problem pointing out fallacies in their arguments and moving on.  Is it one of the rules or something?

Just wonderin'.

This is to be a haven for Christians, not a battleground for atheists.

And even the atheists are OK, if they can fit into the format we're trying to work with.

And, yes, it's a balancing act.

Sometimes we get all ruffled about some poster's style or rough speech or doctrine, and we would like them to go away rather than slogging day by day by dreary day through the refutations necessary to control them as they stay here.

It's tiring, but we have to remember that new people and strangers who accidentally find us and young Christians are here.  So it's necessary to keep on trying.

On the other hand -- Sometimes we just need to pull up our Big Girl Panties and quit whining and deal with it!  We need to grow a little thicker skin.  This world is a wild and woolly place and we are no Earthly good in the Heavenly fight if we crumple at the first resistance to our precious ideas.

I would like to think that anyone seeking answers is welcome in Christian forums. If all Christians do is talk among themselves, how are they spreading the gospel? Of course, when an unbeliever just wants to disrupt the forums and cause trouble, it's best to ban them. I enjoy helping anyone who truly seeks an answer that can be found only in God's word, but I don't care to "cast my pearls before swine", meaning those who really aren't interested in the truth and just want to argue and tell Christians what fools they are to believe in a God and waste their time trying to live right when this life is all there is in their deluded opinion.

I think we ought to help a seeking person that might happen to be an atheist at the present, but an atheist that comes here with an agenda to show how stupid Christians are needs to find another place.

Quote from: Gary on Fri Jan 25, 2008 - 21:36:11
This is to be a haven for Christians, not a battleground for atheists.

Exactly. There are other places on the Internet where atheists can attack Christians and their faith, this is not one of them. Not because we think faith can't stand up to the questions, but because we can't know where each person is in their walk and would not want to be responsible for causing someone to stumble because we allowed someone here who simply wanted to cause trouble.

Good information.  Thanks.

I figured this had to do with aleluja, right before they were xenu'ed they sent me a pm. Since I like to share with the class, here was their message and my reply:

Quote from: Charles Sloan on Fri Jan 25, 2008 - 15:03:36

Quote from: aleluja on Fri Jan 25, 2008 - 14:49:44
Hi.

I deciddt to write you over here because the moderator of this forum keeps erasing my posts. I thought this is a free land! That people are free to say whatever they want! I posted some more of the comments and blogs and they were all erased! Why? Because i am seeking something that might hurt the church? Are they afraid of something?
They are controlling even this forum!!!! Cant believe! I hope they are not reading your personal messages to.

Have a good day

The moderators do control the forum, that is their job. And they remove posts that violate the rules and otherwise undermind Christianity. Just try to remember that this is a Christian message board, and is mostly made of Christian members. So if your posts are consdiered offensive to Christians they will be remove. I'm sure you would have run across that if you had read the rules.

http://www.gracecentered.com/christian_forums/index.php?topic=13977.0

I have no problems discussing things with you in private if you like, moderators cannot read our PM's unless they are reported.

I think aleluja knew what was going on and why his/her posts were getting deleted. I believe they were looking for trouble and found it.

Quote from: Gary on Fri Jan 25, 2008 - 21:36:11

Quote from: Big Mike Lewis on Fri Jan 25, 2008 - 17:31:11
So, I was just wondering...why are people who might have no faith, atheistic tendencies, anti-Biblical world views, etc...deleted from the forum?  I have no problem pointing out fallacies in their arguments and moving on.  Is it one of the rules or something?

Just wonderin'.

This is to be a haven for Christians, not a battleground for atheists.

Quote from: Jaime on Sat Jan 26, 2008 - 09:33:11
I think we ought to help a seeking person that might happen to be an atheist at the present, but an atheist that comes here with an agenda to show how stupid Christians are needs to find another place.





Unfortunately, that might be encountered in some public schools, hollywood, talk radio...

No.  You might, however, notice old posts of theirs with themselves listed as "Guest".

But then, if they were truly horrible and needed banning badly, maybe all their posts would disappear too.

And people who have simply decided to leave also have old posts as "Guest".

That's the only sign I know about.

Quote from: Jaime on Sat Jan 26, 2008 - 09:33:11
I think we ought to help a seeking person that might happen to be an atheist at the present, but an atheist that comes here with an agenda to show how stupid Christians are needs to find another place.

What about Christians who come here to show how stupid Christians are?

Quote from: janine on Fri Jan 25, 2008 - 19:34:06
Nothing gets deleted around here unless it's terribly offensive.

Nothing?

Generally speaking, yeah.  Although stuff some folks get upset about doesn't seem problematic to others.  Can't be an exact science, can it?  Unless we become one of those boards with stifled conversation, filtered through one mere human's approval?

If I may ask, was HRoberson deleted or did he "resign"?  I miss his insight on this forum.

He left on his own to devote more time to study.

Quote from: bvaug on Wed Feb 06, 2008 - 12:32:14
He left on his own to devote more time to study.

To study what, Buddhism?

Quote from: James Rondon on Wed Feb 06, 2008 - 02:55:37

Quote from: janine on Fri Jan 25, 2008 - 19:34:06
Nothing gets deleted around here unless it's terribly offensive.

Nothing?

How about, "JANINE doesn't generally run around deleting stuff unless it's gonna twist someone's knickers"? 

And as for you, Charles, I imagine it would take the equanimity of a seasoned Buddhist monk to cope with some folks around here.

Quote from: Charles Sloan on Wed Feb 06, 2008 - 12:49:12

Quote from: bvaug on Wed Feb 06, 2008 - 12:32:14
He left on his own to devote more time to study.

To study what, Buddhism?

I also miss HRoberson, a dedicated Christian servant, who was hounded off GCM by a particularly noxious type of vitriol.