Welcome! We’re glad you’ve joined the conversation. The rules of engagement are simple. Please consider the discussions here thoughtfully and prayerfully. Use them to stimulate your own study of the Scriptures. Feel free to add your thoughts through the comments, subject to the moderation discussion below. We invite others to submit new posts. You don’t have to have a seminary degree or to be anyone’s preacher. But we do require that all posts be based on Scripture. The idea here is that this isn’t about people’s opinions. We want to ask the question, “What is God’s opinion?” If you can’t back up your writing with specific verses of Scripture, it is likely just your personal opinion. Out of consideration for publishers’ copyrights, please note the translation that you are using (e.g., NIV, KJV, NASB, NEB, MSG, etc.) at the end of a Scripture reference, as you can see below.
Please do not start debates about Bible translations or about things that are clearly denominational doctrine. (“Son, you ain’t been baptized if you ain’t been dunked!”) Those discussions are off-topic. If you don’t like the translation that someone uses, go look up the verse in your own. The core of this discussion is about sin and how we respond to it in obedience to Christ.
Of course, we expect all writers, whether you are agreeing or disagreeing with anyone else, to ACT LIKE CHRISTIANS when you are writing. Please exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” – Galatians 5:22-23 NIV) when you write, even when you disagree with someone. Remember that hatred, discord, and factions [division] are the acts of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:20 NIV). No offensive language, labeling, or name-calling will be accepted. It is strongly encouraged that you purge your vocabulary of the terms “liberal” and “conservative” before you begin writing. This is NOT, in any way, a political forum. It is a theological forum and political discussions are not welcome. At this time, we will not place length restrictions on posts, but please remember that you are writing a blog post, not a book! See if you can make your point without putting people to sleep.
The forum is moderated, and because moderator resources are limited, it may take a bit before your post appears. (Let’s focus on that word patience again.) You will be required to provide and verify an email address when you post. The moderator may contact you by email to suggest or request improvements to your post before publication or to explain why a post was not accepted. Email addresses that are provided will be used for this purpose only, and will not be published, shared, sold, or used for any purpose other than to facilitate discussions on the forum.
So join in! Read, learn, be encouraged, pray, study the passages that are referenced, and contribute. We welcome dialog and varying viewpoints. And if we step on your toes, don’t be offended, be challenged to sincere self-examination under the light of God’s Word.