Best wishes to you sir. Sorry we here on the RF have slung enough mud that a moderator is needed.
With all due respect, would you please explain what you mean by "confessions?" I always thought of a confession as something you admitted when you got busted and were in trouble, so you gave your confession to keep from getting in any more trouble than you were already in. LOL At first I thought you meant an individual's post, but I wish you would clarify it for all of us. Thanks! :o)
I don't hang out in the RF, but I will swing by to say, "Good luck to you, and Godspeed RM."
Fair enough, but I do have 2 questions:
1. Are you the same RM we've had for the past several months or a new one?
2. In the past I've posted Jack Chick cartoons as a parody, not as an attack or as a truth. Is it the context that matters or is he totally off limits?
Thanks!
Excellent guidelines, RM...
No suggestions (you do an excellent job), but I do have a question: How are the religion moderators selected?
Welcome, new Religion Moderator. I wish you luck, and lots and lots of patience.
Mama always said, "Do not get involved in arguments about religion."
Good advice, but hard to heed here on FR.
Is that the principal reason we get so much opposition?
I would like to make a distinction. Idiot and liar are insults (well, rarely, a lie can be proven, but not likely on an Internet forum). Heretic has a technical meaning, and when used as such should not be taken as insult. For example, if you profess to be Christian but deny the Virgin Birth of Christ, you are objectively a heretic.
More narrowly, the Catholic Church defines as heresy denials of certain Catholic doctrines, even if other Christian denominations disagree with them. For example, some Christians believe that The Virgin Mary did not remain virgin after the birth of Christ. This makes their belief on that score objectively heretical.
There is also a distinction between holding a belief that is heretical and being oneself a heretic. This is because in order to be called a heretic one has to have a full understanding of the correct doctrine. An ignorant person cannot be a heretic. So, there is in fact a dose of respect that comes with the term.
I don't know if other confessions use the word at all, but this is how Catholics use it. Please, do not think that if you are described as a heretic someone is trying to insult you. All that is typically meant by the epithet is that your belief does not conform to the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Another word with a potential to be taken as an insult is "anathema", or its English and Latin cousin, "excommunication". This is used to describe the same thing: that the anathemized belief or the excommunicated person is in contradiction to the Catholic (or Orthodox) belief system. It does not mean that the anathemized person is condemned to hell, or even that he is forever barred from communion. The purpose of excommunication is to call the person's attention to this unfortunate fact and invite him to correct his views and come back to communion.
I am not sure if confessions other than the Catholic and the Orthodox use these terms in the precise technical sense, but this is how we use them, and we mean no personal offense when we do.
Bump for future reference (and, of course, thoughtful contemplation)
Catholic ping.
I'm disappointed in the recent moderation of the Religion threads. We Catholics are being held to a higher standard, imho.
Who's more powerful: You or the Admin Moderator?
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bumpus ad summum
**Remember this: the demeanor of the poster says more about his own confession than the post says about yours. When he is being rude or mean it drives people away from his confession and towards yours. That is of course if you can resist the urge to meet fire with fire, in which case neither confession is appealing to the lurkers. The poster who “turns the other cheek” wins – every – single – time.**
Very wise words. I try to state my beliefs and not get drawn into some of the outrageious statements, but I am not always that self-disciplinned. When we turn the other cheek -- after defending our point validly -- we do win!
You also mentioned "rude" posts. These (such as the neener threads) only demean the people who post them and those who contribute to these ridiculous threads. Again wise words on your part. And all who do not post on these rude threads are winners!
Thank you for listening/reading!
**Any thread can be designated a caucus - e.g. labeled as a “[Catholic Caucus]” or “[LDS Caucus]” - provided that neither the article nor any of the posts challenge or ridicule any other confession. **
A question or two or three.
What if the article or a part of the post presents ridicule or challenging disdain for another confession?
What action will be taken by you? What actions should be taken by us?
**It is disingenuous to complain that your confession is being maligned when you are NOT using the caucus designation to protect the thread from challenges!**
This is true. And in fairness, other than the Daily Readings, I usually will post an open thread possibly with a Catholic viewpoint, for instance about the Blessed Virgin Mary.
So am I understanding you in the statement above, that we cannot complain if someone belittles the Blessed Virgin Mary again and again and again and we get fed up with it and ask them to stop -- we would then be judged disengenuous?
Is it fair to say that I will pray for their mind to be opened to other viewpoints........and then leave the thread?