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  • Focus on the Family

    Strengthening families through biblical principles.

    Focus on the Family addresses the use of biblical principles in parenting and marriage to strengthen the family.

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  • The Gospel of Jesus Christ

    Heard of "The Gospel"? Want to know more?

    There is salvation in no other, for there is not another name under heaven having been given among men, by which it behooves us to be saved."

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TERMS OF SERVICE
(ToS)


ChristianForums.net aspires to provide a place where Christians can come together in fellowship for encouragement, inspiration, and strength to help build each other up and grow in our walk of faith through honest and open discussion, study, reflection, and prayer.


The CF staff team uses the ToS as a basis for how this community is run. Our aim is to treat members fairly and, in the event of difficulty or dispute, to give them the best chance to remain members before any action is required. Your cooperation is appreciated. Here are key things to remember, which will be much more effective than any rules we can make up:

John 13:35 (All references use NKJV)
“By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Luke 6:31
“And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.”

Philippians 2:3
“in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

1 Corinthians 6:7
“it is already an utter failure that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?"

If all else fails, this is the action that will be taken:
Matthew 18:15 - 17
“Moreover if your Brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the Church. But if he refuses even to hear the Church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”


That means PM (private message) a member to settle an issue rather than publicly feuding. If that doesn’t work, start a new PM that invites both the other member AND staff. After all that, do we still need rules? Maybe so. Here are some basics:

  • Members must be at least 13 years of age. Users who are found to be under the age of 13 will have their account disabled until they meet this criteria. ChristianForums.net does not maintain permission records from parents.
  • English is the acceptable language since most persons in other countries speak English.
  • As a member of ChristianForums.net, you agree to abide by the Terms of Service, and you stipulate that you understand the disciplinary process in response to violations of the ToS
  • To contact a member of the staff:
    Click on their name
  • Click on their name again
    Click on Start a Conversation

    BEHAVIOR

  1. Give other members the respect you would have them give to you:

1.1 Address issues/ideas, not the person. Do not insult, post derogatory opinions, belittle, discredit, or create a hostile environment. Do not make inflammatory remarks, do not make remarks to affect others negatively.

1.2 Do not misquote or misrepresent another member. Do not disrupt the flow of the conversation, respect all members as to where they are in their spiritual walk.

1.3 Do not post your opinion of another members standing in the Christian faith. Judging someone’s soul is not Christ like; only they and God know their relationship with God. This includes collective beliefs and groups in general.

1.4 Do not discuss other members by name, with whom you have a disagreement, in a thread in which they are not participating, thus putting them in a position of having to defend themselves in a discussion is which they have no desire in which to participate. This item may be waived by the staff if it is deemed to be in good-natured fun.

1.5 Always tag a member that you mention in any thread.

1.6 Foul language, pornographic, sexually offensive or explicit material is prohibited. Violent material is prohibited unless it relates to a news story.
This includes words purposefully misspelled or alternate use of characters. Staff will determine acceptability at its discretion.

1.7 No trolling. This is defined as posting simply to get other people to "dance for you;" to elicit a reaction for no good reason.
 
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TERMS OF SERVICE
(ToS)


ChristianForums.net aspires to provide a place where Christians can come together in fellowship for encouragement, inspiration, and strength to help build each other up and grow in our walk of faith through honest and open discussion, study, reflection, and prayer.


The CF staff team uses the ToS as a basis for how this community is run. Our aim is to treat members fairly and, in the event of difficulty or dispute, to give them the best chance to remain members before any action is required. Your cooperation is appreciated. Here are key things to remember, which will be much more effective than any rules we can make up:

John 13:35 (All references use NKJV)
“By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Luke 6:31
“And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.”

Philippians 2:3
“in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

1 Corinthians 6:7
“it is already an utter failure that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?"

If all else fails, this is the action that will be taken:
Matthew 18:15 - 17
“Moreover if your Brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the Church. But if he refuses even to hear the Church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”


That means PM (private message) a member to settle an issue rather than publicly feuding. If that doesn’t work, start a new PM that invites both the other member AND staff. After all that, do we still need rules? Maybe so. Here are some basics:

  • Members must be at least 13 years of age. Users who are found to be under the age of 13 will have their account disabled until they meet this criteria. ChristianForums.net does not maintain permission records from parents.
  • English is the acceptable language since most persons in other countries speak English.
  • As a member of ChristianForums.net, you agree to abide by the Terms of Service, and you stipulate that you understand the disciplinary process in response to violations of the ToS
  • To contact a member of the staff:
    Click on their name
    Click on Start a Conversation

    BEHAVIOR

  1. Give other members the respect you would have them give to you:

1.1 Address issues/ideas, not the person. Do not insult, post derogatory opinions, belittle, discredit, or create a hostile environment. Do not make inflammatory remarks, do not make remarks to affect others negatively.

1.2 Do not misquote or misrepresent another member. Do not disrupt the flow of the conversation, respect all members as to where they are in their spiritual walk.

1.3 Do not post your opinion of another members standing in the Christian faith. Judging someone’s soul is not Christ like; only they and God know their relationship with God. This includes collective beliefs and groups in general.

1.4 Do not discuss other members by name, with whom you have a disagreement, in a thread in which they are not participating, thus putting them in a position of having to defend themselves in a discussion is which they have no desire in which to participate. This item may be waived by the staff if it is deemed to be in good-natured fun.

1.5 Always tag a member that you mention in any thread.

1.6 Foul language, pornographic, sexually offensive or explicit material is prohibited. Violent material is prohibited unless it relates to a news story.
This includes words purposefully misspelled or alternate use of characters. Staff will determine acceptability at its discretion.

1.7 No trolling. This is defined as posting simply to get other people to "dance for you;" to elicit a reaction for no good reason.


Sounds good to me so far! :thumbsup
 
R,
Please fix the last bullet at beginning...
To contact a member...


Click on their name
Click on their name again
Click on "Start a Conversation"
 
This would solve most of the problems all by itself.




Yes it would, and you would think that it shouldn't even have to be a rule and just be considered common sense. Unfortunately although God gave it to everybody in the world when He created them, not everybody uses it. :rolleyes
 
Almost any topic can be discussed, as long as people stick to well reasoned words about the issues. Taking care to treat others with respect. Schools such as Harvard Law and Business successfully use the discussion method as their primary teaching tool. The students have to be taught to only use intellectually honest debate tactics, otherwise many will adopt dishonest tactics such as insulting the other students. Address the issues only, using well reasoned and honest words.
 
James 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Just thought that I would post this scripture as well.
 
Intellectually honest and respectful debate works fine for many topics like news, history, and technology. However, when discussing the Bible, there is another factor to consider.

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8-9 NKJV

Someone with spiritual discernment and authority has to decide what is a legitimate topic that people might have different opinions on, and what is untouchable as central to the Gospel.

Related to this, some people claim that what they have written has been delivered to them by divine revelation. Making it untouchable. Again, someone with spiritual discernment and authority (such as a group of prophets) may have to decide whether this is indeed the case, or whether someone has spoken presumptuously.

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 1 Corinthians 14:29 NKJV

The OT gives this guidance on the topic:

But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 NKJV

Some spiritual things are beyond the scope of simple debate rules.
 
impressive tos part 1 and outstanding additions of scripture by others in this thread

very comprehensive and extremely easy to understand - awesome work by the editors of this tos

you can feel the presence and blessing of God in those words - like they were given by God - and the scriptures are potent and relevant

praying for this to be entirely pleasing to God and written by God through the wonderful God loving hearts here in Jesus' amazing name
 
Intellectually honest and respectful debate works fine for many topics like news, history, and technology. However, when discussing the Bible, there is another factor to consider.

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8-9 NKJV
Not trying to start a debate but the wording is "let him be accursed" and not "curse him." There's a difference.
 
Just my two cents -


After the TOS is complete, maybe we could work on the Statement of Faith.

Defining biblical words.

Clarifying what the Gospel is.

Putting an emphasis on the doctrine of Christ.


One of the ways heated arguments begin and continue is the
re-defining of biblical words and phrases such as:

By faith
Grace
Salvation
Inheriting the kingdom


Clarifying what these words and phrases mean could end a lot of unnecessary debate.


Example:

We believe salvation is by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, who is the only way to the Father.


If grace, faith, and salvation are open to any broad interpretation then this will lead to much confusion and arguing.




JLB
 
Intellectually honest and respectful debate works fine for many topics like news, history, and technology. However, when discussing the Bible, there is another factor to consider.

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8-9 NKJV

Someone with spiritual discernment and authority has to decide what is a legitimate topic that people might have different opinions on, and what is untouchable as central to the Gospel.

Related to this, some people claim that what they have written has been delivered to them by divine revelation. Making it untouchable. Again, someone with spiritual discernment and authority (such as a group of prophets) may have to decide whether this is indeed the case, or whether someone has spoken presumptuously.

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 1 Corinthians 14:29 NKJV

The OT gives this guidance on the topic:

But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 NKJV

Some spiritual things are beyond the scope of simple debate rules.

Almost every topic of Biblical discussion will bring out many "IMO" which are that of thoughts of the carnal mind without Spiritual discernment. We need rules governed by God as within the scriptures that complete the ToS as given in the OP to help keep us in line when discussions turn into debates and arguments that brings no glory to God, but displeases Him. We all need to be humbled for corrections when needed if we allow the Holy Spirit to show us where we error by using others who have more Spiritual knowledge then we have.

The key to learning is to learn how to Spiritually discern that of what you are being taught by others, 1 John 4:1-6. We are not always going to agree with each other and that's alright as we are all still learning as no one can ever exhaust the teachings the Bible contains. We should never be untouchable when it comes to learning as I believe we all have error at times and when we do error the Holy Spirit will always convict us and also use others to correct us if we are not stubborn. Godly rules are good and brings peace and harmony to the body of Christ as we remain always pleasing to the Lord.
 
Yes it would, and you would think that it shouldn't even have to be a rule and just be considered common sense. Unfortunately although God gave it to everybody in the world when He created them, not everybody uses it. :rolleyes
James 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Just thought that I would post this scripture as well.
Intellectually honest and respectful debate works fine for many topics like news, history, and technology. However, when discussing the Bible, there is another factor to consider.

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8-9 NKJV

Someone with spiritual discernment and authority has to decide what is a legitimate topic that people might have different opinions on, and what is untouchable as central to the Gospel.

Related to this, some people claim that what they have written has been delivered to them by divine revelation. Making it untouchable. Again, someone with spiritual discernment and authority (such as a group of prophets) may have to decide whether this is indeed the case, or whether someone has spoken presumptuously.

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 1 Corinthians 14:29 NKJV

The OT gives this guidance on the topic:

But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 NKJV

Some spiritual things are beyond the scope of simple debate rules.

Those I quoted here (yay! The multi-quote function now works on my phone) are saying something I wanted to include at the top of the ToS:

"Shepherd of Hermas said, "First, do not speak evil of anyone, and do not listen with pleasure to anyone who speaks evil of another"

I would like to introduce you all to a great poster here, Greg Gordon. While I haven't yet read all of the GREAT content he's posted, I would urge anyone to. His posting style seems to be to post a few threads, once a year. I was reminded of the above quote by seeing it on his profile page.

Can you imagine if that quote were the norm in our society? Or in US politics? Lol

Some of the most vicious argumentation we've had has been over people posting things saying "this isn't Scripture, but I think it's really good." Then somebody else goes "but that book isn't Scripture, and has these other things that are bad!" Followed by all sorts of nastiness.

So I haven't included it in our ToS, yet. It's SO concise, saying SO much of what we need to have this site function as intended.

What say ye?
 
Those I quoted here (yay! The multi-quote function now works on my phone) are saying something I wanted to include at the top of the ToS:

"Shepherd of Hermas said, "First, do not speak evil of anyone, and do not listen with pleasure to anyone who speaks evil of another"

I would like to introduce you all to a great poster here, Greg Gordon. While I haven't yet read all of the GREAT content he's posted, I would urge anyone to. His posting style seems to be to post a few threads, once a year. I was reminded of the above quote by seeing it on his profile page.

Can you imagine if that quote were the norm in our society? Or in US politics? Lol

Some of the most vicious argumentation we've had has been over people posting things saying "this isn't Scripture, but I think it's really good." Then somebody else goes "but that book isn't Scripture, and has these other things that are bad!" Followed by all sorts of nastiness.

So I haven't included it in our ToS, yet. It's SO concise, saying SO much of what we need to have this site function as intended.

What say ye?
Where you and I happen to be in a category of people who can see truth from whatever source it comes from, not always is that the case.
People will see it as a denomination division and we are a multi denomination site.
 
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