This board is a part of Evidence for God from Science (G&S), a Christian website, which serves to provide a defense and persuasive case for Christianity as well as encouragement and instruction for Christian people and seekers.
Who is the message board intended for?
This message board is publicly open to anyone who wishes to register, and participate in discussions, however it is only intended for a specific audience. It is intended to serve as a place for:
- Sincere seekers to inquire and ask questions;
- Christians to give and receive encouragement and instruction; and
- Non-Christians who are willing to "walk a thin line" and dialogue sensitively and respectfully.
Why disallow debating from those who strongly disagree with Christian beliefs?
G&S originally provided an open discussion board where Christians and non-Christians could debate and voice their arguments for and against Christianity. In hindsight, it did not seem like this was the best approach to fulfill the G&S purpose as the board became a hub for a much more vocal non-Christian crowd, rather than being a place of fruitful exchanges amongst Christians and helping seekers. So after thoughtful consideration, it was decided to limit participation in discussions to a certain group of people--Christians and those open to Christian beliefs.
But I see so many distortions... I just want to enlighten others with my knowledge!
If you feel this strongly it is likely what you have to say will likely not be appreciated or accepted. So please respect the desire purpose of this message board. There are many other places on the Internet where one can enter into debate.
On an important note, some people do not like the "science" communicated by posters on the board. What posters write will even largely differ to what is advocated on the G&S website, for example, the Day-Age literal interpretation of Genesis 1 which accepts the science of the Earth being several billions years old, and a universe which has been expanding for about 14 billion years. Yet, as this is a Christian board, other Christian perspectives are welcome including Young-Earth Creationists and Theistic Evolutionists. We will not accept a strictly Materialist-Evolution accounting of origins since this is in direct opposition with essential Christian beliefs.
To be clear, we will heavily moderate those who attempt to support a neo-Darwinian form of evolution, which is strictly Materialistic and Atheistic, and which rules out any possible influence or intervention from a divine being such as the Christian God within creation. There are many understandings of "Evolution", and a paper we recommend reading to clarify the different meanings is "The Meanings of Evolution" (PDF format) by Stephen Meyer and Michael Keas. The type of evolution not accepted here would come under the "Blind watchmaker thesis" in that paper:
the idea that all organisms have descended from common ancestors through unguided, unintelligent, purposeless, material processes such as natural selection acting on random variations or mutations; the idea that the Darwinian mechanism of natural selection acting on random variation, and other similarly naturalistic mechanisms, completely suffice to explain the origin of novel biological forms and the appearance of design in complex organisms.
But, it does not seem fair...
If what has been said here is found distasteful or objectionable, then we encourage you to please be honest, respect our purpose, and not participate at this message board. This will save any ill feelings down the track if a moderator messages you or even bans you in order to uphold the board purpose. Upon being messaged or banned, many have objected that it is "unfair" or "intolerant". Yet, such a person really shows their own intolerance by not wanting to allow one Christian board out of the many on the Internet to function in accordance with its beliefs as a Christian board.
To use an illustration, imagine if a Christian person registered on forums that belonged to a Jewish website. This Christian began posting how the Jews persecuted the early Christian Church, and pointing out any faults they thought existed within the Jewish faith irrespective of whether it was backed or not. It becomes readily apparent that the administrator(s) of that board would have every right to ban that Christian and remove their posts. It is simply not a board for the Christian to propagate their beliefs nor tear into Judaism for it is a Jewish board.
To provide another illustration, imagine if a Muslim entered your home and hung up the Koran above your door (or if you are Muslim substitute someone of another religion entering your home and doing something similar). Such a seemingly unacceptable action highlights the point that it is not always true that divergent faiths and beliefs should be given the same privileges, freedom, and level of acceptance everywhere. To say it is always true it to not respect another's personal space. So just like a Muslim would have no right to hang their Koran in your home without permission, simply because the home becomes "virtual" doesn't change this principle.
This board is a Christian home, and so while very open to sincere and honest questions, it is "not" a place where others of differing beliefs can promote their opinions while throwing any argument and complaint they can find against Christianity. If you think this is still unfair, then you are quite welcome to find and join some of the many other message boards found on the Internet.
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