Comment policy

This is a place for discussion and dialogue, so I welcome and encourage your comments, even (and especially) contrary ones. I also want this to be a place of charity and communion, however, so here are a few guidelines for civil discussion. I’ve seldom had a problem with any commenter; I’ve only had to moderate comments once or twice. So that I don’t again, or that if I do, you can’t say I didn’t warn you:

  • Do keep it charitable. We are Christians here, and live by Ephesians 4:29–32: “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” We are brothers and sisters, so let us love one another (John 15:12, etc.). If you don’t believe we are your brothers and sisters, then we are at least your neighbors (Mark 12:31, etc.). If you are not a Christian, please at least heed these words, and respond with the same love we have for you.
  • Don’t be a troll. A troll is someone who posts inflammatory, derogatory, or offensive content for no other purpose than to hurt, attack, offend, deride, anger, or stir up, with no redeeming message and no interest in meaningful discussion. If you are coming here with no other purpose than to attack Catholic doctrine or beliefs or Catholics themselves, and no interest in discussing your charges or considering what someone might have to say back to you, then you are a troll, and you don’t belong here.
  • Do be relevant. Address what is wrote in the post, not what you presume I think, what other people think, or other unrelated topics.
  • Do have a redeeming message. That is what our Lord is about, is redemption; so if you are here with a voice of criticism, you should also bring a voice of edification and life. If you think what Catholics believe is wrong, why is it wrong, and how can we make it right? If you bring a negative, please also bring a positive.
  • Do support your arguments. This is also an academic place, and empty and unfounded charges and accusations are unwelcome. If something is “unbiblical,” please cite the Scripture that shows that. If something is contrary to history or tradition, please provide support from historical or patristic sources to support your claim. Whatever your argument, you should back it up; if you can’t back it up, you shouldn’t post it.

That’s a good start, for now. Please keep these in mind before you post. May God bless you and His peace be with you, and may He keep us all in His love.

12 thoughts on “Comment policy

  1. Hi You really have a wonderful site!
    Recently reading tom Bissell book apostle and got interested again in the early days of Christianity.
    Thanks for being a cool calm intelligent voice on the web! p.brown

  2. Since I do not find my comment, and I don’t see a “waiting moderation” note, I’m reposting. If the first one made it through, please delete this one. Thanks in advance.

    […]

    • The threads keep auto-closing every time the WordPress software auto-upgrades (closing after a month is the default setting and it resets my settings). I re-opened them. If you’d like, why don’t you repost this on the Matthew 16:18 thread and I’ll reply there.

    • Thanks. By the way, it’s in the mod queue even if you can’t see “awaiting moderation” on some WordPress sites. It only shows that notification if you’re logged in with a WordPress.com ID I think. But since you have an approved comment now you should be free of the mod queue in the future.

      • I was logged in with my WordPress.com ID, just FYI. WP has made a number of changes over the years, and I’ve often wondered how those whose comments are ‘awaiting moderation’ see it on their end, or if it’s recently changed.

        • My site is self-hosted using the WordPress.org software, so showing a comment in the mod queue with that notification requires authentication between WordPress.com and my site. Sometimes may not be confirmed right; I haven’t messed with it in a little while.

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