6 month ban from Christianity - Here we go again...

Stercus Accidit

I'm pretty sure this is a common thread in here, and that it is usually met with tuts and sighs. I PM'd the mod, was called a troll and subsequently ignored... and here I am.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056425791

In this thread the poster asked where to start reading the bible as he is a lapsed catholic seeking spiritual guidance. My reply aimed to highlight the negative aspects of the new testament (and some of the old but that is less relevant) and used direct quotes regarding its stance on slavery (its ok!). Mine is clearly a different perspective than that which is allowed on the forum.

I respect the OP's right to believe in a supernatural deity and to seek spiritual fulfillment, I simply wanted to highlight to him the limitations of organised religion and several thousand year old holy books as he embarked on a journey of self discovery and appraising his faith. I am friends with deeply religious people myself and am only concerned for well rounded moral development, I have seen blinkered bible opinions first hand, and wanted to express my opinion to the OP.

Any of you who are mods can view my posts I think, and you can judge them yourself, by all means do, they aren't perfect I'll admit. My point is that 6 months (my first ban from that forum I think) is excessively harsh for posting excerpts and having a different point of view.

It is a farce of censorship which does not allow for meaningful discussion, certainly not including any other points of view bar the approved one (bible is good). Why the admins bother to have this forum at all in its current state I will never know. Is the ban on non-christians in that forum official or simply a policy of letting the biased mods shape it as they see fit with arbitrary bans?

If this is the wrong forum please move the thread thanks!

Zaph

As you're disputing a ban this should be in the DRF.

Moved from Feedback and all posts after the OP deleted.

Stercus Accidit

What happens now, is this being assessed?

Dades

Yes - sorry I missed it. Will revert.

Dades

Have had a chat with PDN, and we're both agreed that you did somewhat jump into that thread with both feet when it should have been obvious what you had to say wasn't what the OP was looking interested in.

That said, the ban is admittedly OTT so, with agreement from PDN it's going to be reduced to a week (or time served effectively).

Going forward, let's try and keep to threads that open the door to the alternative view.

Thanks,
Dades

Stercus Accidit

Just to mention that I did subsequently (immediately after my summary ban and censorship) PM the OP with my opinion and we had a short back and forth discussion where I expressed respect for his intention but concern, and he expressed appreciation for my opinion. We both wished each other well and good luck in the future.
The OP was a rational guy who was happy to hear another perspective and appraise it as well as the more bible friendly posters, and in fact agreed with me on my point of not taking it all literally as the word of a god.
With a bit of leeway there could be useful discussions to those of faith and those who do not share it which would benefit all. Maybe if opinions and counter views were not considered trolling that could happen, but rational appraisal and discussion would possibly require too much work and thought on the mods part, when 6 month bans are far easier to dole out.

Cheers for taking the time to assess the situation Dades, jeers to the poor moderation and facilitation thereof by the admins in the christianity forum.

Dades

While I appreciate you wanted to make a point about the OP and his open-mindedness, your subsequent jibes at all the Christianity mods reflect badly on you.

While this thread is effectively resolved, nobody was blameless, which suggests to me you should really have walked away without the parting shots that don't belong here.

There are other channels if you have a general complaint about a forum.

Stercus Accidit

'Jibes' would imply something sneaky about how I express myself, I have made my opinion clear to pretty much everyone I have interacted with on the matter. That opinion hasn't changed and I am transparent about it.

Dades

You missed the point. This isn't the place for feedback on how a forum is run.

Spear

Since the original is now resolved, and the thread is attempting to move onto matters that are better placed in Feedback, I'll close this.