Before posting, it should be understood that the section of the forums called "Debate" do not function in the same way as the rest of the forums in order to facilitate orderliness and a Christian atmosphere. Particpants are therefore expected to comply with the rules or not participate.

The rules
These rules are not law, they are guidance. Violation can not result in banning from the forums, however threads and posts will be locked and deleted as necessary in response to violation. These rules have been determined to be logical, reasonable, and fair, and will be amended as necessary to further clarify what is and is not acceptable in this section of the forums.

1) Its not personal - This means that ad hominem and other arguments directed at the individual and not the topic are unacceptable. It is equally unacceptable to take the debate personally, meaning to take personal offense at argument against the topic at hand. I understand you believe what you believe passionately. However, when the debate descends to a personal level it will raise a red flag for me, and continuing to make the debate personal and not the issue on the table will get posts deleted and can result in the thread getting locked or deleted if deemed necessary.

2) Its like a Pot Luck, you have to bring something - If you are going to begin a debate, you must begin with a question or assertion. As much as I am able, I will not let debate begin by the simple asking of a question. In either case the burden of proof rests upon you. You must first make your case, or at least make a significant opening statement to support your position and/or encourage a statement from an opposing side. Furthermore, a response that can be summarized as "That is wrong," is not acceptable. If you feel the need to post in this section, then you are required to post worthwhile material that will support either side of the issue in question and be "nutritious for mental digestion" (This means content, not fluff. No more one sentence posts.) Futhermore, it is required that each participant respect the work of each individual enough to read it and read it carefully so as to not misunderstand, misquote, or any other such error. Failure to do so will result in deletion of a post. Also, to be absolutely clear, there are two governing factors for what is is acceptable to bring to debate: 1) the Bible, being the 66 books we understand it to be, 2) logic and reason. Debates will not use for supporting reference anything from a para-biblical book (i.e. book of mormon, apocrypha, etc). Also, reasonable and logical debate is the rule of the day. If you can not state your position rationally, reasonably, with good use of logical thinking, you should rethink your statement until you can.

3) Take responsibility - Formal debate requires opposing teams with captains. While it is not necessary to have registered teams on this site, it is a very good idea to take responsibility for a side. If you start a debate, you will be responsible for presenting the case on the side of the argument that you choose, although others may participate in presenting your case. Likewise, if you are the first to voice opposition to the stated argument, you will be responsible for presenting your case. If the individual who started a debate or the individual presenting the opposing side are absent from posting for any significant length of time, the thread may be locked unless the side in question is assumed by another individual willing to take responsibility.

4) Members only - While this could be stated at the beginning of these rules, it falls best under the previous rule. Members, by choosing to join this forum, are viewed as taking responsibility for their own actions, and are therefore permitted to post freely in accordance with the rules. Guests, however, have not demonstrated the same sense of responsibility and therefore will not be allowed to participate in debates. The primary reasons for this rule are as follows:
~ It is possible to assume the identity of an established guest, as no login or password is required to post as a guest.
~ Guests, being anonymous, are incapable of being directly contacted in any way.
~ In cases of continued or extreme violation/harassment, guest accounts can not be suspended, banned, or punished in any way.
These factors put the guest in a position that is free from responsibility, which is not effective for conducting debates, and therefore will not be allowed.

5) The point is to come to a conclusion - Endless debate is not good. After each side has had sufficient opportunity to present their case and present questions to the opposing side, things should eventually wrap up. It will be the responsibility of the debate leader for either side (see rule #3) to call for closing arguments. Once closing arguments have been called for, the only posts that should appear in that thread are one from each of the debate leaders If this is not done, it will be done by a moderator. The absence of closing arguments may result in locking of a thread. If a case arises where the debate leader for a particular side can no longer in good faith and conscience support their side, a new representative will be called for, sufficient time given, and a closing argument asked of them. If a replacement can not be found the thread may be locked. After closing arguments have been made, there will be no formal conclusion or declaration of a winner. It will be commonly understood that the debate has concluded, and discussion will be allowed to continue without restriction or adherence to the rules (except of course rule #1).

6) Have fun - This is really a partial reiteration of rule #1, but debate is fun. It is if you love truth. If you want to be ignorant and just assume you are right, then debate is just frustrating. You should enjoy both presenting information to support your side as well as learning about the other side. You should be challenged at the point of conclusion to really consider what you believe honestly in the light of scripture and respond accordingly. Debate should thrive among Christians who long to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, but it should be done decently and in order. Any debate that becomes vindictive, hateful, chaotic, or in any way represents something other than the character of what a Christian should be, I urge ANY MODERATOR to lock the thread, you can consider this my advance permission.

7) Its lake, not a river - In order to facilitate good debate it is critical that no discussion ever be moved into the debate section. A debate needs a good beginning as its foundation and a casual exchange of ideas is not a good beginning. Any topic that has been discussed in another section of the forums can be brought into the debate section, however it should be a new debate and a new thread started in accordance with the established format, just like all other debates. Also, debates begun here are not guaranteed to stay here. If the debate wanders too far into conversation (before being labeled as [concluded]) it can and will be moved into general discussion. This is, again, to separate between conversation and good debate, which are very different from one another. As with the other rules, failure to comply can result in locking, deleting, and in this particular case moving of threads.

Personal note as moderator:

While I would hope that these rules that have been given long outlive my time as moderator here, I want make sure it is publicly understood that I am here serving as a moderator for the forums.

While I have my own beliefs and convictions which I believe with strong passion, I resolve to put those aside as much as possible to ensure that both sides of a debate receive equal opportunity to present their case in a fair and reasonable way. I also present my behavior as moderator (and suggest that any moderator of the debate section after me should do likewise) as my qualification to serve here. If at any time my behavior as moderator (or even in the debates which I actively participate in, though that should be rare) is questionable enough to suggest I should not be moderator, then I encourage any and all moderators to make an examination and a conclusion.

The moderator of the Debate section is here to serve the forums, not themselves. The most important thing for this section of the forums is that debates take place in an atmosphere that is as clear, logical, fair, and free from personal attack as possible. While it is the responsibility of each individual participant to maintain this atmosphere, it is the responsibility of the moderator to facilitate it. Failure to do so should result in removal of moderator status.


The bottom line is: If we can not discuss topics that we as Christians disagree on in an orderly way, then there really shouldnt be a place for debate threads in the first place.