Religion discussion fora that aren't DCUM?

[Anonymous]

I'd like to participate in thoughtful discussions of religion without having every thread derailed. I'm liberal in my Christianity and in my politics, fwiw. It's great that angry atheists, Jews (see the Cadbury thread), and Muslims have a place to vent about Christianity, heck, I don't even care that they do. But when every.single.thread gets derailed into "Christianity is the worst religion ever" and the moderator has no interest in shutting it down (I've long given up reporting even the most egregious trolling) because he seems to agree, well, it does get tired and old. More to the point, nobody gets a chance to exchange ideas or learn anything.

So, suggestions for alternative fora please? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I'm sure there is some other forum somewhere that you can appropriate...

[Anonymous]

like...try a Christianity forum? There are a lot of religion-specific fora out there.

And yes, a lot of trolls exist here, but that's the Internet in general.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:like...try a Christianity forum? There are a lot of religion-specific fora out there.

And yes, a lot of trolls exist here, but that's the Internet in general.

Do you have a recommendation for one that's reverent but open to, say, the writings of somebody like Crossan?

[Anonymous]

There are some good ones online of your google. It's apparent fairly quickly which of these would or wouldn't suit your own style of faith. I'm excited about what I found, but don't care to mention the name here because, well, you know....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure there is some other forum somewhere that you can appropriate...

Technically she's rebelling against your endless bs ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:like...try a Christianity forum? There are a lot of religion-specific fora out there.

And yes, a lot of trolls exist here, but that's the Internet in general.

Do you have a recommendation for one that's reverent but open to, say, the writings of somebody like Crossan?

I'm not Christian otherwise I'd try to give a rec. in general I'd look for forms that academics are more likely to frequent because those will be more sane in general. I remember there was a forum for doctoral students I used to frequent and they'd talk about everything under the sun like sane, reasonable, non-Internet people. I can't remember what that forum was called, I'll look it up for you when I have some more time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:like...try a Christianity forum? There are a lot of religion-specific fora out there.

And yes, a lot of trolls exist here, but that's the Internet in general.

Do you have a recommendation for one that's reverent but open to, say, the writings of somebody like Crossan?

I'm not Christian otherwise I'd try to give a rec. in general I'd look for forms that academics are more likely to frequent because those will be more sane in general. I remember there was a forum for doctoral students I used to frequent and they'd talk about everything under the sun like sane, reasonable, non-Internet people. I can't remember what that forum was called, I'll look it up for you when I have some more time.

Thank you! Yes, I'm in research and a forum with academics sounds interesting and sane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd like to participate in thoughtful discussions of religion without having every thread derailed. I'm liberal in my Christianity and in my politics, fwiw. It's great that angry atheists, Jews (see the Cadbury thread), and Muslims have a place to vent about Christianity, heck, I don't even care that they do. But when every.single.thread gets derailed into "Christianity is the worst religion ever" and the moderator has no interest in shutting it down (I've long given up reporting even the most egregious trolling) because he seems to agree, well, it does get tired and old. More to the point, nobody gets a chance to exchange ideas or learn anything.

So, suggestions for alternative fora please? Thanks!

You could look for Christian forum and then lurk for a while to determine if participants were agreeable and compatible with your beliefs. If there is discussion that your find controversial, you can move on, or perhaps you could join in the discussion to see if they are open to your point of view. If not, you can keep looking until you find a forum where you feel comfortable.

Check out the National Cathedral. I think they have a bishop's blog with a comments section.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:like...try a Christianity forum? There are a lot of religion-specific fora out there.

And yes, a lot of trolls exist here, but that's the Internet in general.

Do you have a recommendation for one that's reverent but open to, say, the writings of somebody like Crossan?

I'm not Christian otherwise I'd try to give a rec. in general I'd look for forms that academics are more likely to frequent because those will be more sane in general. I remember there was a forum for doctoral students I used to frequent and they'd talk about everything under the sun like sane, reasonable, non-Internet people. I can't remember what that forum was called, I'll look it up for you when I have some more time.

Thank you! Yes, I'm in research and a forum with academics sounds interesting and sane.

If you're interested in discussing theological issues, that might work well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:like...try a Christianity forum? There are a lot of religion-specific fora out there.

And yes, a lot of trolls exist here, but that's the Internet in general.

Do you have a recommendation for one that's reverent but open to, say, the writings of somebody like Crossan?

The center for Progressive Christianity https://progressivechristianity.org sponsors this message board: https://johnshelbyspong.com/message-boards/ It requires signing up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:like...try a Christianity forum? There are a lot of religion-specific fora out there.

And yes, a lot of trolls exist here, but that's the Internet in general.

Do you have a recommendation for one that's reverent but open to, say, the writings of somebody like Crossan?

The center for Progressive Christianity https://progressivechristianity.org sponsors this message board: https://johnshelbyspong.com/message-boards/ It requires signing up.

Thank you! They all seem to require signing up, which IMO is a great thing because it increases responsibility. I remember there was a push by some to have it on the Religion forum, just like on the Explicit forum, but the moderator wasn't interested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are some good ones online of your google. It's apparent fairly quickly which of these would or wouldn't suit your own style of faith. I'm excited about what I found, but don't care to mention the name here because, well, you know....

because you think that trolls who aren't smart enough to find the forums on their own would come here to find out where to offend Christians? because the real purpose of this thread is to bash the moderator and people who don't hold your beliefs? or people who are not Christian? or who are not the same brand of Christian as OP? I suspect OP was more interested in making a statement than in asking a question.

And it appears that pp would rather be snarky than assist OP in the search for a Christian forum.

Why not take a chance and post a link to the online venue you found that excited you? If it's a Christian forum, they might disallow comments from people who disagree with their point of view.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some good ones online of your google. It's apparent fairly quickly which of these would or wouldn't suit your own style of faith. I'm excited about what I found, but don't care to mention the name here because, well, you know....

because you think that trolls who aren't smart enough to find the forums on their own would come here to find out where to offend Christians? because the real purpose of this thread is to bash the moderator and people who don't hold your beliefs? or people who are not Christian? or who are not the same brand of Christian as OP? I suspect OP was more interested in making a statement than in asking a question.

And it appears that pp would rather be snarky than assist OP in the search for a Christian forum.

Why not take a chance and post a link to the online venue you found that excited you? If it's a Christian forum, they might disallow comments from people who disagree with their point of view.

OP here. It's a fact that I find this forum completely useless except for things like recs for this or that church or synagogue. If you want to discuss and learn, forget it. In my own googling I've found, as a pp also pointed out, that if you want to post on these other fora (and I presume the Jewish and Muslim fora equivalents), then you will need a username and may be quickly booted off if you're not contributing. DCUM is so much easier to troll and that's why you're all here, obviously. Have a nice day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some good ones online of your google. It's apparent fairly quickly which of these would or wouldn't suit your own style of faith. I'm excited about what I found, but don't care to mention the name here because, well, you know....

because you think that trolls who aren't smart enough to find the forums on their own would come here to find out where to offend Christians? because the real purpose of this thread is to bash the moderator and people who don't hold your beliefs? or people who are not Christian? or who are not the same brand of Christian as OP? I suspect OP was more interested in making a statement than in asking a question.

And it appears that pp would rather be snarky than assist OP in the search for a Christian forum.

Why not take a chance and post a link to the online venue you found that excited you? If it's a Christian forum, they might disallow comments from people who disagree with their point of view.

Your mistake is assuming that these fora require that you share their beliefs to be allowed to stay. In fact most of these groups seem to welcome opposing views and questions, because there's no discussion or learning without at least some disagreement. Perhaps if you join a daily prayer/affirmation-type forum that might be the case. You seem really riled up that I don't enjoy your bullying and want to spend my time more productively?