Flaming, Religion, Politics and you.

[Bumper]

Originally Posted by GoodSamaritan

Actually I agree with the guy up to a point. Being subject to God, does not mean I have to stir up trouble. Then again, one of His rules is that I do not deny Him. I do not think that you are asking for that though. I really like this forum, and have benefited quite a bit by it's existence. I intend to stay here until you either close up shop or kick me out.

Even so this thread bothers me. If this is just a reaction to recent events, which I have missed and things will remain pretty much as they have always been, then I am pleased to hear it.

However, if this means that ANY mention of religion or participating in the "preacher" thread is now verboten, then I feel this is a very sad day for this site.

This is not an expansion, a retraction or really any change in our rules at all. It remains as it always has been. If any of you are thinking that our rules indicate that the rules of this forum reflect a disbelief in God on my part, you are dead wrong. It is just a devisive subject that almost always turns bad. And it doesn't always turn out that way because of a disagreement between "believers" and "disbelievers". I have, in the past, considered creating a separate forum so those interested would have a place to restrict the topic to. Then I come to my senses and decide against it. It just always seems to spark flames between members that cannot be confined to one thread or forum. Once someone gets the opinion that someone is stepping on their faith there's gonna be trouble. And it's likely to burn the forum down in the process. The exact same thing goes for politics.

It may not be that our restricting religious and political topics here suits everyone. I know better than even try to please everyone. We will try to maintain the forum, as it always has been, for those that came here for the civility. I want no religion or politics, even if they happen to be my own, to be pushed on any member here. Anyone here for that purpose or anyone wanting a chaotic environment will just have to realize this is not the place for them....

[GoodSamaritan]

I am ok with that. There are already so many places that are hostile to any mention of anything "religious" up to the point of being on par with the anti rights crowd. I would hate to see that happen here.

[dr_cmg]

Thanks, Bumper. Maybe if we think of it this way it will be easier. This site does not restrict your personal religious beliefs or non-beliefs, nor does it restrict your personal political leaning or affiliations. What it does do is restrict how these are expressed on the site. Does that mean that you can't mention God? NO! It does mean that we expect you to refrain from starting threads that are a discussion of religion or politics, because these are hot button items that always cause explosions.

That your religion and politics affect who you are and what you say are givens. Most of our members understand this, but some, whatever their religious or political position, seem to think that because we do not allow certain kinds of threads we are anti something or that we have something against them personally. That could not be further from the truth. I am a moderator and if I start a thread like that is will be removed as soon as one of the other moderators sees it and rightly so.

Having spoken as a moderator, now I want to spend a moment speaking personally. I am a Christian and as such I feel it is my duty to obey the rules unless they conflict with what God has stated. I find no conflict between the rules in this forum and my Christian duties. There are times and places for everything. This is the time and place to discuss Concealed Carry and all facets of it. If in discussing that my Christian duties and beliefs enter into the discussion naturally then they will be expressed. At the same time I will not expect anyone else to necessarily agree with me and I will try my best to express myself in such a way as to not offend anyone. If my statement does offend someone I will apologize and if it is edited by a moderator I will understand why. It's just not that hard unless you want to make it that way.

Because we live in a pluralistic society religiously and politically we have to be careful how we say things. While I may not agree with someone else's religious or political position I will not attack them for holding it. This nation we love and defend was found on this kind of principle and as members here we are expected to uphold those principles. Sometimes to do that we may have to step away from expressing our feeling and beliefs, because to do so would violate another persons right to hold different feelings and beliefs. If I must refrain from expressing myself in that incident I will. I will also edit expressions by others that in my opinion (and usually in the opinion of other moderator) violate the rights of others, cause undue strife, or are outside the rules of this forum. At the same time I realize that sometimes we say things that don't come out exactly like we meant them or we hit the post button before we have reread or rethought an expression. That is why you may get a PM from me saying that I edited something, or asking what was meant by comment, or that your post or thread has been moved until we can make a decision on it. Please don't think you have been singled out, or that we think less of you for your post. The only thing singled out was the comment and unless it becomes a frequent thing we will not think less of you. If we thought less of you because of one incident we would have to think less of ourselves as well because not a one of us hasn't done the same thing.

Thanks for reading this and for being great members. Without the great people who make up DefensiveCarry Bumper and all of us moderators would have a lot more time on our hands and a lot less enjoyment in our lives. Thanks for helping us to make DC the best firearms related site on the web. Thanks also for helping us to monitor what goes on here. We cannot be everywhere and sometimes we miss threads and posts that really need our attention. If you see one that does please report it. Every post on this site has a red triangle with a line in it at the lower left corner. If you put your cursor over that triangle the words "Report Post" appear. If you click on the triangle a Report Post window comes up and allows you to put in what you see as the problem with the post. When you click Send Post the repost is immediately posted in the moderators area and one of the moderators who is online will see it shortly and take whatever action necessary. This is a big help to us so don't be bashful. Sometimes we decide that the post is OK; sometimes it needs a little editing; and sometimes it needs to be removed.

[HotGuns]

Great Post !

[P95Carry]

dr_cmg's post adds about all else needed, if anyone still wonders.

I will however finally add this ........ think about a post first - before posting. Ask yourself - "Is this likely to ''go deep'' - "Might it go off track and off original topic" - if in doubt please, just don't post. Saves us a whole loada trouble.

[HotGuns]

Awww shucks...

I like "deep" posts...

[downrange]

as touchy as a subject this can be, i'm SO glad of the professionalism, realism, and down to earth attitudes all of the crew here have going on. ...i'm just wondering how this thread got stirred up. ?

[P95Carry]

Guys - JMHO - but strikes me this thread has served its purpose and served well at that.

I cannot honestly think of much more that could be usefully added and so am gonna close it down. I will keep a note of the url so as to point anyone in future to read it for reference.

Thx to all for some great input.