Our standards….are simple: We expect you to comment with Christian charity toward your fellow readers and to those whose causes are mentioned in the blog. This means that we will not permit comments which advocate physical or spiritual harm to an individual (i.e., wishing someone would soon “meet his maker” or burn in hell). Comments that include slanderous or abusive name-calling will be edited or deleted. You can disagree with someone’s point of view, but you cannot ”” to give one recent, extreme submission that got cut ”” call someone “a disobedient, self-willed sociopath.” Even milder forms of name-calling, such as questioning someone’s intelligence, likely will be excised.
And it goes without saying that foul language will not be permitted. Also, hyperlinks to outside Internet sites within a comment will only be allowed when judged to be crucial to the commenter’s point.
How can you meet these standards? Just stick to the issue being discussed and leave out the personalities. Back up your argument, telling why you disagree instead of saying that someone’s suggestion is stupid. Remember, Jesus had strong views, but he didn’t tear us down to illustrate his points or bring us salvation.
A salutary reminder to commenters here I think–KSH.
That’s a helpful, healthy, respectful policy.
I question the exhortation to remember the actions of Jesus. After all, didn’t he sometime style others with such monickers as “white washed empty tombs”, “broad of vipers”, occasionally telling others that they stank “like open sepulcres”? Didn’t he call his disciples ignorant fools? And once, when someone misunderstood his intentions, Jesus called that person Satan. My point is that I think it unwise to hold Jesus up as the standard-bearer of North American niceties; when judged by our standards for contemporary civility we may find Him less nice than we intended.
Jesus had strong views, but he didn’t tear us down to illustrate his points or bring us salvation
I agree with your comment policy and my view has always been that you may delete for whatever reason you wish – it’s your blog.
The comparison with Jesus perhaps runs against the grain of the point being made – for most of Matthew 23 would get deleted under the policy.
And all the Elves said, “Amen!”
Numbers 2 and 3 make a good corrective point. I like the policy copied above and think it is something we should strive to follow.
I have been in a discussion with a long-time friend far removed from these pages and have been struggling with this issue. He has suddenly become very closed minded and irrational and I find myself being unable to reason with him. Because I have respected him and seeing what has happened, I just want to shake him and scream “You crazy fool!” And I might do so, if we were together. I think that a feeling of frustration is behind a lot of this. Blog posting and commentary definitely have their limits.