Posted by Dinah on February 1, 2005, at 8:09:56
In reply to Lou's response to Dinah's post-pomf » Dinah, posted by Lou Pilder on February 1, 2005, at 7:44:59
My understanding of Dr. Bob's previous rulings is that such things can be posted if preceded by "the people of my faith believe" since it is framed as belief, not fact, other than as a fact about belief. I'm not sure about "I believe".
So that my understanding is that you could indeed say "People of my faith believe that there is only one God" or "People of my faith believe that Jesus is not the only way to God", but I'm not sure about statements that tell other people what they should do, even stated as a belief, and I'm reasonably sure that things that actually are insulting can't be stated as a belief.
So a belief that is stated as a belief would be ok. A belief stated as a belief, but also containing the statement that everyone else should believe the same may or may not be ok. "People of my faith believe that everyone should ..." may not be ok but "People of my faith believe that they should..." would be ok. And "People of my faith believe that xxxx people are doomed to eternal flames" would not be ok.
I guess I see "People of my faith believe that the only way to God is through Jesus" is a statement of faith alone, without a condemnation of other faiths. But I suppose it could be read as "People of my faith believe that everyone should find God through Jesus only" or "People of my faith believe that those who don't go through Jesus will never find God". I don't read it that way, but I guess that's a determination that only Dr. Bob can make.
You're right. I don't understand the rules enough to comment on this. I was just commenting on Dr. Bob believing the statement is one defined by the individual, when it is actually a tenet of the Christian faith that is defined broadly and does not need individual interpretation. At least that's my understanding, since it's a quote from the New Testament, and it has always appeared to be a tenet of the faith in my Sunday School experience.
I suppose I could be wrong about that too, though.
Anyway, it was a limited in scope post, and not intended to comment broadly on the post, the statement, or Faith board standards. Besides, didn't Dr. Bob recently say that he was rethinking Faith board standards? Perhaps he has changed them.
poster:Dinah
thread:450265
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20050128/msgs/450940.html