The Wartburg Watch Blog Rules/Reasons -Updated 9/29/11
This blog exists to explore various trends within the Christian faith. Along the way, we have discovered that many people have been the victims of legitimate spiritual abuse at the hands of pastors and churches. Some have experienced rejection because they do not march lock step with the current “thing du jour.”
We view this blog as a community of the faithful, of those who are not so sure of the faith and of those who outright reject the faith. Within the community of the faithful are those who believe in a wide range of what we term secondary or “B” issues. Others have distinctly differing views on various political ideologies.
It is the contention of TWW that the Christian church has segregated itself into small communities that are 100% sure they are correct about these “B” issues and political distinctives. In fact, although they would deny it, they have allowed these issues to become primary truths within their cliques.
It is our hope that this blog will develop a diverse community that is interested in dialoging and learning from one another. In the end, we may disagree but we believe that love and respect should be end result of our discussions.
We have decided that we need to impose certain parameters on the comments that we receive on the blog in order to allow for a robust, yet respectful interchange. We do not mean to stifle passionate debate but want all who visit here to know that they matter, not only to God, but also to us. We are grateful that our readers would choose to visit this blog in the midst of their hectic lives. We want everyone to know that they are not taken for granted. We both are humbled that by readers who care to spend some time with a couple of old broads. Know this, we pray for you.
The Prime Directive: This is the most important term on our blog, hence the font size. Violators of this directive will be looked upon as ideologues, pumping up their particular idol- be it theological or human. This directive states the following: All commenters must acknowledge the pain some people have experienced at the hand of pastors and churches which overemphasize a particular doctrine or which apply harsh and capricious discipline. TWW exists, in part, to provide understanding in this area. We are dead serious about this (even though it is based on a concept from Star Trek). We repeat this doctrine under Definitions.
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Anything you write on the blog is open for discussion
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We very rarely delete a comment. We love it when people disagree with us. Disagreement is the lifeblood of a blog. However, if things cross over a line, we may decide to delete a comment, with or without warning. We have only deleted a handful of comments since the inception of the blog.
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We defend your right to be anonymous; however, it is difficult to respond to everyone named "anonymous". If you would kindly make up a name, we would really appreciate it. Responses will be much easier.
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We believe certain words and phrases are overused and are intended to intimidate, dismiss, or diminish.(For example, "bitter"). They show a lack of original thinking and may be manifestations of brainwashing by certain abusive groups. In other words, they are BORING. There is a thesaurus function on your computer. Use it!
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We have several guest posters. If you would like to submit a post for our consideration, please contact us.
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We will not publicly release your identity, on comments or email, unless specifically requested to do so
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Name calling will not be allowed.
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Foul language will not be tolerated. We get to decide what constitutes foul.
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All comments will be moderated.
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We will delete comments that contain what we determine to be name-calling. We will place notification in the comment section that we have deleted the comment.
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There will be no discussion on the blog regarding the reason for the comment deletion. Any follow-up comments mentioning the comment deletion will also be deleted
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If the writer, or proponents of the writer, believes that the comment should not have been deleted, he/she/they may contact us through our blog emails. We can then decide whether to allow the comment as is or with modifications on the part of the writer or not allow the comment. The final decision is up to the editors and the guy behind the curtain.
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Although the two of us enjoy the give and take of discussions that go beyond the post in question, on rare occasions, the rabbit trail becomes contentious. We reserve the right to stop the discussion at any point. We will give one warning that we wish the particular comment thread to stop. We will then delete comments that continue in that particular vein. Once again, we will not entertain, on the blog, discussions on our decision. However, the commenters who have been affected may communicate with us, via our email, and we will consider their objections. The final decision lies with us.
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We have received some comments that we are not fair in how we apply our rules. We agree, we are not always fair. But there is a purpose behind this seeming unfairness. It is a goal of this blog to attract those who might not be regularly a part of the conservative evangelical dialogue. We want to hear from them. Some of these individuals may not communicate in the same fashion we would expect from conservative Christians. Therefore, we may treat some individuals differently. If a reader disagrees with our decision, they are free to communicate with us by email.
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New commenting rule:
In order to be guilty of libel in the US, 2 criteria need to be fulfilled. 1. The person making the comment must know that they are lying. Then, 2. They must be lying for the sake of causing harm to another person. Also, if someone is a public figure, the bar raises even higher.
From this point forward, if someone wishes to say that the Deebs can be sued for what they said or that one or more of our readers can be sued for what they said, the commenter must prove that the person who is making the comment is lying and that they know they are lying and that they are doing it to cause harm to the person who is thee object of their lies.
We have been blogging for almost 6 years. We are well aware of the meaning of these words. Unfortunately some of our readers are not. We consider accusing people of libelous threats to be out of line UNLESS there is some proof of that statement. Idle threats are not welcome here.
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In the end, it is our blog. We take the hits and we pay the bills. If you want to start a blog with your rules, then do so. We might even assist you in your endeavor.
dee@thewartburgwatch.com
deb@thewartburgwatch.com