Terms and rules

Vision

Members of Christian Forums are considerate, motivated by love and not hate, and they respect one another. Because our members are considerate, loving, and respectful, they do not make overly provocative posts, posts which seek to annoy or cause disruption, or posts which personally attack other members out of anger and frustration. Our members desire to contribute in a positive and loving manner so that Christian Forums will display the gracious love of God. Our rules were established for the benefit of both our membership and CF as a whole.

Preamble

• By using this website, you acknowledge your acceptance and understanding of these rules. These rules apply to all communications made on this site.
• Noncompliance with these rules may result in posts which are edited or deleted, and accounts actioned with warnings, infractions or bans.
• Christian Forums reserves the right in its sole discretion, to modify these rules without notice or warning. Members may be asked to reduce the size of their signature if deemed by staff to be too long. It is your responsibility to review these rules regularly and ensure your compliance with them.
• Christian Forums reserves the right to edit, remove, move or close any thread when deemed necessary.
• The content of all posted links must comply with Christian Forum's rules.
• Those who do not adhere to the Statement of Faith are welcome as members and participants in discussions, but you are required to respect these beliefs, even if you do not share them.
• You must be 16 years of age to join Christian Forums.
• Only 1 account per member is permitted. No socks are allowed. If you believe you have extenuating circumstances, please contact the admins in Support Center.
• Christian Forums, its owners, and staff will not be held responsible for any advice given or posts made on this site. All advice given or posts made reflect the views and opinions of the poster.

Language

You may post quotes or statements in languages other than English, but an accompanying translation in English must be provided.

CF Statement on Marriage

CF has taken the stand that marriage was established by God who created us male and female (Genesis 1:27-28). We regard marriage as a sacred institution that symbolizes the mysterious bond between Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:23-24, Ephesians 5:32). We believe that marriage is much more than a civil contract between two persons, it is a sacred joining together of a man and a woman into one flesh, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:21-25). Therefore, we only recognize heterosexual marriages here at CF. If you are in a same sex marriage you must select a marital status of either "Legal Union (Other)" or "Private" in your profile.

Blasphemy and Contempt of Christianity

It is considered blasphemy to insult or mock Christianity or any part of the Trinity-Father (God), Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. Honest debate about the nature of God and Christian Theology is allowed, but derogatory remarks are not. Contemptuous remarks regarding Christianity or Christian practices are not allowed.

Vulgarity and Profanity

Please do not post, or link to, violent, disturbing, graphic, or sexually explicit images or text. Profanity or foul language is not allowed. This includes using punctuation, symbols, or acronyms to bypass the profanity filter. A few non-censored words are found here.

Topics Requiring Special Consideration:

• Please check each forum's Statement of Purpose thread for any additional guidelines related to these controversial topics.
• Abortion, adultery, premarital sex, masturbation, and marijuana use may be discussed, but encouraging participation in these activities is not allowed. Illegal activities may not be encouraged or promoted*.
• Homosexuality, same-sex marriage, bisexuality, transsexualism and transgenderism may not be promoted* on CF (including member profiles). Several debate forums allow homosexuality, same-sex marriage, bisexuality, transsexualism and transgenderism to be discussed from a political, legal, historical, and civil rights point of view. Please check the Statement of Purpose thread for individual debate forums before posting. Homosexuality, same-sex marriage, bisexuality, transsexualism and transgenderism may be discussed, without promotion*, in the Congregational in line with each group's beliefs there. You may post without promotion* in the Struggles with Sexuality and Ask a Chaplain forums solely for the purpose of seeking support with personal struggles related to these issues.
• Promoting* or proselytizing religious beliefs or religions other than Christianity is not allowed. Members who are Satanists (followers of any form of Satanism) are not allowed at CF. For the purpose of these rules, Christianity is defined by Christian Forums' Statement of Faith which is found in the Sitewide Rules.
• Requesting specific prayers for deliverance from demonic activity, or requesting advice on how to exorcise or bind demons is not allowed. Posts which attempt to exorcise or bind demons, or posts which give instructions on how to complete deliverance are not allowed. Members concerned about demonic activity/deliverance may speak with a CF Chaplain in the Ask a Chaplain forum.
• Biblical end times date setting or date speculation is not allowed except in Controversial Christian Theology, under the guidelines addressed in that forum’s SoP.
• Please do not give professional, legal, financial, medical, or other counseling. Do not direct, imply, or suggest that others should disregard doctors' orders regarding medical diagnosis and/or treatment.
• Qanon conspiracy theories are not allowed on CF.
• Personal Prophecy (prophetic utterance) will be considered off-topic to all site forums. These may be posted in your own personal blog.
• Teaching that sinless perfection is not allowed on Christian forums. We are all sinners who Christ came to save. Insisting that sinless perfection is necessary in this world to attain heaven is not permitted as the topic of threads or to be brought into threads.
• Promotion of King James Version Onlyism (KJVO) or King James Bible Only is not allowed. Stating one has a preference for King James Version is fine. Tying salvation to what version is used will be seen as flaming.

* Promotion is defined as encouragement of the progress, growth, or acceptance of something including advertising and publicity.

Flaming and Goading

• Please treat all members with respect and courtesy through civil dialogue.
• Do not personally attack (insult, belittle, mock, ridicule) other members or groups of members on CF, or use nicknames to do so. A list of unacceptable names can be found here.. Address only the content of the post and not the poster.
• NO Goading. This includes images, cartoons, smileys or post ratings which are clearly meant to goad. Quoting and then editing another members post to change the original meaning, commonly referred to as "fixed it for you" (FIFY), is considered goading.
• "Calling out" a member is an unsolicited comment about another member in reference to something they may have said, their personal beliefs, their signature, or their avatar (challenging the member in a negative manner). This applies to any thread, whether the called out member is participating in that thread or not. Do not quote, or make comments about another member, in your signature or user title.
• Offensive derogatory nicknames and egregious inflammatory comments about public figures may be considered goading.
• Stating or implying that another Christian member, or group of members, are not Christian is not allowed.
• If you are flamed, do not respond in-kind. Alert staff to the situation by utilizing the report button.

Harassment

• Be considerate and do not make another member's experience on this site miserable. This includes making false accusations or persistently attacking them in the open forums.
• Respect another member's request to cease personal contact.

Congregational Forum Restrictions

Members who do not truly share the core beliefs and teachings of a specific congregational forum may post in fellowship or ask questions, but they may not teach or debate within the forum.

Christians Only Forums

There are forums reserved for Christian members only. Please do not post in these forums unless you are truly a Christian (please see our Statement of Faith to know exactly what that is). Unorthodox, non-Nicene Christian theology may only be discussed in the Controversial Theology forum.

Statement of Purpose and Off-Topic

Read and abide by each forum's Statement of Purpose; Statement of Purpose threads are sticky threads located at the top of the forum's page. Not all forums have a Statement of Purpose thread. Start threads that are relevant to that forum's stated purpose. Submit replies that are relevant to the topic of discussion.

Privacy, Impersonation, Confidentiality

• For your own safety, please do not publicly disseminate any personally identifiable information such as your home address, phone number, social security number, or credit card information. You may place your Email address and instant messenger information in your profile.
• Be truthful about your identity. This includes gender, age, etc. that you are. Don't impersonate other members.
• Publicly releasing the contents of a member's private communications without permission is not allowed.

Copyright Legalities, Spamming and Advertising, Signatures, Videos

• Use of or posting from content originating at Our Daily Bread Ministries is forbidden at the request of Our Daily Bread Ministries.
• Quoted portions of any work should not exceed 20% of the total work. Materials owned by the Associated Press must be quoted using only one sentence. All quoted copyrighted material must be linked to the web page from which it was taken. Do not violate the copyrights of others or promote another work as your own.
• Repetitive posting of similar or identical posts or threads is not allowed. Do not advertise commercial products or services. This prohibition includes begging or soliciting donations or financial support (charitable or otherwise) anywhere on the site. Do not advertise or promote other sites in your signature or your custom username title.
• Signatures may have tickers and CF internal links, but not other external links. If desired, place these other links on your profile page.
• Videos posted in the Opening Post (OP) need to contain a summary of the video, including what it is about and a few key points. An exception can be made for music videos.
• Youtube videos, blogs, and offsite materials written by members may be posted to further conversation and provide relevant topics. There are however some restrictions. You may not participate in Christian Forums primarily to drive traffic to your videos, blogs, or articles. Staff will use their own discretion as a team in deciding if your participation here is being used for this purpose and it may result in staff action.

Disruptive Behavior, Campaigning, Staff Disciplinary Action

To maintain the peace and harmony on CF you must refrain from doing the following on the public forums:

• Making posts that speak of any Staff action either with you or another member (including any bans, warnings, or editing or removal of posts).
• Do not add comments to posts once the thread has been closed for review. A closed thread means there should not be any further comment. Commenting in closed threads can result in a ban.
• Complaining about another members posts/threads, Christian Forums or its Staff.
• Spite reports - e.g. reporting in retaliation, multiple reports on a member using opposing arguments but are not violations, or repeatedly reporting a member in harassment.
• Attempting to undermine these rules or policies via campaigns, petitions, or protests is not allowed.

If you feel the need to discuss another member's behavior, or have a issue about CF, its Staff or Policies, please make a Ticket in Support and discuss it in private with our Admins and Advisors.

Bypassing Bans

Do not bypass bans by creating or using sock accounts or modifying your IP address. Doing so will result in a permanent ban and/or an IP ban and a complaint to your ISP (internet service provider).

Advertisement on the Forum

Christian Forums has limited control over the advertising on the forum. We can filter ads after we see them, which is done on a regular basis by Rex. However, there are many ad networks that advertise here. If you see an ad that slipped through and is objectionable, please note which network the ad is coming from by rolling over the ad with your mouse and noting the URL in the status bar at the bottom. Copy the destination URL by right clicking and selecting "copy link address", then post this information in a Contact Us Form. Staff will then quickly locate the ad and remove it. Without the URL link, we would literally be searching through thousands of ads manually. Please follow these instructions and do not discuss these ads in public forums.

Off-Site Organized Groups

Off-site organized groups are those which have a mission statement (agenda), protocols and procedures, and an organized leadership structure for their group. Through an organized effort on the part of the membership, these groups seek to have a collective influence within Christian Forums or a specific group of sub forums or groups of members in CF. This influence has the potential to not only undermine the authority of the community they believe that they are assisting, but will likely make the members of that community feel excluded. Therefore, CF members who are members of this type of an off-site organized group may not publicly promote that group in their posts, signatures, or on their profile pages, and they may not publicly recruit CF members to their off-site organized group. CF members who have the desire to be involved in the moderation of CF should apply for a position on staff. CF members who would like to be involved in our prayer or hospitality ministries should apply to join the CF Angels Team and/or the Ambassadors Team.

Account Deletions

We do not delete accounts. We will ban an account if you request it via our Support System.

Conversations (PMs)

You must have 20 posts and 5 likes in order to create and/or respond to existing Conversations (PMs).

What are the rules of the Chatbox?

• The chatbox is intended for light discussion only.
• Topics such as theology, ethics, or debate should be reserved for forum threads.
• No posting of images or external links in the chatbox.
• Please only use english in the chatbox.
• All Christian Forums rules apply.

Chatbox users are able to edit their posts by double clicking their post and then retyping their text or editing down to a "."

Statement of Faith

The Nicene Creed

We believe in (Romans 10:8-10; 1John 4:15)
ONE God, (Deuteronomy 6:4, Ephesians 4:6)
the Father (Matthew 6:9)
Almighty, (Exodus 6:3)
Maker of Heaven and Earth, (Genesis 1:1)
and of all things visible and invisible. (Colossians 1:15-16)
And in ONE Lord Jesus Christ, (Acts 11:17)
the Son of God, (Mathew 14:33; 16:16)
the Only-Begotten, (John 1:18; 3:16)
Begotten of the Father before all ages. (John 1:2)
Light of Light; (Psalm 27:1; John 8:12; Matthew 17:2,5)
True God of True God; (John 17:1-5)
Begotten, not made; (John 1:18)
of one essence with the Father (John 10:30)
by whom all things were made; (Hebrews 1:1-2)
Who for us men and for our salvation (1Timothy 2:4-5)
came down from Heaven, (John 6:33,35)
and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, (Luke 1:35)
and became man. (John 1:14)
And was crucified for us (Mark 15:25; 1Cointhians 15:3)
under Pontius Pilate, (John 19:6)
and suffered, (Mark 8:31)
and was buried. (Luke 23:53; 1Corinthians 15:4)
And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures. (Luke 24:1 1Corinthians 15:4)
And ascended into Heaven, (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:10)
and sits at the right hand of the Father. (Mark 16:19; Acts 7:55)
And He shall come again with glory (Matthew 24:27)
to judge the living and the dead; (Acts 10:42; 2Timothy 4:1)
whose Kingdom shall have no end. (2 Peter 1:11)
And in the Holy Spirit, (John 14:26)
the Lord, (Acts 5:3-4)
the Giver of Life, (Genesis 1:2)
Who proceeds from the Father; (John 15:26)
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; (Matthew 3:16-17)
Who spoke through the prophets. (1 Samuel 19:20 ; Ezekiel 11:5,13) In one, (Matthew 16: 18)
holy, (1 Peter 2:5,9)
catholic*, (Mark 16:15)
and apostolic Church. (Acts 2:42; Ephesians 2:19-22)
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins**. (Ephesians 4:5; Acts 2:38)
I look for the resurrection of the dead, (John 11:24; 1Corinthians 15:12-49; Hebrews 6:2; Revelation 20:5)
and the life of the world to come. (Mark 10:29-30)
AMEN. (Psalm 106:48)

Notes

* The word "catholic" (literally, "complete," "universal," or "according to the whole") refers to the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ and not necessarily or exclusively to any particular visible denomination, institution, or doctrine.

** May be interpreted as baptism is a matter of obedience and not a requirement for salvation or as a regenerating ordinance.

Faith groups and individuals that deny the full, eternal deity of Jesus Christ or His incarnation whereby He, as God, took on human flesh (becoming fully God and fully man in one person), are considered non-Christians at CF. Posts that deny the full, eternal deity of Jesus Christ or His incarnation are considered non-Christian theology and are not allowed in "Christians Only" forums. Discussions in all "Christians Only" forums must be in alignment with Trinitarian beliefs.

Challenging Paul's position as an Apostle of Jesus Christ who (although not one of the original twelve) was sent forth by Christ after his conversion [Acts 9:15-16], or arguing against the inclusion of Paul's writings in the New Testament canon, is not allowed in any "Christians Only" forums (including the Controversial Christian Theology forum). You may disagree on the interpretation and application of his writings, but not their place as canon or Paul as an inspired author of Scripture.

Unorthodox Christian theology may only be discussed in the Controversial Christian Theology forum. These unorthodox topics do not directly oppose the Nicene Creed, but are not considered to be orthodox on CF. These unorthodox topics may not contradict the Nicene Creed. Non-Trinitarianism may only be discussed in the Outreach category forums. Gnosticism may not be discussed in any CF forums. The Controversial Christian Theology forum is open to Christian members only (faith groups list). Unorthodox Christian theological topics include (but are not limited to):

• Annihilationism
• Full Preterism
• Open Theism
• Universalism