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I ask this question on Area51, but I have re-posted here since this site is now open...

For example, here in the USA, there are many evangelicals that do not consider Mormons to be Christian, even though (some) will argue against that intensely. And there are a (small) minority of Protestants that do not consider Catholics to be Christian, as I imagine there some very few Catholics who do not consider Protestants to be Christians in return.

My question is, is this site going to be all inclusive? Will a question about Book of Mormon be answered along side of everything else? Would that be off topic or no? Thoughts?

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    Here in Mexico, Catholics do not consider themselves to be Christians. "Christians" are evil people, trying to steal members of their Catholic churches. Of course that probably means that a Mexican Catholic wouldn't even dare come to a site called 'Christianity', but it just goes to show that these definitions are often regional, not only denominational.
    – Flimzy
    Commented Aug 24, 2011 at 21:18
  • @Flimzy. Surprising. In India, Catholics are considered christian by themselves and by other churches. However, mostly mormornism is classified as a cult.
    – Jamess
    Commented Sep 9, 2011 at 15:56
  • It should be noted that non-Mormons consider LDS a cult. However, LDS does not consider themselves to be a cult.
    – Richard Mod
    Commented Sep 19, 2011 at 15:13
  • @Richard I'd refine that by stating that some non-Mormons consider LDS a cult, no religious group considers themselves to be cults. Also, I'd like to apologize to Mormons for using them as an example in this question. I didn't intend to create discussion about Mormons or any other group in particular as the question was a general one.
    – aceinthehole
    Commented Sep 19, 2011 at 15:38
  • @aceinthehole Oh, good point! Mormonism has been steadily moving mainstream for a while now.
    – Richard Mod
    Commented Sep 19, 2011 at 15:41
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    @Richard right? Consider Mitt Romney
    – aceinthehole
    Commented Sep 19, 2011 at 15:47
  • when i was in InterVarsity during my college daze, i was told by some other IV student that Mennonites were a false cult. i asked "are you sure you don't mean 'Mormon' ?" and she said, "No, Mennonite." apparently because Mennonites were pacifists that refuse to join the military or to bow down to the American state-church idolatry, they are to be counted as a false cult.
    – robert bristow-johnson
    Commented Sep 18, 2014 at 14:49

6 Answers 6

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Any topic about Christ-centred faith must be welcomed here. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by trying to ban any topics that don't meet our personal doctrinal standards.

Some of the reasons are as follows:

  • The site is called "Christianity", not "Evangelical Christianity", "Trinitarian Christianity" etc. We must remain true to this title. You're welcome to start a new proposal over at Area 51 if you feel the need.
  • This site isn't a Church - it is a web site. It doesn't need a single unifying doctrinal position. It just needs people who are prepared to respect each other's point of view even if we don't agree with them. If we can't handle a little disagreement, the site is doomed anyway.
  • As a community, we'll never all agree on what constitutes "real" Christianity. The only way forward is to welcome all perspectives and find ways to manage out differences. Appropriate tagging is most important in this respect, and works well on other SE sites.
  • Even if we try to exclude ideas that are based on doctrines we don't agree with, people who hold those views will post here anyway. For the health of the site, we need to embrace this inevitability rather than try to suppress it.
  • Many of us would be interested in developing a better understanding about groups that we consider "heretical". This will only be possible if we actively encourage posters from these groups to participate here. Handled properly, this can lead to growing clarity regarding our own doctrinal position, and will help us to build bridges across our doctrinal divides.
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    +1 Well put, and looking at the votes for my answer even further convinces me of the points you make.
    – StackExchange saddens dancek
    Commented Aug 23, 2011 at 22:40
  • This is a dangerous compromise. Of course we won't agree on what constitutes "real" Christianity. That's what 2000 years of Christian orthodoxy is for. And concerning point #5, how can you reconcile that with Scripture: "For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain" (Titus 1:10-11).
    – user1849
    Commented Jan 2, 2013 at 0:50
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    @reformed:There is no compromise here: nobody is pretending that this is a Christian site run by Christians rather, we're open about being a secular about Christianity that welcomes contributions by Christians.
    – Kramii
    Commented Jan 2, 2013 at 8:34
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I can't see how we could reasonably deny Mormons (or Jehovahs Witnesses) the right to ask questions, insofar as they have something to do with spirituality and not disaster preparedness.

I'm a Catholic and I really don't know what to expect. I don't think many of the people who have committed to this site are Catholic as well. As long as we treat each other with the utmost respect, avoid flamebait, and answer honestly - with prudence - we'll have ourselves a good time.

However, I think there might be a total gray area when we get to asking questions regarding evangelization and proselytizing - probably fodder for another meta question.

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    +1 for utmost respect. I would add that disagreement isn't necessarily a problem, as long as you're open to allowing others to have and keep their point of view.
    – Milner
    Commented Aug 23, 2011 at 19:31
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    Utmost respect should be plastered in ten-foot high letters at the top of the page :)
    – Benjol
    Commented Aug 23, 2011 at 21:03
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I think it'll be important for answers to be focused on the questioners point of view. Questions about the Book of Mormon should be based on answers from the Book of Mormon. Questions specified as targeting Catholics can draw upon the Bible and Catechism for answers.

As long as the answerer's source is something the questioner would believe in, it's a potentially correct answer. Even if others may disagree with it.

I'm not sure how differing answers should be handled, though. As long as they're based on some form of Christianity truth, I don't think they should be deleted. Maybe differing views should just be comments to prevent having popular beliefs drowning out the questioner's answer?

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As I said in my comment to dancek, the full title of The Book of Mormon is The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Something titled Another Testament of Jesus Christ is certainly Christian, even if it's not supported by your denomination.

As an example, if we were to try to narrow down the scriptures that this site supported, I fear we would end up having only certain translations of the bible approved for this site.

Which would we pick? King James Version?

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    The logic is invalid, the name has nothing to do with whether it's Christian or not. Not downvoting though, you're entitled to your opinion.
    – StackExchange saddens dancek
    Commented Aug 23, 2011 at 22:34
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    @dancek The name references the material in the book. I don't know if you've read it or not, but it certainly testifies of Christ.
    – Kalamane
    Commented Aug 23, 2011 at 22:36
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    that doesn't make your logic valid. I've read some of the Book of Mormon, some of D&C, had discussions with Mormon missionaries etc -- I don't know what it matters. I'm not being disrespectful on purpose, it's just that from the mainstream Christian point of view, Mormonism is not considered part of Christianity. Funny that you should mention narrowing down the choice of Bible translation, I thought Mormons were KJV-only in the USA.
    – StackExchange saddens dancek
    Commented Aug 23, 2011 at 22:53
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    It is valid. Especially as it relates to being on-topic on a StackExchange site.
    – Kalamane
    Commented Aug 23, 2011 at 22:55
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I believe that this site is for everyone that claims he is Christian. Don't forget that any denomination claims that has the truth, and considers anyone with different doctrinal opinions as non-christian. A variety of answers from the bible gives the opportunity to everyone to decide within his heart what is correct.

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I also believe this site is for everyone that is of a Christ-centric faith. However, questions that go beyond the scope of the 66 books of the Protestant Bible may be open to some controversy, in regards to on-topic relevance. This is part of what the Private/Public Beta phases of the SE site-building process is for.

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    Questions that fail to include the entire canon of the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches will of course invite controversy since you aren't referring to the whole bible ... right?
    – KorvinStarmast
    Commented Jan 26, 2017 at 14:08

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