I notice that the most relevant questions to Christianity are put on hold or closed as being unclear when even a fifth grader could tell what is really being asked. So truth is smoothered, as rightly confessed by a 'higher-up' on the website. Christians come here wanting to know what is in christianity, to them its the ONLY shopping place for truth, but the website admits as 'unable to handle the truth'. So should a site that cannot handle the truth be labelled 'Christianity'?
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1I agree.Christianity is all about truth.And personal revelation is a big part of How apostels and prophets bring God's word to us,very biblical. Still I do understand the problem with to much opinion based stuff,there is alot of questions that are very hard to answer and understand where they are coming from.But I agree The label is problematic.– AigleSep 7, 2016 at 12:30
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But I like to add.There are thousands of sites out there,if you want to talk about opinion based Christianity without doctrine,go to another site.Just not this one.– AigleSep 7, 2016 at 12:36
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@Aigle, Thx for the advice. Only care to explain what you mean by 'Christianity without doctrine' in light of voting expressly 'scriptural 'questions as opinion based.– WitnessSep 7, 2016 at 13:09
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Are you aware the "we can't handle the truth" is a bit of a joke in reference to a movie called A Few Good Men? About 45 seconds into the video ...– KorvinStarmastSep 13, 2016 at 23:02
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@KorvinStarmast No I wasn't aware. If in the midst of the 9/11 chaos any instruction for evacuation could hardly be given as joke, should things that deal with damnation of souls for eternal be so lightly treated?– WitnessSep 14, 2016 at 5:15
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@Witness I believe that laughter and a sense of humor was and remains a divine gift. I realize that some denominations (who I'll not name) have a history of being more grim faced than joyful in the exercise of our faith. Our church tries to emphasize joy, with good theological foundation. It is not by accident that we sing "Joy to the World" at Christmas time. The angels brought us tidings of great joy.– KorvinStarmastSep 14, 2016 at 15:22
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@KorvinStarmast laughter and a sense of humor was and remains a divine gift, true, it's also written that at His right hand there are pleasures for evermore. And I confess to you, a stranger, that though advanced in my years, 'some' cartoons for children I still find very humorous, notwithstanding these things have their place. When it comes to prospects of an eternity in heaven or hell, no amount of gravity is undue to a careful handling of what's in the Bible, no matter what level or platform. So I find quite upsetting any levity in handling things of unspeakable importance to men.– WitnessSep 14, 2016 at 21:11
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In a nutshell: Christianity.SE, by its structure, can serve a very useful role in inter-denominational understanding and dialogue. The chosen method is to humbly limit the scope of each topic. "On this matter of the faith, what do (denomination X believe)?" Rather than trying to be a source of "universal truth" (Jesus has that role sewed up already) the aim of improved understanding is a noble one. If that is achieved, an opening of hearts across denominational lines can grow, which brings us, as Christians, a small step closer to unifying The Body of Christ (his church)– KorvinStarmastSep 15, 2016 at 13:06
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3 Answers
All SE sites prohibit questions which are highly opinion based, and there's nothing people are more opinionated about than religion!
You say people come here wanting to know "what is in Christianity", but what is "Christianity"? There are over 40 thousands denominations and a dozen major branches of Christianity, and almost every topic will have some level of disagreement among those branches. Our solution is simple: require questions to specify which perspective they want answers from. No truth is being smothered, just organised into topics.
answered Sep 7, 2016 at 7:36
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Thanks for your response. Christianity refers to all that esteem what Christ has on offer, different views of what that means, granted. But let those that ask the question be the judge of what is mere opinion or not, because the HolySpirit is involved in their search for the truth, albeit in the background.– WitnessSep 7, 2016 at 7:54
SE sites do not try to be all things to all people.
Plenty of other sites on the internet do. What SE sites try to do is make a favorable signal to noise ratio by posting questions of a limited scope and getting answers that are confined to the question. A favorable signal to noise ratio is something generally lacking on the internet. That means that there are limitations in scope here as a design imperative. This is consistent with SE/SO guidelines.
How Christianity.SE got to where it is today
If you go through the history of discussion on this meta, which shows how this site could conform to SE general principles, what this site will or won't do well to achieve a favorable signal-to-noise ratio was discussed in detail. It took a few years to better refine how to get it right. You'll see, if you work through the history, how the caretakers of the site arrived at how to:
- Rationally limit the scope of a given question
- Avoid opinion wars
Ever since the disagreement between Peter and Paul as documented in Galatians, Christianity has had its share of opinion wars -- to put it mildly. That has not changed recently. It is not Christianity.SE's aim to simply add more noise than is already echoing around the internet.
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thanks, it makes alot more sense seen from that point of view, any other way to explain why so many questions that seem to qualify as being within it's scope yet are closed or on hold, in my opinion, is unconvincing.– WitnessSep 13, 2016 at 19:58
This site is for the academic study of religion (and that is narrowed to specifically Christianity). Believers can certainly find that useful, but the topic is to be approached unemotionally, much like the sciences study their topics without attachment. This is a study with your mind, whereas a study for truth is a study with your heart.
Please see
Religious studies, alternately known as the study of religion, is the multi-disciplinary academic field devoted to research into religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.
While theology attempts to understand the nature of transcendent or supernatural forces (such as deities), religious studies tries to study religious behavior and belief from outside any particular religious viewpoint. Religious studies draws upon multiple disciplines and their methodologies including anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and history of religion.
Wikipedia - Religious StudiesThe academic study of religion is fundamentally an anthropological enterprise. That is, it is primarily concerned with studying people ..., their beliefs, behaviors, and institutions, rather than assessing “the truth” or “truths” of their various beliefs or behaviors. An anthropological approach to the study of religion (which is not to say that the study of religion is simply a sub-field of anthropology) is distinguished from a confessional, religious, or theological approach ... which is generally concerned with determining the nature, will, or wishes of a god or the gods.
What is the Academic Study of Religion? by Russell T. McCutcheon, Department of Religious Studies, University of Alabama.
So should the name change? Well, that's been talked about here since about the site's beginning in 2011. If we answer yes, the question is what should the name be? The truth of the matter [bad pun] is that Christianity is exactly the right name. The religion is called Christianity, and this site studies it. I can't think of any other name that would help clear up this common misunderstanding for new users.