Rationale and Purpose of topic-based chat rooms on C.SE

Question

Contents

• The "Charter": Rationale and Purpose for creating topic-based chat rooms (see below).
• The "Index": a community wiki answer containing the list to active chat rooms that are topic based. A quick reference that can be updated by everyone as topics, rooms, and hosts are added/removed/edited.
• The "Welcome Message": A community wiki answer containing instruction to new visitors. From comments in the main site, we can direct new visitors by simply pasting this link.
• The "Guide": A community wiki answer containing the guide for chat room hosts to update the Index.

Rationale of the chat rooms

I have noticed that there are 1-2 dozen topics that new users have more difficulties than others. These are usually topics that can easily turn a question into:

• opinion-based
• requiring scope
• off topic
• philosophical / sociological
• truth questions

One solution is to direct these new users to a topic-based chat rooms where they can receive clarity about the topic as well as help from other users to construct a good question that meets C.SE standard.

The ongoing discussion in the topic-based chat room can also generate new questions.

Purpose of the chat rooms

1. Help new users to construct questions within that topic to meet C.SE standard. Badly formed questions by new users can then easily be guided in one of these topic-based chat room rather than cluttering comments.

2. Help new users to have more clarity of the topic.

3. Direct spillover discussion of a question or an answer to the appropriate chatroom rather than these 2 extremes:

   • individual chat rooms created for an answer (good discussions on the topic are then scattered and hard to find)
   • Upper Room (too many topics discussed in one room, making it hard to find the relevant topic)

   Content-based discussion can then happen in these chat rooms rather than cluttering comments.

4. Ongoing discussion of the topic by regular users interested in that topic, which can generate new questions (as I often see happening).

We don't try to list all Christian topics

The list of topics is purposely limited only for topics that tend to generate a lot of confusion / disagreement / debate, which then hurt the objectivity of the questions.

Answer 1

Welcome message

You are directed to this answer in order to orient you to:

• assist editing your questions so they are acceptable for Christianity.SE by chatting with other users interested in the topic.
• be more familiar with the topic by reading past discussion as well as raise questions in the chat room instead of in the comments

Please find your topic from the list here and click on the topic link to enter the chat room.

Rationale & Purpose of the chat rooms

See the meta question.

Policies of the chat rooms

1. All chats should adhere to Stack Exchange code of conduct. Flag a message to the moderator if it violates the code of conduct.
2. Christianity.SE is designed to be friendly to other denominations. Every denomination has its own view of the truth. This site is to learn about each other rather than criticize each other. Debates should be done only for generating new understanding of each other.

Answer 2

Guide for updating the list

1. A topic-based chat room host is a quasi-moderator (with no real moderator power), who is expected to be relatively active in the room.

   • A host should invite participation of established users familiar to the topic rather than dominating the discussion.
   • A host is supposed to monitor activities there and resolve dispute by reminding everyone of the policies as well as to the purpose of the topic-based chat rooms.
   • A host should keep the room from being frozen due to 14-day inactivity (by posting a dummy message), or ask a moderator to unfreeze the room.

2. Interested hosts can create new rooms or designate an existing room as the 'main room' for the topic. They can then update the Index with links to their chat profile and to the room. NOTE: To make the new room not auto deleted, there must be a minimum of 15 comments by at least 2 users who post at least 3 comments each (see SE chat FAQ and this answer).

3. If a host doesn't wish to be active anymore, please add the room link to the 4th column, remove the link from the Topic column, and remove your name from the Host column.

4. If you wish to host another room for the topic, please contact the main room's current host. More than one host can be listed in the 2nd column. The new/old room can be put in the 4th column.

5. Different topics can be linked to the same room & host, which can be split later. When splitting, add the old room in the 4th column.

6. If you find an existing rooms that have significant content related to a topic, please add them to the 4th column.

7. The list of topics is purposely limited only for topics that tend to generate a lot of confusion / disagreement / debate, which then hurt the objectivity of the questions. If there is such a topic but it is not listed, you can add a new row to the table, but closely related topics should try to be included in the existing topics by updating the sub-topic column (#3). We aim to limit the number of topics to under 2 dozen.

Rationale & Purpose of the chat rooms

See the meta question.

Policies of the chat rooms

1. All chats should adhere to Stack Exchange code of conduct. Flag a message to the moderator if it violates the code of conduct.
2. Christianity.SE is designed to be friendly to other denominations. Every denomination has its own view of the truth. This site is to learn about each other rather than criticize each other. Debates should be done only for generating new understanding of each other.

Answer 3

Index to C.SE Topic-based Chat rooms

Click here to learn about the list and click here for a guide to update the list.

Topics are listed alphabetically

Topic w/ link to the main room	Host	Sub topics, short description	Other rooms w/ significant content
Bible, doctrines of the		How denominations integrate the Bible into their doctrines: Protestant vs. Catholic vs. Biblicist understanding of Scripture, Protestant attributes (sufficiency, clarity, authority, necessity), inerrancy and their variations (Chicago statement, Dei Verbum, soft-inerrancy, etc.), inspiration vs. inerrancy vs. infallibility vs. illumination, sola scriptura vs. prima scriptura vs. solo scriptura, evangelical principles of exegesis, etc.
Bible, history of the		Historical aspects of the Bible: debates over authorship and dating of a book, manuscript & codices & copies & scripts, canon formation, canon comparison, debates over canon, non-canonical books, translation issues, editions & textual criticism (Textus Receptus vs. Critical editions), KJV-only and impact on doctrines, etc.
Bible, interpretation of the		Hermeneutical principles: the 3 worlds (author, text, reader), criticisms & literary theories & cultural background, exegetical methods, typological schemes (of OT verses, four senses of Scripture, etc.), integration schemes (combining revelation, written Word, tradition, reason, experience), from Bible to doctrine (Hermeneutics ? Exegesis ? Theology ? Doctrine), etc.
Catholic-specific doctrines		Purgatory, praying to saints & Mary, Mariology, Papacy, Catholic understanding of sacraments, Magisterium, etc.
Christianity, the study of		Christian theology in relation to other disciplines: philosophy vs. theology, faith vs. reason, conscience & capax Dei, theological anthropology, foundations of ethics & morality, psychology & philosophy of religion, religious studies, comparative religion, mythology, etc.
Christian, who is a?		Christian self-understanding: relationship with God vs. denomination / concept / religion / theology, conversion, Christian and the collective (the Kingdom vs. body of Christ vs. the universal church vs. the local church), conscious vs. anonymous vs. cultural Christian, inclusivism vs. exclusivism vs. universalism, etc.
Denomination, the role of?		Denomination in relation to a Christian: orthodoxy vs. orthopraxy vs. orthopathy, denomination and the Bible / theology / creeds / confessions, comparative Christianity, mere vs. rigid Christianity, ecumenism, ecclesiology, historical development of denominations, etc.
Eschatology, objective		Description of the end of the world: various millennial schemes, sign of the times, meaning of Daniel, Ezekiel, and the Olivet discourse, speculations of the new heaven & earth (what it looks like, experience of the new body, whether there is animal / pain / eating / etc., relation with beatific vision, etc.)
Eschatology, subjective		Subjective experience of the after life: Soul sleep vs. intermediate consciousness, Hell vs. Sheol, Heaven vs. Purgatory, annihilationist vs. eternal suffering, near death experiences, heaven/hell "tourism", relation of various conceptions of human nature to preservation of individuality, etc.
Free will		various models of free will (libertarian, Molinism, compatibilism, Freedom of Excellence, etc.), reconciliation of God's decrees & foreknowledge with justice / fairness about predestination & election, free will vs. damaged will vs. total depravity, biblical hints of free will vs. determinism, interplay between free will with various aspects of salvation (faith, perseverance, etc.), nature of God's omniscience: open theism vs. God outside time, etc, subjective vs. unconscious influence of human power to choose, etc.
God, Jesus and the Trinity, nature of	GratefulDisciple	Historical development of the Trinity and of Christology, scriptural basis, various heresies and criticism, Trinitarian variations (social trinitarian, etc.), names & attributes of God (divine simplicity, impassibility, etc.), epistemology (analogy of being, analogy of faith, apophatic vs. cataphatic, etc.), definition (Chalcedonian, Greek & Hebrew concepts, etc.), etc.
Gospel, atonement and salvation		Why Jesus had to die, how does Jesus's death and resurrection saves us (various theories of atonement) and how we appropriate it (faith vs. grace vs. free will vs. works), how one becomes a Christian (conversion, born again, baptism, Holy Spirit), free grace vs. Lordship salvation, aspects of salvation (justification, sanctification, perseverance, assurance, union with Christ), how non-Christians & OT people & never-heard-gospel are saved, etc.
Latter-day Saints, Church of Jesus Christ of		Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, apologetics, restorationism, relation to Trinity, etc.
Morality and Ethics		Application of the Bible and natural law to determining right and wrong in the world, natural law case studies, divine command theory vs. natural law, personal morality (how morality relates to conscience, happiness, virtues, pleasure, duty, nature, desires), morality and institutions (business, governments, courts, police, etc.)
OT Commandments and covenants		Which laws are binding for Christians (Sabbath, etc.), various OT relations with the New Covenant, various covenantal systems & dispensationalism, the meaning of Jesus "fulfilling the Torah", etc.
Spiritual gifts		Various gradations of cessationism & continuationism, interpreting modern healing / miracles / vision / word-of-knowledge / speaking in tongues, interpreting modern claims of prophets / apostles, different interpretation by denominations, relation between sign gifts and canon, verification & proofs, statistical relation of manifestations to geography and psychology, etc.
Spirituality		Various Christian religious practices (prayer, fasting, rosary, meditation, examination of conscience, repentance), theosis vs. beatific vision, experiences of saints, private revelation, discernment of spirit, exorcism, etc.
Swedenborgianism		Relation with mainstream Christianity on sola fide, Trinity, Penal substitution, etc.	Sola Fide
Theodicy		Most of "why God allow" or "how can God be just/fair" discussion goes here, focus is on God allowing suffering / evil
Young Earth Creationism	Matthew	Six-day creation, Creationism vs. Evolutionism, science vs. historical reading, etc.