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Hmmm... between liberal christians and conversative christians, different denominations, literalists vs non-literalists, preachers vs academics, rapture/armageddonists vs non-armageddonists, etc, is it possible to have any sort of community consensus on most questions? – Juliet Jul 9 '10 at 2:06

@Juliet: Lots of questions do fit in the simple Q&A formatave clear answers - questions of Church history, the beliefs and practices of different Christian groups, the supporting argumnents for different beliefs, etc. Others will just lead to protracted arguments. I suggest we don't want a Q&A site where people just vote for their favourite interpretation, but rather a place where people can ask about the facts and reasons behind Christian belief and practice. What do you think? – Kramii Jul 9 '10 at 8:39

@Kramii: I generally agree. To keep the site interesting to scholars and academics, I think doctrinal questions should be treated as off-topic. For example, scholars will be interested in questions regarding the authenticity and dating of the Pauline epistles, to a lesser extent scholars might be interested in poetic devices used in genesis, and way off in off-topic land are questions of the "is homosexuality a sin / is faith alone required for salvation" sort which are of no use to anyone outside of evangelists and preachers. – Juliet Jul 12 '10 at 6:56

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This proposal is now in the Beta phase — example questions are locked!

55 Example Questions (9 closed)

active oldest votes

up vote -1 down vote

added by DJClayworth Jul 21 '10 at 19:27

closed as off topic by ultraviolet, Ullallulloo, Max Gontar, naugtur, Auguste Sep 13 '10 at 5:27

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

up vote -1 down vote

added by leeand00, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jan 20 '11 at 16:48

up vote -1 down vote

added by brilliant Jan 19 '11 at 8:31

My issue with this question is the word "you". "How do people define who is a Christian" would be a good question, in my opinion. – DJClayworth Jan 24 '11 at 16:45

@DJ Clayworth - What's the problem with using "you" here? – brilliant Jan 25 '11 at 22:12

up vote -1 down vote

added by Daniel Standage Jan 19 '11 at 14:03

	I'm not sure what a 'literal' interpretation of that would mean. Which bits might be metaphorical? – DJClayworth Jan 24 '11 at 16:44
	Well, some Christians believe that only one denomination should be correct, whereas some believe that many denominations (with very different doctrines) are/can be correct. I would say the former is a literal interpretation of the scripture, while the latter is not. – Daniel Standage Jan 25 '11 at 14:32
	I don't see that one is 'literal'. One side says "there is one valid baptism and it's ours" and the other "there is one valid baptism which can come in many forms". Can I suggest rephrasing the question as something like "what are the arguments for different forms of baptism?" – DJClayworth Jan 26 '11 at 14:36
	I wanted to focus more on the faith aspect than the baptism aspect (ie, "one valid faith and it's ours" vs "one valid faith which can come in many forms"). You don't necessarily have to agree with what I say is a literal interpretation of the scripture, but if I were actually posting this question I would have been able to explain the two sides without claiming that one side was literal and the other was not. I just want to know what the arguments are for each side, and your suggested rephrased question doesn't really address that. – Daniel Standage Jan 26 '11 at 22:17
	Just so you know, I am completely willing to rephrase the question if there is a clearer way of stating what I want to ask (as discussed in my previous comment). – Daniel Standage Jan 26 '11 at 22:22

up vote -2 down vote

added by leeand00, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jan 20 '11 at 16:47

closed as off topic by DJClayworth, cesarislaw, Wes P, Anthony Pegram, Bruce Alderman Jan 10 '11 at 15:33

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

up vote -2 down vote

added by leeand00 Nov 24 '10 at 16:53

there doesn't appear to be an answer that can be definitive, it's similar to why do architect's design buildings that look different... – Patrick Dec 30 '10 at 19:33

up vote -2 down vote

added by Am1rr3zA, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jan 20 '11 at 16:45

Actually a good question, as long as we stay away from accusing current political figures. Many Christians might be surprised at the actual Biblical usage of the term. – DJClayworth Jan 18 '11 at 14:27

up vote -2 down vote

added by Am1rr3zA, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jan 20 '11 at 16:44

up vote -3 down vote

added by rlb.usa Jul 9 '10 at 16:22

	For example, "Church of Euthanasia" is a strange Christian sect that advocates suicide, abortion, sodomy. oO – rlb.usa Jul 9 '10 at 16:22
	Too general. Narrow it down to two specifics and you have a topic imho. – ja72 Nov 3 '10 at 15:43

up vote -5 down vote

added by Max Gontar, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jan 20 '11 at 16:53

closed as off topic by DJClayworth, naugtur, Ven'Tatsu, txwikinger, sdavids Sep 16 '10 at 3:20

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

	Who's Christian? – mfg Nov 23 '10 at 13:34
	@mfg - I had a good laugh. =))) – Lyon Apostol Jan 10 '11 at 14:05

up vote -5 down vote

added by leeand00 Nov 24 '10 at 16:45

up vote -5 down vote

added by leeand00 Nov 24 '10 at 16:50

The third sentence makes this not a good question because it's argumentative. – DJClayworth Nov 24 '10 at 21:02

Fair enough. Mark it as something! on topic, off topic, etc We gotta get this site going, there's lots of on the fence people out there. – leeand00 Nov 24 '10 at 22:56

up vote -10 down vote

added by Martin Brown, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jul 22 '10 at 18:40

up vote -12 down vote

added by Luke Jul 7 '10 at 14:50

I'm not even sure what this means.... – theycallmemorty Jul 8 '10 at 2:20

So you can pass them? – Kramii Jul 8 '10 at 10:15

So 'revise' means 'study'? I've never heard that word used in this context before... – theycallmemorty Jul 8 '10 at 11:06

Sorry its an english word, yes it means study, its what we use in england instead of study check en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revision its the fourth bullet down for me – Luke Jul 8 '10 at 12:32

Personally, I think this is an interesting question, but that it doesn't help define the purpose of the site (which is what these questions are for). So (in that sense) not so good. [But please do ask the this on the site if it ever gets launched!] – Kramii Jul 9 '10 at 10:56

show 4 more comments

up vote -15 down vote

added by Blorgbeard Jul 7 '10 at 12:44

closed as off topic by DJClayworth, theycallmemorty, Kramii, Amichai, Bruce Alderman Jul 8 '10 at 15:06

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

Some of my favourite answers: Pentecostals: 10. 1 to change it and 9 others to pray against the spirit of darkness. TV Evangelists: 1. But for the light to continue to go forth, donate your lightbulb by calling... Brethren: Change? Amish: Lightbulb? – Kramii Jul 7 '10 at 14:35