[Malady156]

OK having only been here at PC sporadically since joining, there seems to have been transitions here, there, hither & yon concerning the discussion of "religion" and/or spirituality. From the presence of this section here there appears to be some space for spirituality to be discussed, and from Doc John's rule post stickied at the top, the impression seems to be that spirituality discussion would be OK but specifically religious discussion, including naming religious figures and references to doctrine specific to certain religions, their holy texts, etc., would not.

Have some questions here because some of this seems very unclear where the lines get drawn.

First, cannot help but notice a number of threads, posts, etc. which seem to violate the rule being let to stand here. Stuff mentioning God, prayer, etc. things very specific to a certain particular religion, which would go against the rules sticky here. Rules should be applied equally to all. No doubt if someone posted here making reference to thanking Satan for manifesting His Awesome Power and granting their wishes as expressed in ritualistic format, someone would doubtless go up in arms campaigning against that, but what about protection for the rest of us who may be equally upset and triggered by continual direct references to a religious system we found to be abusive and toxic?

The two main questions on this point would be: Have the rules been relaxed here but just not updated in the sticky? And if so, will they be equal-opportunity relaxed for ALL or will this only serve those of one particular religion or group of religions (namely, Abrahamic/Semitic monotheism)?

Next. Considering one's own personal journey may have taken you in and out of different religions or belief systems over the years and considering one's personal situation just as a creature suffering from afflictions of various origins may involve personal dealings with some of these archetypal figures, would it be acceptable, while avoiding discussion of specific religions and their doctrines/dogmas in compliance with The Rules, to assign non-religious names to these figures for purposes of discussing one's own personal encounters and interactions with them. For example, something totally individual and not associated with religion at all such as "My Beloved" and "Our Ancient Enemy" or somesuch.

Reason for asking: while having completely forgotten the details of any past upheavals, Malady does recall having some difficulty parsing the rules, guidelines & boundaries on this stuff before, not just here but elsewhere (it has a generalized difficulty with such things overall, and so evidences of this should not be mistaken for any type of willful or deliberate disregard please, but treated as incapacity to parse requiring specific explanations of WHAT would be "wrong with" X or Y rather than assuming "you just refuse to follow the rules") so it felt it prudent to obtain some clarifications and specifics here before endeavoring to post in this section any further. Thanks for your patience.

[pegasus]

I think the rules are pretty clear...

This Sanctuary is a place for people of all spiritual beliefs and faiths to offer support and compassion to each other in the form of prayers, meditation, and expressions of spirituality. This forum is for support, not religious debate.

If you need more clarification sending a PM to admin would be appropriate.

[Malady156]

"ALL spiritual beliefs" and "support, not debate" seems pretty clear. So basically, one may feel free to discuss one's own experiences and views, others can respond positively and supportively or engage the topic without debate/confrontation -- and likewise one should not go into other ppls' threads and harass or argue w/ them about their views. Got it.
Thanks.

[sabby]

Hi Malady

Thank you for asking the questions about this forum. I hope I can help clear up some of the confusion you may be having.

I will quote DocJohn in one of his explanations for you -

Jesus and other prophets and such, not allowed.

"God" in a general sense is, because most religions have some sort of central deity, so it's just an easy way to reference that (alternative names for God are also allowed).

You can talk about "evil" and not have to get into talking about some sort of incarnation of evil (like Satan)

Guidelines also state that we cannot quote from any religious writing such as religious scriptures/books. Qur'an, Torah or Bible as examples.

Malady.....I hope this helps you. If you have further questions regarding the guidelines, you are more than welcome to pm DocJohn with your questions and I'm sure he would be happy to help you.

Take good care!

sabby

[Malady156]

Can we make up our own names for "entities" that might have other names in specific religious traditions?

What if "Satan" does NOT represent simply some vague "incarnation of evil" to you personally. What then?

What if he or any other entities given names in specific religions happen to be "real people" to you as an individual and your discussion of them has nothing to do with religion but with yourself and your perceptions and experiences including your legitimate MH concerns? What would be the best way to discuss these in the context of spirituality and how they affect/impact spirituality without using words or Names that others have difficulty with?

What if people use the generic word "God" but then slip in triggering talk that belongs specifically and very obviously identifiably with one particular religion? Should they be allowed to get away with that crap? There seems a big difference between a general spiritual use of the word "God" as a broad concept versus a specific religious use of the word where EVERYONE KNOWS "WHICH" so-called "GOD" the person refers to ....

Thanks in advance for any insight the admins can give on this. Malady prefers discussions of this nature (unless we need to address something private/personal specifically) take place in the open where everyone can see what has been discussed. Hope that will not be a problem here. When people say to PM an admin it gets squicked by bad experiences in the past (on other boards) of having been told one thing in PMs and told quite another in public. Just saying "well trust us we won't do that" doesn't help, either, it only adds to the anxiety that in addition to having legit concerns founded in real-world experiences, Malady has now been ordered to pretend otherwise, etc. and act in ways that could be unsafe according to its past experiences ... you get the picture, hopefully?

[DocJohn]

I'm not sure how much clearer I can be here -- no religious talk, including talk of prophets, religious texts, anything of that nature.

We allow a single exception -- the mention of "God" because it is a generalized commonality amongst most spiritual and religious beliefs in the world.

Everything else is off-limits, sorry. If you need a more open place to discuss your religious beliefs or needs, either join one of the social groups, or even find another community in which to have these discussions (like our friends over at BeliefNet).

Best,
DocJohn