It's probably very difficult to engage in a discussion about a god you believe in without preaching, of course, you can solve alot of preaching issues with the a simple "i believe that".....in front of any given statement, rather than simply going through line by line as though it were the literal word. Even then you can still preach. Consider the following.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters"
or
"I believe that god created the heavens and the earth"
We've avoided preaching here.
Now, it doesn't always work.
"I believe that you, as a homosexual, are going to hell for your sins, which are an affront to god."
We're missing a few "I believes" in the statement above.
"I believe that you, as a homosexual, are going to a place I believe in called hell, for what I believe are your sins, which I believe are an affront to an entity I believe in called god."
A little bit more cumbersome, but all of the qualifiers break the impact of the sentence and make it (marginally) easier to swallow. All in all very sticky. Of course I haven't seen anyone reprimanded or banned yet for a single sentence. I have seen the statement above, in long and short form. Thing is, when asked why said person believes any of this, if the explanation is simply restating the belief over and over it does become preaching at a point. Especially considering the lack of "I believe" qualifiers day in and day out. Statements like this are often passed along as fact, unassailable by disagreement or discussion. I'm personally glad that I don't have to make such distinctions and ban this or that user. Mod seems more like a punishment than anything else on these forums more often than not..lol.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters"
or
"I believe that god created the heavens and the earth"
We've avoided preaching here.
Now, it doesn't always work.
"I believe that you, as a homosexual, are going to hell for your sins, which are an affront to god."
We're missing a few "I believes" in the statement above.
"I believe that you, as a homosexual, are going to a place I believe in called hell, for what I believe are your sins, which I believe are an affront to an entity I believe in called god."
A little bit more cumbersome, but all of the qualifiers break the impact of the sentence and make it (marginally) easier to swallow. All in all very sticky. Of course I haven't seen anyone reprimanded or banned yet for a single sentence. I have seen the statement above, in long and short form. Thing is, when asked why said person believes any of this, if the explanation is simply restating the belief over and over it does become preaching at a point. Especially considering the lack of "I believe" qualifiers day in and day out. Statements like this are often passed along as fact, unassailable by disagreement or discussion. I'm personally glad that I don't have to make such distinctions and ban this or that user. Mod seems more like a punishment than anything else on these forums more often than not..lol.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
