What's on and off topic?
What should be on and off topic here? I'll post my proposals as answers to make them easily voted on.
I propose that questions about the following are on topic: the history and historical development of Christian be …
4y ago
I propose that this should be off topic: Questions seeking specific (i.e., personalized) pastoral advice and/or c …
4y ago
I propose that questions about the following are on topic: beliefs and practices of Christian churches, denominat …
4y ago
I propose that this should be off topic: Philosophical / Truth questions not focused on the stated teachings of a …
4y ago
I propose that this should be off topic: Who’s in or out / saved? I think this is problematic unless tied to …
4y ago
I propose that questions about the following are on topic: biblical literature, including related to theological, …
4y ago
I propose that this should be off topic: Questions that are too broad (examples below) Subjective questions …
4y ago
If we use the Christianity Stack Exchange site as an initial baseline, then the What types of questions can I ask on thi …
4y ago
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I propose that this should be off topic:
- Philosophical / Truth questions not focused on the stated teachings of a specific Christian tradition
- This would include questions asking for subjective moral/ethical judgements or discernments (e.g., is [X] a sin? Is [Y] wrong/unethical?) without specifying a specific tradition with a stated position on such issues
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If we use the Christianity Stack Exchange site as an initial baseline, then the What types of questions can I ask on this site? will be a useful guide for most of the questions that can easily be made on-topic in a constructive manner.
The question types:
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Theology & Practice: These questions are the foundation of this site. If you have a question about the theology or practices of a specific denomination (such as the Catholic Church, Anglicanism, or Latter Day Saints) or movement (such as Pentecostalism, Creationism, or Calvinism) then we're here to help. Please clearly identify the denomination or movement in the question, and also please tag it.
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Biblical basis: Almost all Christians would say that their beliefs are supported by the Bible. Use the biblical-basis tag to ask what the Biblical basis for a belief is. Note however that we don't generally allow these questions for the beliefs of arbitrary individuals. You should consider showing in your question who believes the thing you are asking about, or at least be prepared to explain if challenged by another user. You should be able to point to a denomination or a well known preacher or teacher; someone's blog on the internet probably won't suffice.
Note that for denominations like the Latter Day Saints which have a broader scriptural canon than the Bible, the "Biblical" basis should be thought of as including all the texts of their canon. Note also that occasionally a belief is said to not have a Biblical basis by its own proponents, but this is really quite rare.
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Exegesis: Most exegesis questions should be asked at the Biblical Hermeneutics site. (This is one big decision this site needs to decide.) The exegesis questions that do get asked here must be scoped to a particular branch of Christianity and should indicate why an answer from that perspective in particular is needed. For example, many of the exegesis questions that get asked here ask how a passage that appears on the surface to be inconsistent with the teaching of some denomination is understood by that denomination.
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History: We have many questions on church history, historical theology, and the origin and development of ideas and practices.
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Overviews: Overview questions are usually the hardest questions to answer, but they can also be the most informative. Unlike most questions here, they are not scoped to a single denomination, but instead inquire about all of Christianity. (Or all Trinitarians, all Protestants, etc.) The catch is that we require each answer to summarise the positions of all major branches of Christianity, and if possible, some of the smaller ones as well. Anyone wanting to answer an overview question should ideally cover: Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Protestant (with separate sections for Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed, Arminian, Baptist, etc. if they have significant differences), Jehovah's Witnesses, Latter Day Saints.
It may be hard to find answers from all of these; it's okay to come back later and edit the answer to add more. Many people may collaborate on an answer to cover all the branches. Each branch doesn't need to have its own paragraph, so branches with the same or similar answers should be discussed together. And it is possible for an overview question to be closed because it would be too broad. For example, asking for an overview of church polities would be closed because there are just too many.
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Denomination survey: These questions ask which denominations meet certain specific criteria.
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Comparative religion: Questions asking for comparisons between Christianity and other religions are allowed if they focus on factual details or what Christianity says or implies about the other religion.
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