The Evangelical Universalist Forum

On Membership and Banning

People can either visit this site and read its material, or they can ask to become members of the group.

Membership in the group allows people to contribute to the activities of the group.

However, acting against fair-togetherness with and toward the group, is not only acting against “righteousness” (the typical English translation of the Greek term ‘fair-togetherness’ found in Judeo-Christian scriptures). It is acting directly against one’s own membership with the group.

Fair-togetherness does not necessarily mean agreement among us as to all beliefs. People can be opponents and still be acting in fair-togetherness toward and with one another. But only so far as people are actively being fair toward their opponents.

When two swordfighters are being fair to one another, that’s a chivalrous duel. When one or both are being unfair to one another, that’s cheating. And cheating within a membership is ground for punishment in and even expulsion from that membership–because cheating is, in itself, the same as rejecting membership (even if while still trying to have the benefits of membership).

This forum was created precisely because its creators were tired of seeing universalists and non-universalists hating one another on other forums. While a large part of their purpose was to create a forum where people can have sober, technical and academic discussions on Christian universalism and related topics, that purpose in itself presupposes as a requirement that members will act to be members of the group and so act in fair-togetherness toward and with one another, even looking and acting to protect their opponents against themselves. (For example, when I go out of my way to protect an opponent against myself.)

People who impenitently persist in acting against membership with the forum, will sooner or later be banned by the forum administrators on this ground. The ban (in keeping with the doctrine which this forum was created to discuss and debate) will be temporary and always in principle and in hope revocable, but its temporary duration may become longer, and repentance will be required for reinstatement with membership.

(Although, since this is only a more-or-less private forum and not all of existence itself, the leadership reserves the right to permanently revoke membership in special cases along these same principles.)

In short: if you want to be a member, then be a member – a term that might have been originally coined by St. Paul himself to describe (by analogy) co-operation among people in fair-togetherness as a group.

But don’t try to exploit the advantages of being a member in order to act against being a member. Because sooner or later your membership will be revoked.

Bumping this notice from a couple of years ago, for the active thread list.