I enjoy conversations about faith, even with people who disagree with me. However, for the sake of appropriateness and respect, I moderate every comment.
I do this for three reasons:
- So spam comments, especially those of pornographic nature, are not posted on the blog.
- I will not share comments with excessive vulgarity. I know that some things the Catholic Church teaches are controversial and can ignite some tempers. While my minor consideration is keeping the blog appropriate for Christian audiences, my larger concern is that comments full of vulgarity are often written as an immediate reaction when emotions are still running high. While I respect that extreme emotions happen, I would prefer to give a person the opportunity to calm down so we can have a reasonable conversation where both sides can learn from each other. I don’t want what could be a mutual learning opportunity turned into a name-calling match.
- I will not share comments that attack who I am as a person. Again, I welcome disagreement, but I would prefer that the attack is on my arguments. I understand that following Christ means that I will be subject to these attacks, but I see no reason to share them on my blog.
While not required for me to approve a post, I would appreciate the following:
- Read the post in its entirety. I know my posts tend to be on the longer side, but I think to get a full understanding, you need to read all of it. I really wish this would go without saying, but there has been a rising trend of people commenting on articles in general (not just mine) without taking the time to read them. You should be able to read most of my posts in less than 5 minutes.
- Provide specific points for why you disagree with me. I welcome disagreement, but I hope it will foster a conversation. Neither of us can learn if your response is just that you disagree.
If you have any questions or would like to see a change to these, please contact me at stumblingtowardsainthood@gmail.com.