Hello and all that,

My name is Rook Hawkins, and this is your introduction/rule sheet for this particular forum. The Biblical Errancy (commonly refered to as BE) Forum is in many ways not the same as the Atheist vs Theist Forum, as the whole point of this forum is to discuss only the bible and it's errors within.

BE focuses on several types of errors; contradictions, fallacies and bold faced lies. Where as in AvT, you can discuss the concepts, ideals and general philosophies relating to or partaining to matters of the existence of Gods and failure's in theistic beliefs, BE will mainly function as a forward hub against apologetics, and supply easy-to-access biblical information to anybody in need.

We will allow some extra-biblical subjects, that relate to the credit of the Bible itself, such as biblical science (contradiction in terms), Jesus' existence, matters of historicity dealing with the times and places of the Bible, and also apologetical works which aim to subdue or explain away the errors as much as possible.

You will also find letters posted by me, from time to time, from apologetics, apologists and biblicists (or wanna-be biblicists) who write to BE (Dennis McKinsey's group of Panel Members) with my responses, and possibly others from the group. Because we get mail frequently through Dennis, the arguments which they state will no doubtedly be repeated here time and time again. Because of that I leave them for easy reference in case anybody finds themselves in a similar situation in need of quick arguments and biblical quotes.

Now on to the good stuff...listed below are a mix of rules and some debating guidelines, although they are not strictly enforced unless they are taken advantage of.

1. 1. Stay on topic. The easiest thing to do in a debate is loose focus and unintentionally lead the argument away from the bible. It's very easy to do, and if done enough will cause people to loose respect for you.

2. 2. Stay honest. Beliefs are sometimes hard to let go, especially after having them for so long. But it is vital that everyone remain honest. Lies are seldom tolerated by any of the members, and could result in harsh words, flames, etc.... Lying for your cause does not validate your beliefs, it only invalidates them, and makes you look bad.

3. 3. Stay true to the main board rules. That means that if you are going to throw around ad hominems, make sure you have some meat to your arguments. Trolling is easily spotted and not permitted.

4. 4. We will require arguments to have citations represented. When quoting a bible passage, please provide chapter and verse, as well as the whole quote in dispute. When quoting from somebody else, note the author and where you pulled it from. You wouldn't like your good arguments ripped off, nobody else does either.

5. 5. Asserting is easy to do in debate, be sure to have empirical evidence for your case, or a good, sterdy argument before just randomly asserting things. For example: "The Bible is God's Word." Several assertions here. While we respect your right to your point of veiw, we aren't going to buy into it just because you say so. You have no provided empirical evidence that (a) the bible is perfect (b) God exists (c) that it's God's word. Just claiming it as such doesn't prove a thing and makes your case weak. We discuss the facts. Be prepared.

6. 6. All non-related threads will be moved to the appropriate forums. Subjects dealing with creationism and evolution, although they are related to the Bible through belief, will not be discussed here. If you wish to discuss such things, AvT or the Science forums are the place to take those discussions depending on the content.

7. 7. Sit back and relax, enjoy yourselves. It's very easy to let stress from a debate eat at you to where you just want to scream. That's one thing I know well. Just remember to stay focused on your goal, keep good organization with your posts, and let the rest happen. Life is too short to worry about the small stuff. After all, we're only mortal.

The best,
Rook Hawkins