Generally, this sort of diary - a simple declaration of theological belief - would clearly be outside the topic of this site - and the denigration of any faith is prohibited : this site is not a forum for debating the merits of various faiths or for theological discussion in general except insofar as that relates to the task of countering the Christian right.  

Regardless, I'm inclined to let your diary here stand as an example of what sort of diary not to post - unless Frederick Clarkson or others have strong opinions on the matter.  

Now, your diary does do some useful work, yes :

It forcefully delivers the point that Christianity is a fantastically heterogenous religion, and long has been. Historians of religion in America have written that even prior to the American Revolution the colonies had developed what was possibly the widest expression of diversity in Christian religious faith in the world at that time. Those opposed to the theocratic, religious supremacist goals of many on the American Christian right would do well to take note : certainly among Evangelicals, and even among those holding end-time eschatologies, there exist profound differences in matters of faith, and these distinctions can be highly significant both in theological but also in political terms.

However, your diary runs counter to the spirit of the site in several ways also:

Inherent to your theological beliefs is a depiction of religions with which you do not agree as "false" . This site does not - and cannot - endorse any one faith, or atheism and agnostic beliefs, over another. Further, such condemnations - as your condemnation of the Catholic Church - almost inevitably result in the sort of irresolvable theological debates that serve no purpose on this site.

You might, of course, object that your diary contains a simple creedal statement, of your faith, and a description of the eschatological beliefs of those in the Bible Student fellowship. Yes, that's true - but inherent to your faith is a condemnation of other faiths, as invalid or false. Such positions are strongly antagonistic to the inclusionary spirit of this forum.

In general, I would urge you to read the site guidelines ( see the link at the upper right on Talk To Action web pages ) and consider how your diary fails to serve the purpose of this site.

Talk To Action is not opposed to creedal statements per se, but were we to allow site members to post theological declarations how would we reconcile those with the inclusionary nature of the site given that many creedal statements include condemnations of societal groups, races, certain sexual orientations, and other faiths ?

by Bruce Wilson on Sun Mar 05, 2006 at 11:04:15 AM EST