Light,
Danu has recently asked me to put one of my postings on her website, so obviously what I have to say is helping others. Our goals are the same, which is to help others. This forum is a Godsend-it really is and I know you don't want God to be a part of it, but He is whether you acknowledge Him or not. We are not always going to agree with each other's viewpoint and that is okay. This is a free world and an open forum right? Both viewpoints should be respected whether or not we agree with one another. Can we not get past this difference for the greater good? Surely we can. I am willing-how about you?
You ladies have got to relax. You need to give me a tenny tiny bit of free expression, just a little bit is all I ask. :D I have extremely modified my posting from the first one in which I listed scripture. That one I agree could be seen as breaking the rule of "over speaking my religion."
HOWEVER, in this case I was NOT preaching/proseltyzing-and you know it! You are a very smart woman and you know one little sentence does not = proseltyzing!
I just wanted to share in one sentence what got rid of the huge amount of guilt that I was feeling. If it were something I got out of a self-help book that would be okay. Well, for me and many others on this forum and in life, the Bible is a recognized self-help book, even if you don't recognize it as so. I know that there are many others that struggle with the huge amount of guilt about making the decision to go NC, a lot of these ladies are believers. One sentence does NOT constitute for "proseltyse or otherwise OVER-SPEAK OF YOUR RELIGION." And you know it!
Just one sentence does NOT constitute for "gratuitous religious content". And you know it!
"Mentioning of God, Christianity, etc., continues. THE MENTIONING OF TEXT FROM ANY BELIEF SYSTEM IS OVER-SPEAKING, AND IS NOT ALLOWED." (this exact rule that they say I broke does not even exist)
You are gaslighting me! I have thought did I miss something? Where in the rules does it say that? I looked and looked and looked some more and did not find this rule. You NEED to add the above to the Code of Conduct. I just checked it and it is NOT there. So according to your own rules I am NOT in violation. :shock:
I and others have asked Danu to update the Code of Conduct because she herself admits "the code is unclear". You need to make it very clear. How come you don't add this rule? How come you don't add that any form of God, Son, Jesus, is not allowed? Why not be clear so we know exactly what not to say on this "open" forum? I can NOT be in violation of a rule that does not exist!
Here is an example of one of my post (only the words in green are from my original post) and the only mention of God in it. This is not apart of this original e-mail, but it shows you how I spoke on the forum & gives an example of how they are trying to portray me as someone who "over speaks their religion".
Again thank you so very, very much for starting this thread. It really solidified things for me. Love the boat story from X (this part is not apart of my original post, but it is what I was responding to. The boat story is where a flood comes and a man is warned by the tv to evacuate, then the radio, people drive by and encourage the man to leave to safety with them and he refuses, then a boat comes by to rescue him and he refuses, then at last a helicopter, and he still refuses. When he dies and goes to heaven he asks St Peter, why didn't God come to rescue him? And St. Peter says, what do you mean? God sent the TV message, radio message, someone that drove by to pick you up, someone on a boat to get you and someone on a helicopter) . I am with you all, let's climb in the boat and sail away from the narcissistic sinking past. That was nm's home not ours. Our beautiful, loving, peaceful, joy filled home awaits just over the horizon under the Son.
Have an awesome blessed weekend!
SD
Hi Soaring Dove, hope you're well!
Just a quick heads up to say we edited your post to remove the reference to The Son - it was just a bit against the guidelines.
All best, Danu
Why is it okay to use God's name in vain on this forum? That hurts many of us and is putting a religion down. That is breaking your own rule, yet it is not being inforced, why not?
"In practice, this means that you are absolutely free to share your beliefs, no matter what they are, once they're legal. Also that you will not be criticised for those beliefs, or told they're evil etc."
You don't have the above mentioned rule in your code of conduct so I broke no rule. The fact that your own rule says that "I am absolutely free to share my/your beliefs, no matter what they are, once they're legal (which I have proven that mine are). Also that you will not be criticised for those beliefs" means that YOU are breaking the rules, not me.
"I know that many (most?) religion firmly believe that they're the only right one, and that's fine too. But I ask that you leave that at the door when you come in here. At least, obviously you'll still think/believe/know that your religion is the right one, but for the purposes of discussion on this forum I ask that you respond to others' religions/beliefs as if they're equally valid" -- taken directly from Danu's Code of Conduct.
I didn't put anyone's religion down so I broke no rule.
"(Or if you don't like it, don't respond to the post, and just ignore it.)"-- taken directly from Danu's Code of Conduct.
How come your own rule is NOT being inforced? What about freedom of speech?
"SHARING FAITH/RELIGION: Bear in mind that this forum is for people of all faiths and none. Please respect that by not insisting that your faith/religion is the right one. By all means feel free to discuss what religion you are where it's relevant, e.g. to discuss how your religion affects your situation with your Narcissistic Mother, but do not proselytise. This comes back to RESPECT."-- taken directly from Danu's Code of Conduct.
Again one sentence does not constitute "proselytizing", so I did NOT break a rule.
In fact, I was discussing how this one sentence got rid of the huge guilt I was feeling regarding going NC with the nm. So you are breaking this rule by not letting me share in just one sentence!
" So, for example, if somebody says she just can't forgive her NM, don't tell her that Christianity says you have to forgive, so she should. Likewise, if somebody who says she's Christian says she's struggling with forgiving, but feels she needs to as her religion asks for it, then don't post that she shouldn't worry about it, that Christianity is wrong to say that. In each case, either meet the poster where she is, or if that's not possible, then don't respond." -- taken directly from Danu's Code of Conduct.
Okay, here it says we can talk about our Christianity. So I very briefly did in one sentence. Again, you are breaking your own rule by not letting me share!
Again, You need to give me a tenny tiny bit of free expression, just a little bit is all I ask.
Both viewpoints should be respected whether or not we agree with one another. Can we not get past this difference for the greater good? Surely we can. I am willing-how about you?
(after I got another e-mail gaslighting me I sent the next one)
Hypocrites,
As stated before, one little sentence does not = proseltyzing andyou said that we are not alloud to share any religious text at all what so ever-where does it say that in the Code of Conduct. I searched and did not find that rule?
What I did find is how we are not supose to put any body's religion down, which I did not and I found this in the Spiritual section if I am correct:
"(Or if you don't like it, don't respond to the post, and just ignore it)"-- taken directly from Danu's Code of Conduct.
Why can't you follow your own rule?
There is a lot of great info on NM's and the support and advice from the other women is awesome, but the forum is not "open & safe". I have been deeply hurt by this fact. I am not the only one who has been harassed. You are trying to make it my problem which it is not because the Code is not clear as Danu herself has said. The rule you say I broke does not even exist and you refuse to add it to the Code-this is very bizzare!
Danu has been asked by others, including myself, several times to update the code to make it clear that no mention of God in any form, and no mention of religious text in any form be allowed. To be very clear on what we can and can not say on the forum, but she refuses to update the code, why? If this issue comes up again and again, why not make the rules very clear, unless she does not want to be honest in fear that she will lose a lot of the members she already has and doesn't want to turn anyone else away from being open and honest about where she stands on giving any positive mention to God. It's crazy because there are other posts that mention God and they are not deleted, very confusing. I pointed this out and she still refuses to update the code to clear things up. I don't know why I have a huge neon target on my back.
You need to update your Code so that people can make an informed decision before joining and forming friendships. You and Danu run the forum, but you are NOT the forum. There is difinately a mini-god complex going on in running the forum. The friendships that I have formed here is what keeps me coming back inspite of the harassment that I am receiving from you. I tried so very hard to "fit in", but you refuse to give me not even one little sentence of free expression with my own experiences-wasn't even commenting on anyone elses experience. I am truly trying my very best and some posts you may have noticed I don't mention God at all. I am holding back as much as I possible can, but there are times with my own experiences where my conscious will not let me NOT give credit to my Savior. You see, no you don't see, but Jesus has saved me in so many ways. I wish you two would give me just a tiny bit of free expression when I need to share my own experience. This would be the right thing to do. Wont you please see that and meet me part way?
Re: Board warning issued
Sent: Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:06 am From:Light To: soaring dove
Hi SD
You've been spoken to so many times about this.
Because you've now received two warnings, it's a VERY good idea to avoid further religious content in posts altogether. That's what I do in 100% of my posts, as do other members. As a result, none of us have warnings racked up. It's a good idea for you to do the same, I think, in order to preserve your membership.
If you aren't willing to do this, you don't have to. But there's some risk involved, of course. I prefer no risk, myself.
Light
Danu,
I know your job is very difficult overseeing the forum, but you must be fair. By your own admittance in an e-mail you sent me, the Code of Conduct, which I have read more than once, “obviously wasn’t clear enough.” I am very confussed. There are posts that have more "Christian talk" in them than the posts that I have written (excluding the first one that I had scripture in :) ). The ones that I said Creator, act of God, and most recent the mention of Son are deleted.
I did not put anyone’s religion down or call a person names as you mention in your Code of Conduct. You need to write that, no religious/spiritual expression of any kind will be allowed, and give examples (i.e. don’t give credit or reference to God, don’t mention the power of God, or the act of God, don’t mention any form of Him, Creator, Son, Holy Father, Heavenly Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Ala, Budda etc., no Christian expressions like Sister in Christ, no scripture ref or quotes. Error on the side of giving too many examples, so that there will be no more hurt feelings on both sides. Then to be fair you need to say the same about other religions/spiritual groups, no Universe is speaking to you, no Mother Nature, Earth Mother, kindred spirits, soul sisters. Looking forward to seeing your revised Code of Conduct.
(another separate e-mail)
Danu I do enjoy the forum and have benefited greatly from it, but it needs to be fair and everyone should be treated with the equal amount of respect regardless if you agree with them or not. You say that you want this forum to be a "safe" and an "open" forum, but open and safe for whom? It appears that it is open to bash God and his people, to use God's name in vain is allowed-those posts are not deleted. Where as the mere mention of "under the Son" is deleted.
This is an urgent matter and must be addressed NOW!
Something you said in a past e-mail really hurt me and I have been holding back in fear that you will get mad and ban me from the forum, but my God tells me to fear not, so here goes:
My daughter IS a miracle and no human can ever explain that one away. Nobody except my husband and I saw the huge pool of blood I woke up to that morning. My own life was at risk. The doctor could not even explain HOW a heartbeat was still possible with all the blood loss I had. He said; women have miscarried with far less blood loss than I. The doctor had a problem with accepting the miracle that was happening right in front of his face, so he offered his opinion of the 1% more thing. He also could not explain how the separation had healed without a noticeable trace. There was no medical intervention, just me on complete bed rest. For someone to say that my DD (dear daughter) being saved was due to; “a combination of luck and good medical care, medical phenomenon etc.," (is her opinion) I am not hurt by others opinions. As for “good medical care” there was none, our doctor told us there was “nothing medically that any doctor could do.” To say that merely because you don’t agree with my answer to MY situation thus deeming it inappropriate is wrong, sorry but it is. What if I said her guardian angel was watching over her that day? You KNOW that would have been accepted and thus appropriate. Yet what if there was someone who didn’t believe in angels?
The snowstorm that prevented my NM’s (narcissistic mother's) plane from taking off, if I said “Mother Nature” prevented my NM’s plane from taking off THAT would have been accepted, and thus appropriate but an act of God is not?
Why is my opinion, especially on MY two experiences, less respected than others?
Why is it that I‘m NOT entitled to share my knowledge/opinion of what happened to MY body?
This was MY experience as I see it. Just the way others have their experiences and see it the way they think is right.
On your personal experience about I Sing, I cannot give you feedback (even though you admitted you didn’t know where it was coming from and it sounded like there was a question seeking an answer) on a situation you experienced, BUT you can tell me that how I experienced mine was "wrong/inappropriate" and not aloud on your forum.
How is this not censorship AND discrimination?
To say that my opinions/beliefs/answers/feelings/knowledge on MY own situations are inappropriate – feels like something my NM has done to me my entire life!