What is "All Questions Considered" folder for?

[Nemo]

This is the place for people who seek to understand other Christian denominations and perspectives to post specific questions.

To post a question, start your comment with "Question:", the name of the person you're addressing, if you want to ask a member directly, and then state your question clearly. No long statements, please.

To answer a question, start your comment with "Answer:" , repeat/quote the question, and give your answer. No irrelevant comments, please.

Only Qs and As are allowed in this folder. Other comments will be deleted at the discretion of the moderators.

[Nemo]

Q: To make it work, we need members to volunteer answering questions about their beliefs. Who want to volunteer?

[Susan]

Nemo wrote: "Q: To make it work, we need members to volunteer answering questions about their beliefs. Who want to volunteer?"

I never mind answering questions, to the best of my understanding, that is. If I don't know myself, it prompts me to look into it further, which is good. I take no offense at anything questioned or countered, all is taken in good faith that we are all searching for Truth. I am well aware of my flaw of not being clear or succinct.....and promise to try to abide by the rules. :)

[Kerstin]

Nemo wrote: "This is the place for people who seek to understand other Christian denominations and perspectives to post specific questions.

To post a question, start your comment with "Question:", the name of ..."

Nemo, this is a great idea! Thank you. This way we can keep our discussions better on topic.

[Nemo]

Susan,

Please post your questions in separate threads. This thread is about *how* to do Q&A, it is not a Q&A thread.

Kerstin,

Remember to start your comment with "Answer:" if you want to answer a specific question. I moved your comment to the proper thread, and added the required heading.

I think the Q&A format is most conducive to dialogue and learning. The process of posting questions and reading answers helps one to *listen*. We don’t listen well, myself included, and consequently we seldom learn anything in public discussions.

With that in mind, I'm hoping to come up with some rules and guidelines for Q&A that are conducive to listening and learning, and will try to enforce those rules in this folder.

[Susan]

Nemo wrote:
Susan,

Please post your questions in separate threads. This thread is about *how* to do Q&A, it is not a Q&A thread.

Nemo, I think you may have some understanding, but I do not think you truly understand how computer ignorant I am....I never even heard of a thread until this group, literally just bought my first laptop at 52 and just learned how to copy and paste....I thought I had done such a good job with your instructions! So each question gets it's own page? And I am not sure where one 'makes' a thread. If I did that before, I do not remember...Do I just leave them here for now?

[Kerstin]

Susan wrote: ".I never even heard of a thread until this group"

Susan,
I am the last one to say that goodreads is intuitive when it comes to working with the application. I've heard many collective groans of moderators, myself included :)

Anyway, to post a new thread (forum-speak for subheading), you go to the top of the page and click on "All Questions Considered". It has by default the double function of a link. A new page opens up where you see all the treads currently under the topic.

On the right side you'll see in light grey "new topic" and click it. Another page opens up with two empty fields. One is for the title you want to give the new thread (sub-heading). The folder/topic under which it appears is already filled out. Then you have the comment section. You have to fill out the first comment, otherwise it will not post - in this case the question to be asked, and post it as usual.

[Nemo]

Answer: Susan wrote in another thread, "Nemo, what is the point of the questions if there can not be a conversation?? There is already a separate thread for each question for goodness sakes...I put time into the comment because they were things I wanted to have greater understanding/clarity on and now I don't even remember what points my post brought up... I appreciate what you are trying to accomplish, but I feel like I am with my husband...you just sort of switched the conversation around to what you specifically wanted to ask??"

Susan, you asked me about my understanding of the "Organization of the Church". After I answered your question, you asked me whether I think it is compatible with the teaching of the Catholic Church. I'm not a Catholic and cannot answer that question. That is the reason I turned the question around, and asked you what is the Catholic Church's official teaching on the subject.

We can have a productive dialogue by asking and answering specific questions in turn. I understand it might take time to get used to the format, but it is worth a try.

I cannot think of a better way to understand things and get clarifications than to ask specific questions. I'm of course open to suggestions. :)

[Susan]

Nemo wrote: "Answer: Susan wrote in another thread, "Nemo, what is the point of the questions if there can not be a conversation?? There is already a separate thread for each question for goodness sakes...I put..."

But if you erase my post, my 52 year old memory cannot keep track of what I wrote.
Answer: One does not need to go beyond the generally well known hierarchical structure of Pope, other Bishops, Priests and Deacons...the point is, it is hierarchical, which I think you are aware of...and you seemed to have a problem with hierarchy. I thought you had said that you did not believe that there were levels of authority, just 'different' jobs....but what you posted seemed like it could be consistent with the Catholic hierarchy, or at least I did not see anything you posted that would be in contradiction to the Catholic hierarchy. So I was really trying to ascertain what you believe (again, 3-tier? 2-tier? No tier, everyone is equal? Does your church have bishops or any level of authority?) and possibly show you, if you didn't know, that what you posted is not necessarily in contrast to what Catholics believe or to ask at least if you can see how we can look at those same verses and see that it applies as well to us Catholics.

[Nemo]

Susan wrote: "But if you erase my post, my 52 year old memory cannot keep track of what I wrote. .."

I posted the rules in the beginning, and warned that I'll try to enforce the rules. If posts don't follow the Q&A format, they will be deleted. That's why I deleted your post.

There are no rules or restrictions on what type of questions or how many questions can be posted.

Please move your answer in msg.9 to the Organization of the Church thread, where it belongs.

I think it would be better if we restrict ourselves to honestly answering questions about our own beliefs and asking questions about others', and let the readers of the Q&A decide for themselves which views are contradictory and which are not.

[Susan]

Nemo wrote: "Susan wrote: "But if you erase my post, my 52 year old memory cannot keep track of what I wrote. .."

I posted the rules in the beginning, and warned that I'll try to enforce the rules. If posts do..."

Again, thanks anyway Nemo. This went from just trying to have a discussion to such complex rules that it is really not helpful...again, there was nothing mentioned to emphasis being contrary, if anything, I was trying to establish how it seemed things were not contrary, that what you posted seemed to be consistent with the hierarchy of Catholicism and I wasn't aware if you perceived that. I couldn't be sure however because I never got the clarification of what you actually believe. I did answer re: the organization of the Catholic Church that one needn't go beyond the usual general knowledge of Pope and other Bishops, Priests and Deacons for the conversation to continue. There is no judgement involved, just trying to understand what the actual differences are in what we believe, that the readings we read, highlight. I don't know how anyone can discuss union or lack of union without pointing out differences. I have already moved questions to separate them from the original page you didn't want them on, I have had posts erased... I've said before, to me, this was always like sitting on bar stools having a drink and discussing crazy interesting things with people of a diverse background I don't otherwise have exposure to in this way..relaxed, challenging in an immeasurably enjoyable way....it is not at this point. Thank you anyway though. I do appreciate the time you have spent.

[Nemo]

Susan wrote: ".... This went from just trying to have a discussion to such complex rules that it is really not helpful..."

After I posted the rules in msg.1 four days ago, you said you "promise to try to abide by the rules" in msg.2, implying that you understood them. If you now have questions about the rules, I'd be more than happy to answer them; if you decide not to follow the rules after all, that is fine too.

The rules are designed to facilitate learning. It does require more discipline than a cocktail-party conversation.

The time I took to answer the questions you posted in this folder is well-spent, and I enjoyed it, because in the process of answering specific questions, I learned more from the Scripture and was able to clarify and articulate my thoughts.
.

[Nemo]

Susan wrote in another thread,

"Nemo...Are we able to have a conversation? What is the point of any of this if we can not converse/learn/share? I would find it pointless. Is it the game of Jeopardy?? Isn't that the show where if I don't respond in the form of a question I lose points?? This is what I find disappointing. I thought we were adults discussing very profound things. I feel like I am in grade school or something.... I apparently cannot grasp the new rules....this is not how we used to handle all the other discussions that we have had since I have been in this group."

Susan, the "All Questions Considered" is different from the other discussions we have been doing, in that it has a defined format and rules. You are welcome to post your comments and continue the usual way of conversation in other discussion folders. This folder is for Questions and Answers only, and not for debate or 'bar conversation'. There are many other threads, such as the Eucharist thread, that allow people to do the latter.

As I stated at the beginning of this thread, this folder is for people who seek to understand other Christian perspectives to post specific questions, and get answers to their questions. The rules are designed to facilitate learning on demand.

[Susan]

Nemo wrote: "Susan wrote "Nemo...Are we able to have a conversation"?

Nemo, you deleted my response to you in the other thread, moved it here again, while deleting a portion of what I said, to only put in there what you wanted to respond to, which misrepresents what I said since you deleted the full response....
What I had mentioned was that I responded directly to your comment about 'memory'.... so that means one, we are not able to respond to someone's post?
two, my post directly related to the relationship between Judaism and the Church, which is what that thread is about no? I hope that post doesn't get erased.
So, no need to respond because it doesn't matter anyway, no need to make it more complicated, but if you could not delete this one so at least I am able to make my actual full feelings known to the other members instead of your cropped portion of my response. Thanks.

[Nemo]

Susan wrote: "... I responded directly to your comment about 'memory'.... so that means one, we are not able to respond to someone's post? .."

According to the rules, one can answer questions, or ask questions for clarification, or follow-up questions after the initial answers, but cannot “respond to” or rebut another’s answer. It is one of the main differences between Q&A and a debate or open discussion. This is why I created a special folder for Q&A, with the format and rules that have been enforced. Again, you are welcome to engage in debates and discussions as usual in the other discussion folders.

P.S. I copied your comment here and “cropped” a part to respond to, because I wanted to clarify the rules of Q&A by addressing your questions about them. I have no intention to misrepresent your comment.

[Nemo]

Kerstin wrotee in another thread, "I deleted my post after I got smacked over the head for not following protocol. {roll eyes} What this straight-jacket of a format is supposed to serve is a mystery to me.

As I've tried to explain in this thread, the format of the Q&A folder is designed to facilitate learning on demand, i.e., this folder is for people who seek to understand other Christian perspectives to pose specific questions, and get answers to their questions.

I've learned from experience that asking honest questions (Q&A) is the best way to learn things. Compared to other formats, such as debate or open discussion, it is also more likely to be productive, i.e., generating more light than heat or waste.

Everyone participating in the Q& A are asked to read the questions carefully and address the questions simply and directly. Hopefully, each person will take turn in asking and answering questions and we can carry on a genuine dialogue that way, instead of talking past each other all the time, as so often happens in public debates and discussions.

[Nemo]

If anyone disagrees with the rules, has questions or suggestions, I'd be happy to hear you out, and we can improve them together; Otherwise, I expect everyone who participate in the Q&A to follow the rules conscientiously, that is, to abide by both the spirit and the letter of the rules.

[Clark]

Nemo said, "the format of the Q&A folder is designed to facilitate learning on demand, i.e., this folder is for people who seek to understand other Christian perspectives to pose specific questions, and get answers to their questions."

It's an interesting concept. To me, it follows that in this one folder ("All Questions Considered") that has this distinctive purpose, there would be special practices so that the discussions serve that purpose.

[Clark]

Nemo said, "Q: To make it work, we need members to volunteer answering questions about their beliefs. Who want to volunteer?"

I'm late to the party. I volunteer.

[Nemo]

Clark wrote: "Nemo said, "Q: To make it work, we need members to volunteer answering questions about their beliefs. Who want to volunteer?"

I'm late to the party. I volunteer."

Thank you for volunteering, Clark. I was hoping you could answer my question about your understanding of Judaism. I asked because you seemed to have a special interest in it -- you first post in the group was on Tertullian's treatise against the Jews.