Christian Survivors is run by a group of Christians, but it is first and foremost a survivor forum, not a Christian gathering place. We believe that every survivor deserves support and compassion, no matter what their background, experience or faith.
In line with this, we ask that all our members and their views and beliefs are respected, and that all our members try to be sensitive to others needs and boundaries.
Many of our members (Christians included!) can be very triggered by religious or spiritual discussions or information, which is one of the reasons these rules have been created. Sadly, there are many abusers in the world who use religion, spirituality, and even God in their abuse. This can create very strong and damaging emotional responses and triggers in the victims of this sort of abuse.
As such, 'heavy' Christian discussion should be kept to the Christian specific forums (The Mercy Place); and we ask that members be sure of each other's personal boundaries regarding God and Christianity before posting 'God-stuff' to them!
These rules are not intended to make Christians feel that they cannot be openly Christian on this forum. There are areas provided on the forum to discuss spiritual or God-related issues & discussions, making room for the Christians here to openly discuss their faith. We simply ask that this is done within the appropriate forums (The Mercy Place), and within certain boundaries set down for the safety of others. These rules are merely a way to ensure that all our members feel safe, validated, and respected.
Please use the following points to guide you when considering starting, or posting in, threads containing spiritual content, and also to determine if a thread or post is safe for you to read.
In line with this, we ask that all our members and their views and beliefs are respected, and that all our members try to be sensitive to others needs and boundaries.
Many of our members (Christians included!) can be very triggered by religious or spiritual discussions or information, which is one of the reasons these rules have been created. Sadly, there are many abusers in the world who use religion, spirituality, and even God in their abuse. This can create very strong and damaging emotional responses and triggers in the victims of this sort of abuse.
As such, 'heavy' Christian discussion should be kept to the Christian specific forums (The Mercy Place); and we ask that members be sure of each other's personal boundaries regarding God and Christianity before posting 'God-stuff' to them!
These rules are not intended to make Christians feel that they cannot be openly Christian on this forum. There are areas provided on the forum to discuss spiritual or God-related issues & discussions, making room for the Christians here to openly discuss their faith. We simply ask that this is done within the appropriate forums (The Mercy Place), and within certain boundaries set down for the safety of others. These rules are merely a way to ensure that all our members feel safe, validated, and respected.
Please use the following points to guide you when considering starting, or posting in, threads containing spiritual content, and also to determine if a thread or post is safe for you to read.
- Please don't bring up God or post spiritual content in people's threads unless a) they have posted spiritual content themselves and have specified that they wish to continue such a discussion; or b) you or another member have asked their permission, within that thread. If you're ever unsure, please ask the thread starter.
- If you are the 'owner' of a thread and you would like to have that kind of discussion, please try to make that clear so that other members know your boundaries. (Likewise, if you don't want to have that kind of discussion, it's okay to say so.)
- If another member asks you if it's okay for them to post spiritual content in your thread, please be very clear in your response. Using the trigger warning guidelines below, please say what level of content you are okay with. If you do not want that input do not be afraid to set a boundary by saying 'No thanks'.
- If another member posts something that you are not comfortable with, we would encourage you to use the 'report a post' function. This allows our staff to quickly identify a potential problem and respond to it. You can find out more about using this function in the Everything you need to know about CS forum.
- Please be aware that just because you know someone is a christian (even a strong Christian) does not mean that they are comfortable with strong "god talk". Also, these comfort zones may change from day to day, so please take care when posting to others on the forum, and never make assumptions regarding what they may be ok with. It is better to ask too often, than not enough!
- Please use the following trigger warning guidelines when posting spiritual content:
- Spiritual Content: - includes no scripture references, but may have some discussion of God.
- Moderate Spiritual Content: - contains scripture references, and/or a fair amount of 'God talk'.
- Strong Spiritual Content: - contains a lot of scripture references, and/or post/thread content is based or focussed on issues to do with God or other spiritual issues. The spiritual content is not just an aspect of the discussion, it is the focus of it.
- Please do not discuss any religious rituals in detail, as this content can be particularly triggering for members who are survivors of ritual abuse, potentially causing severe panic attacks & flashbacks. Should such content be posted on the forum, it will be removed, for the safety of others.
- If you personally find discussion of a spiritual or religious nature triggering, please do watch out for spiritual content trigger warnings, and give yourself permission to not read those threads/posts. Whilst our staff work hard to keep the content on Christian Survivors safe, we expect our members to take responsibility for themselves when reading on the forums. You know best what kind of material is triggering to you, so we ask that you moderate yourself.
- Please be aware that it is just as important to follow these guidelines when communicating through our Private Messaging system and in Emails!
- Please note that quotes in signatures are not counted as spiritual content in threads.
