How we moderate comments

Thank you for your interest in the ministry of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission!

General Moderation Guidelines

Comments submitted to ERLC.com articles are moderated to preserve the family-oriented nature of this website and in an attempt to avoid comment spam. We welcome opposing viewpoints, and we will not turn comments away as long as your views are presented with respect to everyone.

Please follow the these guidelines to insure your comments will be posted:

  1. Use a real name, at least a real first name. We find folks speak to one another online more respectfully when not hiding behind screen-names, aliases or anonymous blogs.
  2. Comments must be on topic. General remarks (compliments, complaints, and otherwise) are best delivered here or expressed on your own personal Web site.
  3. Comments are limited to 1000 characters, but multiple posts are permitted.
  4. Please, do not type in ALL CAPS. In the world of the Internet, it communicates the author is screaming at people.
  5. Posts that contain name-calling and vulgar language are fed to a large robot we keep in the basement. We don’t spend time editing profanity. And yes, because we pay the hosting bill for this site, we decide what is and what is not vulgar.

Please also note that comments may not appear immediately and are subject to editing or deletion. We will make every attempt to moderate in a timely manner, though there will likely be delays on the weekends and around holidays. We reserve the right to change our moderation policy as needed and without notice.

Comments are accepted up to 60 days beyond the published date of the article.

The Baptist Stuff

Within Baptist polity, please recognize that many issues and decisions are addressed at a local church level. SBC denominational (national) offices have no control and desire no control over the activities of a local church. This entity (the ERLC) is not responsible for overseeing and insuring the ethical behavior of Southern Baptist pastors or church members. If your concern involves a legal civil or criminal matter, we suggest you contact the proper local officials.

Issues involving pastoral staff or other church members, local Baptist associations or state Baptist conventions are local issues. Therefore the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission cannot and should not address such issues. While we regret we are unable to assist you, we encourage you to seek a biblical resolution of the issue at the local church level. If your question or submission pertains to a matter covered in this text, it is likely we will not acknowledge your submission.

All that said, we welcome you and hope to see thoughtful discussions at ERLC.com!