The Christian Mumsnetters Board

[hasanyoneseenmykeys]

The Christian Mumsnetters board is relatively new, and has been created primarily for Christian mumsnetters to discuss things and ask each other questions.

About half of threads on this board contain numerous comments from people who are clearly not Christian, either calling into question Christian beliefs, making irrelevant comments or saying things which are actively offensive to Christians.

There is a place for this kind of discussion, and this place is the Philosophy/Religion board. Many of the Christian mumsnetters are also active on this board and will be interested in this kind of debate, in its place. But the constant onslaught of disrespectful or irrelevant comments on the Christian Mumsnetters board is unnecessary, and is making the board irrelevant.

We have the FWR Sex and Gender board for debate, and a separate board for LGBT parents. It would be unacceptable for a load of people from the FWR board to come over to the LGBT parents board and start criticizing people's choices on there. Or for people to start going on the Home Education board and criticise those parents choices. Or on the foreign travel board and start posting that using air travel is unethical. There are a range of different beliefs on MN, and for the most part people are respectful of the boards created for different purposes, but for some reason not on the Christian Mumsnetters board.

Is there a way of giving people a warning system or blocking them from this board if they keep doing this? Also for MNHQ to recognise that a statement like "God is imaginary" or "Jesus didn't really exist" might be okay in most areas of Mumsnet but on the board which has been created specifically for people who believe that God and Jesus do exist it is really disrespectful. In the same way that a comment like "I think it's wrong to transition children" might be acceptable as part of debate on FWR but not so much on the LGBT parents board. Aside from the issue of being offensive, it's annoying when about a third of the thread is posters who are not addressing the OP but just dismissing religion in general.

A few weeks ago there was a thread where the OP asked for a biblical/Christian perspective on an issue in her life. Loads of replies were either advice from a clearly non-Christian perspective, or "why do you want a Christian perspective, what's wrong with other perspectives" or just generally "religion is made-up nonsense".

Please could something be done to ensure that this board is used for the purpose it was set up?

Completely agree, op. My understanding is that the Christian board was set up partly because every thread on Religion/Philosophy on which Christians discussed their faith would end up getting derailed by this sort of thing, so it’s a shame that the same thing is now happening on there. (Faod I’m not saying people shouldn’t debate the existence of God or criticise Christianity or any other faith, only that it makes the board unworkable if it’s almost every thread).

@hasanyoneseenmykeys I Completely agree too. I think I must have been composing my own request at the time you were posting 😀. I hope @MNHQ hear us. 🙏

Yes I agree wholeheartedly with this. If people want to debate whether God/Jesus exists they can do it elsewhere, there's no need for that on the Christian board. It shouldn't feel like a battle zone, but it has done this morning.

Has anyone reported the problem to mnhq??? They are normally pretty good at taking fake posts down. Sorry you are having such a hard time with this. I'm not a religious person but I think everyone should be able to have their beliefs and not get harassed for it.
🙏🫂❤️

I will preface this by saying that I am an atheist, :-) but, I think that the question needs to be asked of these people… what is it that they’re so afraid of that they feel the need to wade in on a specific discussion in order to derail it round to their point of view.

I mean if someone is that certain that there is no God, then surely that’s all that matters? What’s it to them if other people believe that there is?

I think MNHQ have been a bit slow to react. The issue is that comment which would not be offensive on some boards are offensive on other boards. I think MNHQ are judging the comments simply on their merits without considering the context that someone has come into a space which was not created for them and where almost everyone in the space will disagree with them and likely be offended. Plus the fact that the actual issues people are posting about can't be addressed because of all the goady or offensive posts.

It's like the difference between standing on a street corner and shouting "Jesus isn't real", or walking into a church and shouting it. I really hope MNHQ can moderate these comments with that in mind.

@hasanyoneseenmykeys thank you for the explanation. I hope it gets sorted soon

Agree
@NotOneOfTheInCrowd You raise a good point about why someone would bother - nothing better to do or maybe AI? Trying to challenge derails the thread on a specific question. The thread then becomes posters trying to end the derail/ signpost to Philosophy and Religion board while others try to answer the actual question from a Christian perspective. It just makes you want to move away from the board altogether. I usually don’t try to combat as it feels like rising to bait but it can be a pile on.

I expect very robust discussion on the Philosophy and Religion board and other parts of MN and go there knowing I may be told I believe in a sky fairy and God doesn’t exist.
i have used this board when feeling fragile to ask for or if I can offer prayer and discuss things im not then in a frame of mind to deal with such comments. I do realise this is the internet and there is only so much MN can do.

While I support you in having a place to discuss your values without hate spilling over into it, I do take great exception to your inflammatory comment.

It would be unacceptable for a load of people from the FWR board to come over to the LGBT parents board and start criticizing people's choices on there

You obviously have zero idea of what the FWR board is about. Most if not all, fully support the LGB in their fight for equality and rights, as well as safeguarding children.

Probably because Christian Mumsnetters are there to get a Christian point of view on something from other Christians, not to be attacked/have to defend themselves. Same for those on the Jewish Mumsnetters board and on the Muslim Mumsnetters board. If you want to question theology, take it to the theology board, rather than attacking Christians/Jews/Muslims on their boards.

I think the pp you're quoting is agreeing with/supporting you.

And I agree too. I think some (not all) atheist comments on mn are so loudly aggressive, they're trying to convince themselves almost. I've seen it before and now avoid all threads on those topics.

Your sentence says everything there.

You obviously have zero idea of what the FWR board is about. Most if not all, fully support the LGB in their fight for equality and rights, as well as safeguarding children. LGB? Yep. T? Absolutely not. FWR is one of the most transphobic spaces on the internet, and while there is some valid discussion to be had, the OP is absolutely correct in that a parent posting about their trans child on the LGBt board is at risk of being highjacked by radical feminists who feel that the trans debate overshadows everything else. In fact I’ve seen posts from feminists on other boards where a child has come out as trans suggesting that the parents are under no obligation to accept this.

So I think you’re being somewhat disingenuous about the FWR board’s attitude towards inclusion on every level, when you know full well that it’s not.

Thanks. Just multitasking atm! 🤦‍♀️ Agree with you,@NotOneOfTheInCrowd . 👍

You misunderstand my point.

I was referring to the devout atheists who highjack the Christian (and other religion) boards to make it clear that there isn’t (in their opinion, although they spout it as fact) a God.

My point is that it’s perfectly ok for them to not believe that there is a God, but it shouldn’t matter so much to them that other people believe differently that they invade those spaces to make their opinions known. IYSWIM?

In short, I am on the side of the Christians, and think that the high jackets are weird and insecure about something in order to feel they should have the right to go to those lengths.

I'm posting in support of the OP. I'm Christian and was thinking of contributing to a couple of threads, then I saw they were being derailed by hostile posters and decided not to bother.

This problem will kill the board in its infancy if a solution isn't found.

I think the way to go is to not have the threads appear in Active threads so as not to attract the type of poster with that agenda in the first place. And then maybe add a proviso to the opening post that you’re now in Christian Mumsnetters please be respectful etc. The way Black Mumsnetters had to be similarly approached to avoid bad faith pps.

Thanks all for taking the time to share your thoughts and feedback about how this board is being used.

This board was created as a space for Christian members of Mumsnet to connect, share, and discuss topics. Like all our boards, it operates under our Talk guidelines, and we will remove comments that are personal attacks or we judge deliberately inflammatory if they’re reported to us. At the same time, we believe it’s important to strike a balance - banning disagreement or criticism outright would go against our purpose as a forum for meaningful discussion. Religion, after all, often grapples with fundamental questions about life, morality, and existence, and even within faith communities, there’s no single interpretation of scripture or doctrine.

We want this to be a space where people can discuss, disagree, and ideally find common ground. However, we do ask that discussions remain constructive and MNers avoid comments intended to cause hurt and/or mock beliefs. Those who wish to get into the weeds of theological debates about the existence of God will probably find the general Philosophy/religion board better suited.

We’re carefully considering all the feedback shared here and in your emails and will discuss it further at MNHQ.

Tbh I think this is the problem with mumsnet trying to be all things to all (wo)men. For me, mn is excellent for parenting (with a focus on mothers), pregnancy, relationships advice (with a focus on women's pov), feminism, women's fashion.

In other words, things that are particularly about women's and mothers' POV.

Wherever it veers from those above topics, it is less helpful (imo). So I go somewhere else for other topics.

@LetsNCagain But being a Christian is not just a religion, it is a way of life that is woven into the fabric that governs everything you listed inc relationships advice, and feminism, fashion.
I had no idea the board existed but interested. I have long given up on the philosophy boards as you can be guaranteed they will always get derailed. It's impossible to help posters seeking to know more about Christ, looking for a church or simply discussing doctrine gets derailed with comments like, 'why do you need a church? i know a helpful community somewhere and there's no Christ, you do know its a fairy? etc etc. I'll wait to see if @OP's comments are taken on board.
At the same time, we believe it’s important to strike a balance - banning disagreement or criticism outright would go against our purpose as a forum for meaningful discussion.
I'm wondering how MN will navigate a balance here if someone asks for advice about becoming a Christian or seeks to discuss specific Christian doctrine amongst people who already share the faith should endless debates/criticism be allowed from obviously non Christians attacking fundamental Christian beliefs? if that is the case then the board is pointless.

My point is that being a Christian is not unique to women. Being a mother, wife, DIL, pregnant, or breastfeeding, are. It is my opinion that mumsnet is better for exclusively women's issues.

I never said being Christian is "just a religion"?!

Edit to add the word exclusively although I felt I was clear in the first place

I may be able to clarify that.

Firstly as an atheist I don't claim to know there is no god. After all a god might have turned up, made a universe and then left. There'd be no way to know.

However the so called proofs of the most popular gods are baseless and the internet and society is drowning in misinformation as it is. When someone repeats an obvious falsehood such as "there is proof Jesus existed" it's important to point that out for the benefit of all. He may well have done, but the claim of proof is misinformation.

We should also speak up when someone claims vaccines contain a mind control chip and/or are 100% fatal. It's not just religion.

Also religion affects me in the UK. Other people's beliefs are used to decide on legal matters and to guide the education in public schools. There is pressure to bring back blasphemy laws for Islam and Christianity, to ban dogs from public places and so on.

Having said that I don't normally post on the special Christian board. I did make one post today as someone thought when Jesus was born they started counting the year from zero (BC/AD)

I felt that confusion needed clearing up as sadly it's a common mistake now.

I have been so distressed by the deeply offensive anti Christian rantings today that I have left the board in order to protect my wellbeing.

There is a difference between pointing out a difference of opinion, i.e saying well I don't believe that God exists but I understand and realise that that is important to the people on this board, and just coming on the board to shout that it's all a load of crap and that the fabric on which people's lives are built is a complete web of fraudulent lies. The first, I would be annoyed with but tolerate. The second is deeply offensive and unnecessary and doesn't foster any sort of debate. It's just nasty.

Thank you for raising this @hasanyoneseenmykeys

I’m a Christian and am dismayed by the way the Christian Mumsnetters board has been repeatedly derailed by hostile posters.

On the thread currently under discussion there are several repeat posters who simply will not accept that their behaviour is unacceptable, disrespectful and offensive to Christians on the Christian Mumsnetters board.

These posters have been asked to take their theories to the Philosophy/ Religion board and debate them there, but refuse to do so. It’s clear then that they have an agenda, which is to deliberately disrupt and antagonise Christians in a space where we (and others) can respectfully converse.

I have spent more time on the FWR board in the last 2 years than on any other part of Mumsnet. I fully understand the difference between the LGB and the TQ+. But there is no separate board on Mumsnet in the parenting section: there's a single "LGBT parents" board rather than a separate "LGB parents" and a "Trans parents" board. So my comment was not inflammatory, but simply an accurate reference to the name of the board.

And while I personally care deeply about that FWR issue as well, not everyone does so it really is not relevant to this thread at all.

Perhaps it would be best for the threads not to appear in Active if all views/opinions are not welcome.
(Not being snippy but genuinely if posters there only want other posters to hold fundamentally the same beliefs as them, then would be better to make it like the SN board where you have to seek it out rather than come across threads incidentally on Active)