By Scott Tibbs, March 10, 2015
Note: This was submitted to the Bloomington Herald-Times but the editor refused to publish it.
Comment moderation standards on HeraldTimesOnline.com are very inconsistently applied, sometimes resulting in some very strange moderation decisions.
On December 20, I said in the comments for a letter to the editor (http://ow.ly/JwwO0) that homosexuality is a sin and rebellion against God. This statement is boringly normal across church history with plenty of evidence in both the Old and New Testaments to back it up.
I did not personally attack any individual. My comment was extremely tame in comparison to letters to the editor and guest columns I have had approved by the editor and published in the print edition, and much tamer than other letters published on that same issue, especially this one: http://ow.ly/Jwz7Z
Nonetheless, my comment was deleted.
Is Christian doctrine on sexual morality now banned from being discussed on HTO comments? If I said that greed, adultery or theft is "a sin and rebellion against God," would that comment also be deleted? What is the line for what sort of disagreement is permitted by the HTO moderators?
This was a very bad decision and underscores the frustration many people have with HTO moderation, especially given some personal attacks that remain. I respectfully request that my comment be restored.
