Religion

Interreligious discussion forums on FamilyNet/OCNet

There are three forums for interreligious discussion and dialogue available on the FamilyNet/OCNet BBS network. These conferences are available on the BBS network, and also by e-mail mailing list.

These forums are intended primarily for those who want to learn about what different religious groups teach and do. They are not intended for either polemics or proselytizing.

Joining BBS conferences (you log in to the BBS to read and reply to messages)
Joining E-mail mailing lists (messages are sent to you by e-mail)
More information about the conferences
Links to conferences on other topics

Joining by e-mail mailing list

**To subscribe by e-mail mailing list click the appropriate box and send the message**
Religion For discussion of the faith and practice of different religions	Subscribe	Unsubscribe
Philos For discussion of the faith and practice of different Christian groups	Subscribe	Unsubscribe
Nurel An interdisciplinary forum for scholarly and academic discussion of new religious movements established since 1800	Subscribe	Unsubscribe

More information on the conferences is given below.

BBS sysops who would like a feed should contact Bob Hoffman at the FamilyNet International headquarters.

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About the conferences

**The purpose of the various conferences**
Religion The religion conference is a general forum for discussing different religions, their beliefs and practices and their role in society. Anyone may join in the discussions, and one does not need to be a specialist in religious studies or any other academic discipline to participate. Members of any religious faith or group may take part. Additional information The RELIGION conference started life some years ago when OCNet was linked to the Religion conference on the RIME BBS network. The gateway between the two networks was broken, and OCNet became linked to FamilyNet. Those who participated in either of these conferences, and also in the INTERFAITH conference on Fidonet are especially invited to join up. BBS sysops who would like a feed to this (or the other two conferences) should contact the FamilyNet International Headquarters.	Philos This is intended for discussing the faith and practice of different Christian groups. For the purposes of this discussion, Christian groups are defined as those who accept the Symbol of Faith or Nicene Creed, with or without the filioque. Those that fall outside this definition may be discussed in the general religious discussion forum (as may those that fall within this definition). There is a web page on Christian theological discussion forums which gives more information about this and other conferences. Additional information The PHILOS conference has long been a conference on the FamilyNet BBS network, and has been available as an e-mail mailing list for some time now.	Nurel This is an interdisciplinary academic and scholarly conference for the discussion of new religious movements - that is, those that have started since 1700. Scholars in the fields of anthropology, sociology, theology, history and other disciplines are welcome. There is also a discussion forum specifically for the discussion of African Independent Churches (AICs). Additional information The NUREL conference was started on FamilyNet for gating and distributing the NUREL-L mailing list over a Fido Technology Network in South Africa at a time when Internet access was restricted. The link was broken some time ago, though the NUREL conference remained listed in FamilyNet. The original NUREL-L mailing list at the University of Calgary, was then beset by server problems, which led to its being broken for months at a time, so the FamilyNet conferences was revived, and gated to a mailing list as well.

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FamilyNet BBS network

You can join these conferences and others through the FamilyNet BBS network.

You can try it out now from your web browser by going to:

http://www.family-bbs.net/

You will be presented with a BBS log-in screen. If it is your first call, register as a new user. Then click on "join conferences". Wait for the list to load (it's long!). Scroll down the list and select the ones you want by clicking in the box. For the religion conferences, look for FAMILY NUREL, FAMILY PHILOS and OC RELIGION,. When you've marked the conferences you want to join, scroll to the end to to actually join them. You will then get a list of the ones you have joined. You can then read and reply to mesages and enter new ones.

You may also join through a local dial-up FamilyNet BBS is there is one near you. For more information on BBSs and BBS networks, see http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/bbs.htm. If you run a BBS yourself and would like to mlink it to FamilyNet, see http://www.fmlynet.org.

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