The channel’s title comes from Koine Greek, and means, in essence, “to make a defense.”
Welcome!
Interested in meaningful discussion on Biblical topics? Have a question about an apologetic subject and need an answer NOW? Join us in our IRC chat channel. But please note, we have two channels, and each is for a different purpose. Those channels are #prosapologian and #apologetics, both on the RefChat IRC network. When you connect to one of RefChat’s IRC servers, just type /join #prosapologian or /join #apologetics, and you’ll be there! But which should you join? Here are the guidelines:
If you are a Christian seeking fellowship, apologetic information, resources, dialogue, answers to biblical questions, and the like, join #prosapologian. While some debate takes place here, it is generally “intramural” debate, i.e., over issues between believers. This is the channel where we have most of our fellowship, biblical discussion, etc. Please note: the channel is most populated in the evenings in the United States. There are times when there may not be anyone in channel to answer your questions. Keep trying. People may be there, but will be otherwise occupied. Please be understanding.
If you are looking to engage in debate, or your topic may involve debate, you may want to join #apologetics. This channel is normally quiet unless a specific conversation begins on a specific topic. We will often ask that certain questions that are raised in #prosapologian move over to #apologetics for further discussion. Hence, conversations may all of a sudden start up in that channel as they move over from #prosapologian. See “Basic Rules for Prosapologian and Apologetics” below for more information before connecting.
History
#Prosapologian has been in constant operation for over 23 years – starting on Undernet, as an outgrowth of the #Charis and #apologetics channels, and becoming, in essence, the ministry channel of Alpha and Omega Ministries. It moved to Starlink-IRC for quite some time, before moving to their purpose-built home network of GenevaIRC, where it resided for the better part of a decade. Now that community has moved to a new home at RefChat, but is no longer affiliated with Alpha and Omega – but #pros “channel rats” still have affection for “DrOakley” and his ministry partner, “AOMin”.
BASIC RULES FOR PROSAPOLOGIAN AND APOLOGETICS
Here are a few basic rules, these are non-negotiable:
1) Profanity, of any type, will result in one being removed from either channel, forcibly, if need be. 🙂 (That’s a smiley face in Internet lingo, but we mean it). Our bots are programmed to kickban for using profanity. Just don’t do it, period. This also includes links to sites or videos containing profanity.
2) NEW – There are to be no political discussions in #prosapologian. The current atmosphere is more than sufficiently charged to warrant this step. If you want to discuss that topic, RefChat has a bridged #politics channel available, unaffiliated with the management of #prosapologian. This rule shall be in effect whether or not an op is present, and requests to move a conversation to #politics (even from a regular user) should be treated just as if it were a request to move a conversation to #apologetics.
3) Anyone being disruptive to the topic at hand will be removed. This is far more restrictively viewed in #prosapologian than in #apologetics. Ban evasion will be dealt with in escalating fashion. The more you try to evade a ban, the more restrictive the measures will be that are put in place to ensure you don’t repeat the offense.
4) Be active in the channel. If your nick is idle and an op pm’s you with no response your nick could be temporarily removed with a warning for ‘parking.’
5) The channel operators have final say in any dispute, period. Do NOT question the ops in channel. If you don’t like something, take it private (i.e., use the /msg command)
6) Prosapologian is a Christian channel. Its purpose is not to provide a preaching platform for non-Christian faiths. If you are a member of a group that is not considered to be biblical in light of the statement of faith found here, at Choosinghats, you may well be asked to move over to #apologetics. The emphasis in #prosapologian is fellowship, biblical study, apologetics, etc., with the assumed audience to be Christian and orthodox. This does not mean everyone in channel will fit this description. We have regular users who we do not consider orthodox but who have learned to dialogue in a respectful (and at times downright humorous) way. #Apologetics is the channel for debate and inter-faith apologetic discussion. These discussions may start in #prosapologian, but they should be moved to apologetics as soon as they begin to develop. The ops will help to let people know when the conversation should move.
7) Disputes or complaints should be directed to the Channel Manager via the Contact Us page. But please remember: the operators have final say. If the person has an @ in front of their nick, it’s best not to argue with them. 🙂