Andrew

I had a look at Grace-Centred Forums and the discussion about OST; as well as some of the other threads on the site. Beyond noting a zeal for Evangelical orthodoxy I am not able to form any overall impression of the site- so I will desist from any general comment based on the narky discussion of OST.

However I would like to say something about OST, to which I have been contributing for a couple of years. As a preliminary, I should add that I am a bit of an outsider: my Christian background is not evangelical and I am gay.

I have participated in a range of sites which discuss the weightier questions of existence. Some standard deficiencies are triviality, abuse of other contributors, narrowmindedness and a lack of openess to new ideas, obsessional pursuit of personal preoccupations.

In each of these ways OST, in my opinion, scores highly. The quality of the discussion is on the whole very high and it is invariably conducted with decorum, even on hot topics like homosexuality. I have received some personal messages from contributors which have shown me that the spirit of Christ lives on this site.

I am also impressed by the openmindedness of contributors and the genuine attempts to engage with the views of others even though that often leads them into difficult places as regards orthodoxy.

The real test of a discussion site such as this one is whether it enlarges the mind and nurtures the spirit. In my view OST does both.