WikiChristian:Page Layout

The following information is a brief guide to the layout and writing style generally encouraged at WikiChristian. To learn the more technical aspects of creating and editing a page (for example using italics or inserting images) see the WikiChristian Tutorial.

There are two general types of articles at WikiChristian. These are:

1. Information Articles
2. Opinion Articles

Anyone can edit articles in WikiChristian and we wish to encourage you to contribute too.

Information Articles

Information Articles are articles that are written in an encyclopedia or textbook style. Unlike Wikipedia, which has a strict neutral viewpoint policy, WikiChristian does not. An information Article should be written assuming that WikiChristian's Statement of Faith is true.

We recognize that there is a wide variety of opinions within the Christian community on many issues. Where there is debate about details of doctrine, the Information Article should explain this debate in a non-emotive way, showing both sides of the argument.

We also recognize that there is a wide variety of opinions regarding what makes a particular denomination Christian. A line in the sand has been drawn at WikiChristian so that users and editors have clear guidelines. Essentially, a denomination is considered Christian if those in its leadership would agree with the following:

1. A loving God
2. The Nicene Creed
3. The Bible is God's word

If a religious group is related to Christianity but its leaders would not generally agree with those three points above, then it is considered, from WikiChristian's view, to be a separate religion. We recognize that these 3 points may be considered ambiguous by some people, but unfortunately, these lines in the sand are never perfect.

Writing Style of Information Articles

In general, Information Articles should be written in a manner that makes them clear and easy to understand. Theological terms should be explained. Information Articles should be accessible and understandable to a person who has never had theological training. However, the aim of an Information Articles is that it should also be useful for a person who has studied theology.

This standard aims to make WikiChristian significantly different from some of the other useful sources of religious information. For example, encyclopedias such as the online Catholic Encyclopedia and Theopedia have very useful resources but individual articles are often written using very technical and dry language. WikiChristian's Information Articles ideally should be written using simple language to explain difficult concepts. Furthermore, if an article evokes emotion and passion for Jesus in a reader, then it is all the more successful.

Some examples of pages that hopefully reach this standard include Christianity, Old Testament and Denominations.

Page Style of Information Articles

It is hoped that readers would browse WikiChristian a little like they might browse a text-book. As such, for any given topic there will be related sub-topics. For example, under the topic Church there are a number of sub-topics including: Church building, Church history, Denominations and Church service. These sub-topics should be clearly located in a Table of Contents in the Church article. If the reader decides to click on Church service then in its Table of Contents, its sub-topics are listed, including: Liturgy, Hymns, Prayer, Sermons and Communion. Thus each article should branch out into sub-topics, a little like a tree, or perhaps more like a web.

The main topic of WikiChristian is Christianity and from here it should be possible to reach any other topic by a series of following links in the Table of Contents of various pages.

To get a better idea, take a look at some of these pages:

• Christianity -> Christian doctrine and debates -> Justification
• Christianity -> Essence of Christianity -> Living as a Christian -> Love

Some examples to look at to get a better idea

• Christianity -> Bible -> New Testament -> Gospels -> Gospel of Matthew -> Matthew 16

This standard page layout can be achieved by looking at the following template.

{{Infobox_Contents | 
  topic_name = Write Name of Topic Here
[[Image:Insert Relevant Image Here|thumb|center|]] |
  subtopics = List of links to related subtopics |
opinion_pieces = {{short_opinions}}
Bulleted list to specific personal opinion articles and sermons that people have uploaded |
}}

A brief one or two sentence summary of the topic

==Main article==

Main encyclopedia style article give details on the topics

==Quotes==

For famous quotations related to the topic

==Links==

List of useful external links

{{returnto}} [[broader topic of which this page is a subtopic]]

Opinion Articles

WikiChristian, unlike wikipedia, does not have a policy of disallowing personal opinions or to be voiced or personal research to written about. For any topic, the main Information Article should be written in a neutral "WikiChristian" point of view, as explained above. However, any user may write his or her own personal article on the topic, which only he or she should edit. An article such as this should clearly be named as [[Name of Article (initials or name of author)]]. The article should then be linked to under the "Opinions" section in the main Information Article.

For examples, please see the following Information Articles which have links to personal Opinion Articles

• Grace
• Church
• Church history
• Justification

To see a list of all opinion articles, click on the Opinionated articles link below.

If you submit an opinion article, please contact Graham Grove to have it protected so that it may not be further edited and altered.

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