Guidelines on how news should be submittedPDFPrintE-mail
Thoughts
Written by Chris Perver  
Friday, 22 June 2007 06:19

This is just a brief outline on how news articles should be submitted to the website.

Links

If you are planning to submit an article, and do not wish to write your own comments on it, write just one or two lines summarizing its content in the top box, with one of the main words in your summary linked to the article itself. Do not post the entire article on the site, as I'm not entirely sure about whether this infringes on copyright or not. I also think the site be given more to the explanation of news events in light of the Scriptures, rather than just what is currently happening in the world. It's the Word of God that is alive and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.

Commentaries

Layout 

If you are planning to write your own comments on the article, write it all in the intro text box (the content of this is displayed on the front page). Do not use the bottom text box. Text in the bottom box is not displayed on the front page, instead a "read more" link will appear at the bottom of the article. Distinguish your comments from quotations from the article. I do this using the word "quote", and putting the quotation in italics. 

Begin with an introduction to the event in question, e.g. what has happened, when it happened, where it happened, why it happened, etc. Follow that with a more detailed quote from the article outlining the main point you want to make. After you have concluded the quotations from your articles, then present your own thoughts, followed by any relevant Scriptures.  

Source

Link main words in your commentary to the article in question. If possible, put the source name for the articles at the bottom of your commentary. This is good practice, for it adds credibility to the commentary, and again there is the issue of copyright.

A right spirit

Try to keep a right spirit in your commentary. News relating to prophetic events isn't always particularly encouraging to read, and a negative attitude in commenting on news items can discourage the reader. To counter a negative article, you can focus on the positive by referring to the Scriptures, how that the Bible teaches all these things must come to pass and that the ultimate goal is the outworking of God's plan for this world.

Sectarianism 

Sadly some of the websites that I visit on the internet have a "cultural spirit" that I believe is contrary to the Scriptures. This site is not about fighting a culture war with liberals or any other religious or political group. It isn't even necessarily about standing up for "religious freedoms" (John 16:7-8). When all has been said and done, culture will perish, but the Word of God will remain (Luke 21:33). The aim of this site is the glory of God, the proclamation of the Gospel, and the encouragement of believers. We do not hate homosexuals, Muslims, Catholics or any other people, we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We do not exalt ourselves, our countries or our "denomination" over others, but we exalt the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gospel

The book of Revelation states that the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). All prophecy throughout the Scriptures centres on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we should keep this in mind when commenting on end time events. Throughout the old testament, the prophets (Noah, Jonah, etc.) all prophesied of judgement that was to come upon the ungodly, but they also preached a message repentance and salvation. The Lord never judges a people without giving them opportunity to repent. If applicable to the article you are commenting on and if you feel led to, explain to the reader their need to have their sins forgiven, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, and how they can escape the judgement of this world. 

And please do submit commentaries, for many people may find encouragement and help through reading your thoughts.

Chris

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