Star Christians / STARCHRIST

Omnia ad maiorem Dei gloriam sint!

Purpose of Star Christians

Star Christians is a Catholic community for Star Citizen. All people of all faiths are welcome, but the intent of the organization is to provide a place for Catholic players to worship God in their common tradition and to discuss issues related to their common religion.

Star Christians is not intended as a replacement for the existing pan-Christian or more broadly interfaith organizations; members are strongly encouraged to apply to one or more of these organizations as well! At the time of this writing, the Star Christians administration does not yet have experience with any of these organizations, so the organization cannot officially make any recommendations regarding specific ones. Spend some time with your fellow worshippers of God, be the light of the world, and let us know about your experiences, good and bad, so that we can give direction to one another!

Star Christians is not an apologetic organization. We are not here to debate Catholicism, Christianity, theism, or the values of any religion or class of religions. This is not to say that these topics or general questioning are in any way forbidden; in fact, members are strongly encouraged to discuss these things, both to help each other come to a greater understanding of our common faith and to spread that faith to others. What is forbidden is antagonism, intentional emotional harm, and attacking the faith. The Internet has quite enough of that hatred and sophomoricism, so its absence here will not be missed.

Star Christians is a mission organization. Members are encouraged to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and generally to be public in their faith. Members are reminded, however, that there is a difference between peacefully spreading the Word of God and using it to antagonize others.

Beliefs of Star Christians

Star Christians, as an organiztion, officially professes all of the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, in full. Members are not required personally to agree with any or all of these beliefs, but they are expected to treat them with respect.

Specifically, but not exclusively, Star Christians professes the Nicene Creed¹:

The definitive elaboration on these beliefs is the Catechism of the Catholic Church (中文, English, Français, Italiano, Latina, Latviešu, Malagasy, Português, Español). For an excellent, more explanatory, less technical alternative, Star Christians highly recommends Catholic Christianity by Peter Kreeft.

A terser, if less complete, expression of the most important parts of our faith is John 3:16, arguably the most famous verse in the entire Bible: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.³ This verse expresses all the most important parts of Christianity:

1. There is one God.
2. You are a sinner against him (else, you would not need salvation).
3. He loves you anyway.
4. Because of that love, he sacrificed his only Son for your sake.
5. You can accept God’s gift of salvation by putting your faith in his Son.

Resources

• The Holy Bible:
  • via the Holy See :
    • 中文
    • English
    • Italiano
    • Latina
    • Español
  • via USCCB
  • Purchase from Amazon
• The Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • via the Holy See
    • 中文
    • English
    • Français
    • Italiano
    • Latina
    • Latviešu
    • Malagasy
    • Português
    • Español
  • via the USCCB
  • Purchase directly from the USCCB
  • Purchase from Amazon
  • Purchase Catholic Christianity by Peter Kreeft from Amazon
• Various other Church documents of interest, care of the Vatican Archives
• The Holy See
• The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Notice of Non-Endorsement

At the time of this writing, no part of this statement, nor the organization itself, has been endorsed by the Catholic Church or by any affiliated organization. We’re working on bringing this community to the attention of the Church for endorsement, support, and guidance, but we haven’t gotten there yet. Should the Church ever endorse this community, that endorsement will be stated here; should the Church ever decide that this is a bad idea, this community will be dissolved. At the moment, everything you have read should be considered preliminary. At the moment, this is just a community of believers doing their best to live in fellowship with one another and to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.

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¹ Latin text of the Nicene Creed excerpted from Missale Romanum, © 2002, Administrationem Patrimonii Sedis Apostolicæ, Vatican City. English translation excerpted from The Roman Missal, Third Edition, © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy. All rights reserved.

² There are some differences in punctuation, capitalization, and linebreaks between the Latin original text and the English translation of the Creed. These differences are insignificant.

³ Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

• The Great Commandment
  • You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.^{1 ,3}
  • You shall love your neighbor as yourself.^{2 ,3}

The rest of the rules merely clarify the Great Commandment, as Star Christians sees relevant to an online community:

1. No infliction of spiritual or emotional harm on anyone.
2. No disrespect of the Church or of any of its beliefs.
3. No taking the name of the Lord God in vain.
4. No profane language or other family-unfriendly behavior.
5. No lying.
6. No violation of Star Citizen’s TOS or EULA.
7. No griefing.

Rule 4 is not to be taken to prohibit the mature discussion of sensitive topics, but perhaps such discussions are best in the less public, less child-accessible portions of the community. E.g., let’s keep discussions of sexuality out of general chat, and move them to private channels.

These rules are typically taken to apply to conduct within the Star Christians community. As not all members may agree with the moral teachings of Christianity, members are free to conduct themselves outside the community as they choose. However, members should keep in mind that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and should not behave in such a way as to diminish the Name of God or the reputation of the community. If a member should behave so egregiously outside of the community that it reflects significantly and negatively on the community, that member may be subject to disciplinary action for the sake of the community. E.g., cursing in non-Star Christians channels (cf. rule 4) almost certainly is not going to result in any disciplinary action, but hatemongering on the fora (cf. rule 1) almost certainly is going to result in immediate expulsion.

You may note that, with the exception of rule 7, these rules do not prohibit any in-game behavior. Combat, piracy, and so forth are all part of the game, and are all in good fun. All players should be aware of the kind of game that they are playing, and should not be upset when other players behave accordingly. Rule 7 exists because to specifically and intentionally make the game unpleasant or unplayable for another is not really an in-game action but out-of-game malice, and is unacceptable both intrinsically and in its negative reflection on the Name and the community, as discussed above.

We are all human and we are all sinful, so Star Christians recognizes that all of us will sometimes violate these rules, whether intentionally or unintentionally. We will treat such human weakness with understanding, compassion, and forgiveness. It is only the repeated, unrepentant violation of these rules which will result in disciplinary action. “Disciplinary action” pretty much means expulsion from the organization – there just aren’t many tools available to us here.

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¹ Mt 22:37, excerpt, cf. Dt 6:4-5

² Mt 22:39, excerpt, cf. Lv 19:18

³ Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.