I do think we have to have some tolerance when it comes to religion. People have many different beliefs and some believe there is no God at all. But we can also have reasonable discourse to which no one should take offense. I don't think a general suggestion to have faith in God should offend, even to those who do not believe in God.
I do have some guidelines that I follow when it comes to religious matters. When someone speaks of their faith, there is no problem. However, when one tries to proselytize and tells others they should believe their religion, that post will be deleted. I have done it before at MSN and felt that no matter how strongly the member believed that we should all follow their beliefs, I would not allow the post, as many would be offended by being told they should follow another's beliefs. Also, when things become inflammatory as they did with the Mumbai bombing thread, I feel that as administrators, Danielle and I have an obligation to step in and calm things down.
I hope we can remember the spirit in which these posts were made and accept that those posting have a strong faith that God's will must be accepted, and that we can accept their faith without it troubling us. As much as I question God's plan for my own life, in the end I have to accept what happens. I may never understand what and why and why everything has to be so difficult for people, but when my mind finds peace I see that it is always God's plan that has been at work, whether I agree with the immediate results or not. If in your life you don't have this belief or regardless of what beliefs you do have, I hope that in our forum people can feel free to express their own faith without criticism.
I do also feel that there is, as Canadian Family has pointed out, the potential for things to get out of hand, but I hope you all know that Danielle and I will do everything we can to keep this family together and step in where needed. I have never seen where arguments about religion have been productive in any setting, and I think we should refrain from it here. Have some faith that people joined for a common purpose can find ways to get along.