Christian Online Dating

ipodrocker

hi everyone

thought id start a new thread, so there are so many online sites for dating but for christians most are based in uk/usa.

what are peoples expeirences of using sites and have anyone had luck using sites??

antiskeptic

ipodrocker wrote: »

hi everyone

thought id start a new thread, so there are so many online sites for dating but for christians most are based in uk/usa.

what are peoples expeirences of using sites and have anyone had luck using sites??

I used fusion101 - there were Iirish Christians using it. And happened across my current wife on account of it. She was a friend of the first woman I dated through the site

I wasn't very long using it but would suggest not bothering with protracted emailing back and forth. Instead, use it to make the most basic of filtering then meet up and find out if there's any chemistry.

They're a great idea I think given the additional hurdles faced by Christians finding a partner.

Onesimus

I know of many people who got married through a site called www.catholicmatch.com

Hope you find your soulmate

Onesimus

tommy2bad

given the additional hurdles faced by Christians finding a partner.

Care to expand? I cant think of any additional hurdles faced by Christians in Ireland

Irishchick

tommy2bad wrote: »

Care to expand? I cant think of any additional hurdles faced by Christians in Ireland

I would say sex before marriage would be a big hurdle. I don't think there are many people outside of religion who would want to wait till marriage to have sex.

Onesimus

Irishchick wrote: »

I would say sex before marriage would be a big hurdle. I don't think there are many people outside of religion who would want to wait till marriage to have sex.

I dont know if this is going slightly off topic but.....There are many couples who fail to live this out in their courtship before getting married. It's a huge struggle to deal with ones passions. It's never just a case of ''Ah sure we wont have sex will we? Grand we will just wait'' It's a lot harder than that and takes an enormous amount of prayer.

What I dont get is people out there who ( just because they fail to live out chastity ) reject the teaching and discipline as a result of that failure. I would invite any couples reading this to just recognise it is a mortal sin and to just accept that the teaching is sound, but not easy to live out, and just go to confession everytime you fall and work with God in trying to get it right. The Lord would much rather see us do this than just reject the teaching all together.

Some people also get married so they can somehow surpass the sexual act and make it ''right'' and yet chastity is something that is broken whether your married or not. As St.Basil once said ''I have never touched a woman in my life and yet I can safely say I'm not a virgin.''

It's very important for Catholics to recognise this. Dont reject what you fail to live out. Accept it and work with God towards it.

tommy2bad

As St.Basil once said ''I have never touched a woman in my life and yet I can safely say I'm not a virgin.''

As could many gay men :P

Sex isn't just a big difficulty for Christians tho, surprisingly non believers can be reluctant to get that involved before their sure of commitment.
Most people who are looking for a partner are not looking for a sex partner. Thats a different game altogether and no one is obliged to play.

I would invite any couples reading this to just recognize it is a mortal sin and to just accept that the teaching is sound, but not easy to live out, and just go to confession every time you fall and work with God in trying to get it right.

Dear God, I'd never have been out of the box if I had done that.
People marry each other, the priest doesn't give permission, he gives the sacrament.

antiskeptic

tommy2bad wrote: »

Care to expand? I cant think of any additional hurdles faced by Christians in Ireland

I'm likely not speaking for all Christians but am surely speaking for many .. in suggesting the impossibility of a Christian considering marriage to a non-Christian.

In that case, the hurdle is a dramatically reduced number of fish in the sea.
.

tommy2bad

It's a mostly christian country, non practising tho a lot are and the rest are diminishing in number. I can see what you mean, never a problem for me as I got caught a long time ago.

HamletOrHecuba

tommy2bad wrote: »

It's a mostly christian country, non practising tho a lot are and the rest are diminishing in number. I can see what you mean, never a problem for me as I got caught a long time ago.

How is it mostly a Christian country?

How many people believe in key dogmas such as original sin, the necesscity of the Christ's work for human salvation from hell, the very existence of hell and the devil not to mention Christ's Divinity?

The fact that Ireland went from western Europe's answer to Iran to a land crawling with embaressing bar stool social liberals almost overnight along with child abuse scandals show that there was precious little Christianity here even before the 90s.

Doc Farrell

Just out of curiosity, how many of the 1.45 million who went to see the Pope in 1979 would you consider Christian?

Doc Farrell

Sorry my mistake, 3 million, give or take a few hundred thousand repeat viewers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_in_Ireland

HamletOrHecuba

Doc Farrell wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, how many of the 1.45 million who went to see the Pope in 1979 would you consider Christian?

Very difficult to say.

What can be said though is that the Gospel puts forward a internal ethic valuing the purity of the heart before Almighty God, the innermost personal core, above all else. What can also be said is that in general Irish people of that period didnt really get that at all, instead valuing an essentially social "pagan" ethic mixed in with a desire to feel superior (the socially liberal Irish of now still have that, only they pat themselves on the back over different things).

The fact that Bishop Casey and another fornicator were at the forefront of the welcome really said it all.

HamletOrHecuba

A hermit in his cell is strong outward proof of Christianity.

Flocking to see someone who was basically a celb, fostering as he did a vulgar personality cult? Doubtful.

Manach

That Catholicism can embrace such a wide diversity of expressions of faith, from hermits to charismatics, within one central dogma shows how well it can cope with the range of human social types.

On topic, at least with a specialised dating site there is a more of sense of commonality that can act as a cataylst for conversation.

HamletOrHecuba

Manach wrote: »

That Catholicism can embrace such a wide diversity of expressions of faith, from hermits to charismatics, within one central dogma shows how well it can cope with the range of human social types.

On topic, at least with a specialised dating site there is a more of sense of commonality that can act as a cataylst for conversation.

Hermits would be charismatics, as in having particular charisms? If they are not in heavy demonic deception that is. Or what exactly do you mean by charismatic?

Manach

I presume to question your inference about "vulgar personality cult".

HamletOrHecuba

Manach wrote: »

I presume to question your inference about "vulgar personality cult".

"JP II we love you!!!"

Organizers even encouraged people chant that as if he was a pop-star. What is that but a vulgar personality cult? The Pope mobile and the jet setting were what? And people lapped up it up.

If you dont want to acknowledge that reality let it be on your own soul.

Onesimus

This thread is getting boring now.

Doc Farrell

To answer the op, i think attending clubs that interest you rather than internet sites would be the way to go. Although sites might work for some, just not my cup of tea.
I guess if you can take yourself lightly, to use Manachs signature phrase, and share some real interests, then you shouldn't have too much trouble finding someone. Having a similar sense of humour is ideal, having a very different sense of humour is lethal!

Peregrinus

ipodrocker wrote: »

hi everyone

thought id start a new thread, so there are so many online sites for dating but for christians most are based in uk/usa.

what are peoples experiences of using sites and have anyone had luck using sites??

I met my wife the old-fashioned way, but I have quite a few friends who met their partners through dating sites.

A well-designed dating service will try to match you with the sort of person that you want to meet, and will enable to indicate that you want to meet Christians.

My fear would be that if you went to a specifically Christian dating site, then you’d only meet people who only wanted to meet Christians, and who had a particular understanding of what it means to be “Christian”. In other words, the Christians you would meet might not be representatives of Christians as a class.

In the days when I was single, I would have been concerned to marry a Christian wife, but I would have been slow to use an explicitly Christian dating site, out of fear that the Christians I would meet there would be more likely to be narrow, judgmental, dogmatic, etc. Not that everybody on the site would be like that, of course, but that people of that mindset would be drawn to such a site, and be over-represented on it.

Now, perhaps that’s a prejudice on my part, and without any foundation. But that would have been my fear.

Your best place to meet Christians is in a church. And I suspect that the Christians you’ll meet in a church will be more diverse than the Christians you’ll meet on a Christian dating site.

Azures

Onesimus wrote: »

I know of many people who got married through a site called www.catholicmatch.com

Hope you find your soulmate

Onesimus

Catholic match has lots of ultra orthodox north american Catholics who loiter on the forums and pounce on unsuspecting Irish Catholics, as we are perceived as weak minded liberals. Nasty place.
The Irish people tend to spend a lot of time checking out ( viewing) profiles but never doing much else- which suggests that the actual paying membership of Irish people on Catholicmatch is very low and they cannot reply. I tried it last year. I suggest you give it a wide berth- just my opinion and experience.

JohnMc1

ipodrocker wrote: »

hi everyone

thought id start a new thread, so there are so many online sites for dating but for christians most are based in uk/usa.

what are peoples expeirences of using sites and have anyone had luck using sites??

I believe eharmony.com is the biggest Christian dating site [since I was late to the party my apologies if this was already posted.

Riantgorkette

I tried ChristianMingle.com it wasn't too bad, but there are a lot of awkward people on it. Then again, there are a lot of awkward people in life. Give it a go, worse comes to worse you just disable your account.

Greaney

I met my husband on a Christian dating site. He's a really good guy. Of course, he wasn't Irish. Most if the Irish I came across were singing from a different hymn sheet:rolleyes: The rest of the Irish just seemed super shy and weren't up for a chat and a 'meet up', like a lot of Irish guys I guess.

As for the rest of the nationalities (that spoke english)....

1) North American, a mixed bag, from all walks, some were serious eejits and some were cool and everything in between.
2)British, mostly sound, a few eccentrics.
3)The Irish were mostly Pentecostal, a the few orthodox christians were...either odd or ellusive! (can you tell my 'flavour' of Christianity yet?)
5) African, in love with you on the first email:rolleyes:
6) Australian & Kiwi, I only remember one and he was sweet but a bit daft

Sounds like a Saturday night on the town huh?
I'd still recommend it;)