Dan Phillips at Team Pyro lit up the blogosphere last week with this classic Pyromaniac analysis of Christians dating unbelievers. I bet you haven't encountered this spin on "missionary dating" before. Here's an excerpt:
Let me approach the issue another way.
Would you date a child molestor? Oh, of course not. Instant deal-killer. Thief, murderer? No and no. Rapist? Never. Those are really bad things.
But not as bad as being an enemy of God (Proverbs 15:9; Ephesians 2:3)? I think we have some seriously skewed priorities.
See, if you are in a dating relationship with someone who doesn't love Christ, you've already said the Christ-issue isn't the issue to you. Her looks, his job, the way she treats you, his sense of humor— whatever; these things matter more to you than Christ does. . . .
See? You've already dealt a death-blow to your own credibility. You really might as well stop talking. Your priorities, your choices, have drowned out your words (cf. the principle of Titus 1:16).
To be clear, I agree that missionary dating has problems. I've written about it before. It's the mixed messages and mixed motives that present problems. But friendship evangelism is both good and necessary! We need to reach out to others--but in relationships with no strings/expectations attached.
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