(November 30, 2015 at 5:40 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: When looking to be in a relationship, is the other person being a practicing/faithful Christian an automatic deal breaker for you?

It depends on the individual. If their sole pupose in wanting to date me is to try and convert me, then I'm out. If we can each respect one another's opinions on religion and are capable of having a strong relationship outside of the boundaries that religioin presents, then I would strongly consider it. 
If they were an absolute devout bible thumping, street preaching person, I'm out of there on that too. 

I have friends who are religious. We have debates about religion. We are still friends at the end of the day. If the person I'm dating wants to be in a long term, more serious relationship that may lead to marriage, we would need to sit down and discuss things that will come up in the future that religion may play a role in. Examples of that would be:

1. children (if I were younger and still wanted more), I would strongly be against indoctrination and would want any future children to be fully educated at the appropriate age and time, so that they could make up their own minds about whether to believe in a god or not. 
2. finances - would my partner's religious views on this deter me from combining finances? 
3. our roles within the family dynamic - would he want me to "obey" him and revere him as the dominant partner or would he be happy with being an equal partner. 

I'm sure there are more examples, but that's all I can come up with right now.

(December 1, 2015 at 1:29 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: It's amazing how the people on here talk shit about Christians all day long and then most of you are okay with dating one? What??

I would say the majority of us on this forum don't "shit on Christians". I know I don't, but I still probably wouldn't date one.

(December 1, 2015 at 1:47 pm)The_Empress Wrote:

(December 1, 2015 at 1:29 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: It's amazing how the people on here talk shit about Christians all day long and then most of you are okay with dating one? What??

I would say the majority of us on this forum don't "shit on Christians". I know I don't, but I still probably wouldn't date one.

Maybe not on Christians, but on Christianity or the bible. I mean some of the people who say they are okay with dating Christians in this thread, I've seen them start threads bashing on Christianity. Maybe bashing on Christianity isn't exactly the same as bashing on Christians, but I think there is only a hairs difference between the two.

(December 1, 2015 at 1:39 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote:

(December 1, 2015 at 1:33 pm)Mister Agenda Wrote: When it comes to Christianity, my main issue is with Christianists, not with Christians who are otherwise normal.

What does otherwise normal mean? I consider the entire belief to be totally abnormal and absurd. If anything a non-practicing Christian, like most people say they are okay with, is even worse. It means that that person isn't capable of following through with their own beliefs or examining them deeply. How are you going to have any deep or meaningful relationship with someone like that? For me I need someone who is well versed in being able to examine religion and philosophy and able to have a conversation about it. Not someone who is 'normal.'

However as a note it's also not really all that difficult to find secular women where I live and my main social circle is almost entirely secular so I guess my situation might be a bit different.

There's nothing abnormal or absurd about believing what you were raised to believe, what everyone you're connected with takes for granted. That's how humans work, we absorb what we're told uncritically when we're very young, and it's very likely to stick for life. Props to anyone who thinks their way out of it, but why people believe isn't a mystery nor a psychological disorder. They are mistaken to hold that belief, but it's been the norm for all of recorded history. It's atheists who are bucking the norms, currently.

I live in SC, and I don't deny that non-availability of secular women may be a factor in my flexibility. My current gf is ex-Baha'i, currently vague 'Somethingist'. She sent me a cartoon that I think encapsulates her theology. It shows a man who believes in Bigfoot. Then it shows him crying into the forest, 'Bigfoot, I believe in you!'. Then it shows Bigfoot behind a tree, smiling because someone believes in him.

(December 1, 2015 at 1:53 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote:

(December 1, 2015 at 1:47 pm)The_Empress Wrote: I would say the majority of us on this forum don't "shit on Christians". I know I don't, but I still probably wouldn't date one.

Maybe not on Christians, but on Christianity or the bible. I mean some of the people who say they are okay with dating Christians in this thread, I've seen them start threads bashing on Christianity. Maybe bashing on Christianity isn't exactly the same as bashing on Christians, but I think there is only a hairs difference between the two.

I completely disagree, being that most Christians are of the cafeteria variety, picking and choosing what they want to believe from the greater umbrella that is Christianity.

(December 1, 2015 at 2:01 pm)Mister Agenda Wrote:

(December 1, 2015 at 1:39 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: What does otherwise normal mean? I consider the entire belief to be totally abnormal and absurd. If anything a non-practicing Christian, like most people say they are okay with, is even worse. It means that that person isn't capable of following through with their own beliefs or examining them deeply. How are you going to have any deep or meaningful relationship with someone like that? For me I need someone who is well versed in being able to examine religion and philosophy and able to have a conversation about it. Not someone who is 'normal.'

However as a note it's also not really all that difficult to find secular women where I live and my main social circle is almost entirely secular so I guess my situation might be a bit different.

There's nothing abnormal or absurd about believing what you were raised to believe, what everyone you're connected with takes for granted. That's how humans work, we absorb what we're told uncritically when we're very young, and it's very likely to stick for life. Props to anyone who thinks their way out of it, but why people believe isn't a mystery nor a psychological disorder. They are mistaken to hold that belief, but it's been the norm for all of recorded history. It's atheists who are bucking the norms, currently.

I live in SC, and I don't deny that non-availability of secular women may be a factor in my flexibility. My current gf is ex-Baha'i, currently vague 'Somethingist'. She sent me a cartoon that I think encapsulates her theology. It shows a man who believes in Bigfoot. Then it shows him crying into the forest, 'Bigfoot, I believe in you!'. Then it shows Bigfoot behind a tree, smiling because someone believes in him.

Ha. Also I might be a little bit of a hypocrit, because I've definitely dated girls into some serious hippy-woo before.

(December 1, 2015 at 2:05 pm)The_Empress Wrote:

(December 1, 2015 at 1:53 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: Maybe not on Christians, but on Christianity or the bible. I mean some of the people who say they are okay with dating Christians in this thread, I've seen them start threads bashing on Christianity. Maybe bashing on Christianity isn't exactly the same as bashing on Christians, but I think there is only a hairs difference between the two.

I completely disagree, being that most Christians are of the cafeteria variety, picking and choosing what they want to believe from the greater umbrella that is Christianity.

I wonder how those Christian girls and boys who are potential mates of all these lovely Atheists would feel the same if they saw these threads. Somehow I doubt it. I bet they would insulted by much of what's written about Christianity on here by the very people who are willing to date them. Also the original post specified 'practicing/believing' christians.

(December 1, 2015 at 1:31 pm)Mister Agenda Wrote: I was engaged to a Mormon for a short time once.

Were you an atheist at the time? And if so, did she know that?

The Christian women I've dated have known I'm an atheist, so there's that. I nearly married a Mormon (sounds like the title of tell-all book).

As an interesting side note to my comment, my fiancee is Wiccan. We don't discuss it. We don't talk about it. He hasn't practiced it for well over the last five years. It's basically a non-issue. But he hears me debate about christianity all the time and he's even agreed with several points I've made on the subject. Especially where the bible goes.