Would you date a theist?

[Anymouse]

My first wife was a Presbyterian. She gradually shifted to the RC Church, and with that dragged along our son. Before she formally became an RC, she divorced me, and the courts pilloried me over my religion and my active duty military status (from which I was retired disabled during the case), assigning 2/3 of my disability pay to her (though she made over $100k a year) and prohibiting visitation with my son, thus rendering me homeless. (He was seven then, now twenty-three.)

Here I was, a Wiccan, fighting a divorce case on the grounds that divorce was unnecessary and that effort should be put into saving the marriage, while the Christian was arguing for divorce. Case went from 1996-2007. (The first judge was jailed for corruption, the second judge pilloried me, but didn't sign the divorce decree; I only discovered that when I tried to re-marry.)

Most of my family was opposed to the idea of my marrying her. Even my Aunt Carolyn (former Chief Presbyter of Chicago) didn't like her or the idea of my marriage to her. Every single one of them tried to talk me out of it (not because she was Christian, but because she is all about herself first-and-foremost).

After that, she remarried, to a fellow who has now turned out to be a bigamist. (Her religious faith certainly didn't help much in picking my replacement.) Her life is an absolute disaster now.

I was done with marriage at that point, and nine years of homelessness didn't do much to sweeten my attitude toward it. However, my wife now (BethK here), an atheist with Discordian leanings (she accepts the principles of Discordianism without accepting Eris, which is fine both by her and Discordians) is much more loving and stable than my ex- ever was.

Religious discussion here is not about conversion, but more like an esoteric debating society. While it can sometimes get quite passionate, it does not get in the way of what really matters to us here and now: our relationship. We are somewhat of a "faith unto ourselves," as we worship each other.

James.