I’m into my second week of this experiment with on-line dating. A very nice Catholic man wrote to me and wanted to meet me. He’s educated, works with children, reasonably good-looking. When he asked me what I was doing today I said (provoking what I suspected would be a deal breaker) that I was out enjoying the Pride celebrations and then off for a swim. He said something very ambiguous about “well…we pray…” Which left me wondering which way he leaned…suspicious of equivocation…so I pressed him further by saying something about liberal Christianity and the support for gay marriage. Then I got his full response about loving gay people, “I’d invite them into my house” but thinking it’s sin as it clearly states in the Bible and he’s sure we can agree to disagree. I said, “No. This is a deal breaker for me. It isn’t simply a matter of you having your beliefs. Your beliefs do people great harm. I could not agree to disagree if you felt women were inferior to men or if you felt people of colour were less. And there’s absolutely nothing in the Bible that clearly justifies your beliefs. I was a homophobic once too until I educated myself. I honestly do wish you the best. But I can’t imagine working towards a relationship with someone who believes something that hurts others.” And I put down the pen.
