By Brady Small | LTVN Reporter/Anchor
Missionary dating is when a Christian decides to date someone who is not Christian in order to convert them.
I looked for evidence in the Bible suggesting missionary dating is a good idea, and I could not find anything about dating someone to convert them. I did, however, find multiple verses that could be used against it.
For example, 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’”
Now, I didn’t interpret that verse as being around non-believers will ruin the morals of Christians, but continually putting yourself in situations where you can’t talk about your faith unless you are spreading it isn’t smart.
Genesis 2:24 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
The first book of the Bible is saying when you marry someone, you become one. I don’t think the Bible is encouraging anyone here to become one with someone who has vastly different religious beliefs.
Possibly one of the most famous verses is Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another.”
The message of the verse is clear: your relationships in life should make you better. I believe the most important relationship anyone gets to have is between themselves and the person they intend to marry. I think if someone is entering a relationship with the purpose of changing the religion of another person, it will not end well.
Religion is something that shapes a person’s beliefs and decisions in their everyday life and changing that is ultimately altering the person you are dating.
I believe your religion should be a driving factor in someone’s life. On that note, I try to make all of my decisions from a faith-based background.
I think that spreading the gospel is something that Christians are called to do, but I do not believe that spreading the gospel is something that should be a guiding factor in finding someone to date.
