pandabear wrote: ↑November 4th, 2013, 7:16 pm
Is it strictly for church-goers? I never go to church any more.
No it's for anyone with Christian values and beliefs who wants to find a woman with similar Christian values and beliefs. Keep in mind that not all Christians go to church. As they say in the Evangelical community, being in a church no more makes you a Christian than being in a garage makes you a car. What's in your heart and soul is what defines you.
Most of the people on that site are Protestants though, not Catholics. In the Philippines, they call Protestants and Evangelicals as "born again Christians" to distinguish themselves from Catholics.
Also keep in mind that most Christians, whether in the US or Philippines, are not devout fundamentalists and do not take everything in the BIble literally. They merely identify with Christianity personally or as a family tradition. They have a general belief in the Judeo Christian concept of God, yes, but their interpretation of the Bible is all different. Some do not take it literally and some consider parts of it outdated. Especially since the 1960's when the Catholic Church turned to the far left and became very liberal. So Christianity in general is not as literalist and right wing as it used to be. It's gotten more left to conform with the modern trends.
Also Filipino Christians do not tend to be literalists or strict about every little commandment in the Bible. So you don't have to worry about that.
For example, in the epistles of Paul, there are verses that say that believers should not marry unbelievers and should not become "unequally yoked". But not all Christians follow that. There is leeway now in deciding which parts of the Bible you want to follow and which you don't. This means that yes, a Filipina Christian may be willing to marry a nonbeliever.
Even American fundamentalists like Neo and Adama and maybe MrMan, cannot take every Bible verse literally. For example, verses where Jesus says to cut off your body parts if they sin, or where he tells someone to sell all their possessions to become a poor bum with nothing left, are never taken literally of course, because American Christians want to have a comfortable middle class lifestyle for their family and themselves of course. So they will always find an excuse not to take such verses literally, like claim they are parables, or Jesus was only referring to "that person only" and not to us, etc. You know how human nature is, it always finds an excuse or copout to justify whatever it wants to believe and dismiss whatever it doesn't want to believe. Very typical.
Anyway, I hope that clears things up for those wondering if they have to be a devout Christian to marry a Christian Filipina.
However, if you are a staunch atheist type or a hater of religion, like Richard Dawkins, then I strongly advise you not to try to marry a Christian Filipina, for the difference in beliefs between you two is simply too great. But if you are a general believer in God and nonreligious, or even a New Ager, who has basic Christian values and morals, then yes, it can work for you if you want to have a relationship with a Christian Filipina. As long as the differences between you and her are minimal and not too great, then it can work. That's the general rule of thumb, and it's common sense too.