A branch of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, The City of David, announced has its online dating website — https://redeemersconnect.org/ yesterday. According to the church’s publication, the purpose for the Redeemers Connect is to to acknowledge the “Christian singles, widows, widowers and unmarried seniors in the RCCG global family with serious intent to get married within a year or two upon enlisting as a member.”;
“Our ‘connect to court” matchmaking algorithm has been carefully designed to take your preferences into account. We encourage honest and genuine responses so that we can match your preferences in the most accurate manner.”
Accordingly, Nigerians have reacted to this new development in the history of Nigeria Christian fraternity. However, while we acknowledge the fact that this development is not the first of its kind in the Nigerian Christian society, we should also put it straight that online dating is not a new phenomenon in western denominations.
Away from this, Nigerians are familiar with some existing online dating websites that affords them the opportunity to meet and connect with other people of like interest. As a matter of fact, the social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and others are fast becoming platforms for connecting single people in Nigeria other than their traditional purpose of chatting and ordinary social engagement.
Truly, one may want to contest the place of online dating in the Bible and say that there is no portion of the holy book that supports it. We can not throw away the fact the Bible is a written account of past historical experiences which serves as a guide to Christian living. As such standards could be bent to meet the demands of the present times. In fact, it is not wrong to say that many Christians in Nigeria and beyond practice denominational doctrines more than they practice biblical recommendations.
The idea that the anglicisation of online dating sites is striking out the God factor in the Christian marriage process may not be absolute. As much as God’s supremacy cannot be overturned or contested, there are cases of failed marriages which were purportedly influenced by the “holy spirit” and established by God. Yet, man has free will to choose what is good for themselves albeit subjected to God’s direction.
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Again, we may consider those who sought God’s will in marriage and ended up struggling in their homes. Truth is, hypocrisy, lies and pretence are deeply rooted in the conventional way of Christian courting as it is in online dating websites. There are stories of single brothers who cook up stories and attach Bible references to their lies to win the hearts of single aisters in churches today. The Holy Spirit must be meek and gentle for accommodating this malady!
If online dating sites must succeed in the Christian context in Nigeria, strict measures must be put in place to ensure sanity and decency. Stringent conditions may be introduced to shoo desperate singles and desperadoes away from destroying the purpose and essence of online dating. Lastly, this anglicised dating site, redeemers connect will set a template for other denominations in the future if it can fulfil its course successfully in the next sprinkle of years.