Disharmony Voiced Over Christian 'Match-Making' Ministry
by Fred Jackson and Jody Brown
May 26, 2005
(AgapePress) - Two strong proponents of traditional marriage are apparently parting ways. The decision centers around an online "match-making" service."With reluctance and regret." That's how Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family is characterizing his acceptance of a decision by Christian author Dr. Neil Clark Warren, founder of the online dating service eHarmony. That decision by Warren was detailed in a recent USA Today article that reports the eHarmony founder is "trying to distance himself" from Dobson and the Focus on the Family ministry -- which published several of Warren's books.
Why? Warren explains. "We're trying to reach the whole world -- people of all spiritual orientations, all political philosophies, all racial backgrounds," Warren told USA Today. "And if indeed, we have Focus on the Family on the top of our books, it is a killer. Because people do recognize them as occupying a very precise political position in this society and a very precise spiritual position."
According to the report, Warren says he will no longer appear on Dobson's radio show. In addition, he has purchased back the rights to three books Focus on the Family published -- Finding the Love of Your Life, Make Anger Your Ally, and Learning to Live with the Love of Your Life -- so he can drop Focus' name from their covers.
Speaking on his daily radio broadcast on Thursday (May 26), Dobson recalled Focus on the Family's involvement with Warren. "When eHarmony was in its infancy, we aired several radio programs that introduced the concepts to our listeners -- and according to Dr. Warren, that allowed the organization to get off the ground," he said.
Now, Dobson said, there are some "theological positions" that differ between the two ministries. He said he regrets how Warren feels, but accepts the decision to separate. "I introduced Dr. Warren and his books -- and eHarmony, more recently -- to our listeners specifically because he was and it was decidedly Christian in nature," he stated. "Dr. Warren is anxious to change that direction. So we will accept that, we will go our separate ways -- and we'll do that with reluctance and regret."
According to the USA Today article, eHarmony has grown to now become the fourth-largest "dating site" on the Internet. It charges subscribers about $50 a month, significantly more than the top three match-making websites -- Match.com, Yahoo!, and Spark Networks.
