To a Christian, there is always a higher priority than money, popularity, comfort...even physical survival. And that is loyalty to the calling of Jesus Christ.But tragically, eHarmony.com, a much-ballyhooed "Christian" dating service doesn't accept that responsibility. Here's Janet M. LaRue's compelling column on the company's cave-in, complete with a few examples of how other pagans are trying to destroy the rights of Christian-instructed conscience in America.
New Jersey resident Eric McKinley, 46, a self-described homosexual, decided to sign up for the California-based eHarmony.com online dating service in 2005. He says he couldn’t get past the first screen, “because the pull-down menus had categories only for a man seeking a woman or a woman seeking a man.”
So naturally the aggrieved McKinley ignored the plethora of “gay” on-line dating Web sites and filed a complaint with the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights (NJDCR).
The claim makes as much legal sense as if McKinley had sued Victoria’s Secret because it doesn’t sell jockstraps. But after three years of litigation, the Christian-owned dating service caved, announcing on Nov. 20 that it would establish a same-sex dating service early next year. In the face of intimidation litigation, eHarmony chose to settle, rather than defend its rights under the U.S. Constitution or cease doing business in New Jersey...
Theodore Olsen, attorney for eHarmony, issued a statement claiming that eHarmony “did not agree to offer gay matches willingly. Even though we believed that the complaint resulted from an unfair characterization of our business, we ultimately decided it was best to settle this case with the attorney general since litigation outcomes can be unpredictable.”
Apparently the certainty of losing is more compatible than the possibility of winning. Contrary to some media, eHarmony wasn’t “forced” or “compelled” to comply with McKinley’s demands; eHarmony surrendered to his demands...
On its Web site, eHarmony says that “the most important areas of life – like values, character” matter to the success of long-term relationships. But its surrender to intimidation litigation says loudly that its corporate bottom line matters more.
Worse yet is the demoralizing effect that eHarmony’s capitulation is likely to have on those defending similar suits – and the emboldening effect on the bullies who file them.
