We'll answer your dating questions 🙋‍♂️

@Stan I’m yet to see ONE Christian reference from you advising to jump into a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship overnight.

@Jude have you ever read “The Meaning of Marriage” by Tim Keller? Highly recommend 😊🙌

You won't because that's not how life works!

@Oasis I haven’t but he’s one of my favourite authors. Thanks for the recommendation! 😃

@Stan Actually no. That’s how you choose for it to work. There’s nothing that prevents you from reconfiguring your approach 😃

Seriously, if anyone needs to reconfigure their approach, you badly need to! 🤪

@Stan I don’t date around. Sorry. 😃

@Jude There's no need to!

@Stan no need? What you’re proposing is a formula 🧪 for stacking 🥞

@Jude Really? Ok, name as many people as you can from the bible that became friends and went on to marry? "He who finds a wife, finds a good thing", God didn't say, he who finds a friend finds a good thing. Listen, I'm not saying it's not important, but believe me, If you come with a friend mindset, you will very easily get stuck there and that's all you will find! Your wife is your friend, treat her amazingly well, you will find the best-best friend ever.!

@Stan Name someone in the bible who had a boyfriend or girlfriend. 🙃

And for those who are looking for some reading material… “Prioritise friendship in your dating relationship” is from ‘Boundaries in Dating - How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Relationships’ 😃

@Jude They didn't, they had wives not friends!

@Stan Exactly right - the ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’ status is not recognised. You can’t go from being strangers to husband and wife overnight. In my view, that process in-between should focus more on getting to know someone as a FRIEND. The ‘Friendateship’ - when a stranger becomes your best friend for life and then your spouse. If you can’t even be friends how can you even be spouses? 🫤

You are right, you can't go from strangers to husband and wife overnight but something called Courtship does exist where you can get all the info you need, unfortunately this generation turned it into boyfriend/girlfriend, bet you any money, your grand parents called it something else. You are stuck on a mindset that says you need friends first before you can go forward with them.

If you download a dating app, come with the intention for that. In the distant past this has happened to me, it messes you up, if you say friends, you will only meet friends, your conversations & actions will go the friend way.! Question - do you want a wife? How does the convo go? Do you tell her off the bat, you want to be friends? If there's one thing I know about women, that word "friend", you won't comeback from it, only in very rare circumstance that happens.

@Stan Yes 🙌 Conversations should go friends way. You’re talking to your sisters in Christ. You have the “not coming back to it” mindset. In fact, the intention is to moving forward to marriage. You shouldn’t come back, you should be moving forward. I want a wife, but I don’t go in saying that when I don’t know the person. I say: “I want to know as a friend with the intention of MOVING FORWARD. I’m looking for marriage”

@Jude Has any sisters in christ mentioned "friends way" first to you? Again, for info purposes, any lady/gent that downloads a DATING APP is looking to date, not make friends. They might say, I'm not rushing anything, that means take things slow, they will never say the word "friends". If you say friends, then you're not serious about it. You read that wrong, I don't have that mindset, I have an intentional mindset.

Ok so you say -"I want to know you as a friend, with the intention of moving forward. I'm looking for marriage", cool, how many ladies has that worked on? I bet your chat list is full of friends, where does it end?

@Stan Heaps of them say “friends first”. Heaps of them say “I don’t know you let’s start as friends”. Again, this is a Christian “dating” app. You may be looking to date but others are looking for marriage and they minimise failure risks via friendships. The terminology is NOT important. What’s important is HOW you use this Christian app.

@Stan @Stan I’d appreciate a man who would do that. Hardly anyone has done that with me and honestly, I would appreciate it. It would work for God-fearing women who value deep friendship, letting God lead rather than trying to be in control. Not all marriages are successful either. So why are you using that as a measurement of success? I don’t appreciate the action of pulling others down either. You are enough in Christ. Remember that. 🌸

@Jude Heaps?? Really?? Then the issue is worse than it is, either that or you are giving off friend vibes! Thank God you said "dating" app, so you make friends to minimize failure? We all will experience failure when matters of the heart is concerned, pick yourself up and keep going.

@Jude You are right, the terminology is irrelevant, but it is still a Christian DATING app, you should use it for it's purpose and any extra is a bonus. The more you keep looking for friends, you will find them, but remember, time and year is counting by.

@Oasis Ok, then they are intentional about what they're looking for, no guy who likes a lady comes to her talking about friends. Be real and truthful, why did you download this app? I'm not pulling him down, I'm trying to understand his rebuttal to my initial statement of "the app morphing into a friendship app", we cool, I agree with alot of what he says but not on this.!

@Stan It’s actually GREAT because people on this app are not using it like Tinder or Bumble. SALT provides the alternative. The other option. The better option 🙌 I INSIST on giving brother in Christ vibes or friend vibes whatever you want to label it. I don’t believe in “vibes” or “energy” anyway. I believe in building true fellowship and moving forward slowly but surely 😃

@Oasis Heaps of guys would do that in the sevy community. I’ve heaps of good sevy friends in Sydney 👍

@Stan I have not downloaded this app to date around and stack up exes like pancakes 🥞 (even if I love pancakes 🙃) I have downloaded this app to have the opportunity to meet Christian girls in Australia, for the purpose of marrying one after a thorough assessment through friendship first. Please advise if you require further clarifications.

@Jude That's the difference between you and I, some people want better, some accept status quo! It's not great, the Christian DATING pool is tiny as heck, but hey, friends is apparently your way to go.! I used the word "vibes" for want of a better word, I hate the word, so my apologies on that. Cool, you insist on that, you have a good idea but your approach is off.!

@Stan Here's an idea, oasis wants friends first, you're a friend, you can explore that, no?

Naa you won't stack up exes, you'll stack up friends 🙂

@Stan We’ve had this conversation so many times on SALT… because you know we’re friends 😃 It’s pretty clear that “Dating to know” is in fact “Dating around”, which is very different from “Dating to marry”…which would only happen if you know you want to marry the person and the best way for you to know that FIRST is through FRIENDSHIP 😃

@Stan So I guess that’s proof that some girls are wise enough to want friendship first 😃

@Stan and there’s nothing wrong about that 😃

@Jude 😂😂 is it proof though? You are pulling on a questionable thread to back you up.

Nope! My man, people and couples grow in relationships, for the better or the worse depending on how each behaves. If you approach a lady and she accepts to court for marriage, you can build your friendship as you go along. Initial friendship requirement is not a prerequisite for successful relationship/marriage, you can build and grow together along the way.

@Stan The only thing questionable in this thread is your intent for the use of this app. And yes, it’s additional proof because you started the thread saying it’s becoming a friendship app 😃

@Stan Why do you need to build “friendship” as you go along? What’s the point of going back like you said? I don’t want to go back, I want to move forward with a strong friendship as the basis of the relationship. Again, if you can’t even be friends how can you be more? What you’re proposing is a recipe for playing and stacking 🥞

@Jude It's not questionable, it's simple, I joined a DATING app(not a friendship app)to meet eligible ladies, with the intent to meet one, settle down and have a family with!

Ok scenario, you meet a lady, make friends with her and it doesn't work out, what happens next? You gonna keep that friend or move on?

@Jude Playing and stacking what? If it doesn't work out, you go your way, she goes hers, nothing to stack. AGAIN, friendship is not a prerequisite for avoiding failure, you can be friends and it still doesn't work out, why is this notion alien to you?

@Stan That’s the problem. It’s too simplistic the way that you’re thinking. You don’t actually meet and settle down with a wife. There’s the process in-between. You know what you want but you don’t know how to get there. I understand your intent but I disagree with your approach because you’re “dating around”.

@Stan what do you mean by it doesn’t work out? When you make friends there’s no romantic attachment and no commitment because you’re assessing the person (which I’ve told you before). I’ve also told you that making friends minimises relationship failure later on because friendship provides a stronger foundation for the relationship. I never said you’re guaranteed a successful marriage. You’d still need to work on your marriage but that’s a different stage.

@Stan Nobody said it’s a prerequisite but I think it should because, even if it won’t guarantee it, it will put chances on your side for a successful marriage. It’s like going to church as a married couple reduces your chances of divorce. Why would you not do that? I think your risk minimisation strategy needs some work. My advice: Don’t date to know, i.e. don’t date around. Make friends to assess consistency before committing.

to abide by the guidelines of not participating in an argumentative nature. I’m opting out. #FleeFromYouthfulLusts #2Tim2

@Oasis I don’t think we’re necessarily arguing. Maybe Stan just want to know why people are just making friends. He doesn’t understand that people use friendships to assess people, making it safer and putting better chances on their side for moving forward successfully.

@Stan if you take that verse literally and looking for a ready-made wife you're nicking someone else's wife...

@Oasis If you need an app to remind you to put God first, that says more about you than "your walk"! Michelle Apples who was a previous host on table met her husband on Hinge, and he has been amazing for her! You can meet anyone on any app, takes grace of God and being intentional about what you want and don't want to entertain.

@Stan Ask yourself, do you think the initial purpose of this app was friendship? No, it was to bring people together dating-stylez, and with later updates, the fellowship side was born.

@Stan No, I’m not relying on an app but as someone from a broken family, I can fall into the trap of idolising relationships. It’s nice to have an app that counteracts that weakness rather than fulfils it.

@Stan it is interesting that The Christian Singles Hub now has its own app in the USA... Subscription only

@Stan The purpose of this Christian app is MARRIAGE but we don’t just get that right off the bat. I use it as a “Marriage App”.

@Stan You’re also misconstruing INTENTIONALITY and COMMITMENT. I have the intent to get married but I do not commit to someone that I don’t know and who I may not marry, putting myself in a situation where I’m dating around. I have the intent to get married. Therefore, I make friends to assess who to date for marriage. My intent is pure 👍 😃

Maybe you would not mind a shameless plug for The Missions Addiction book by David Shibley ... Not just read it , but meet the author and got to drive him from the conference to the airport way back then

@Michelle I agree with you about location as well ... It takes trust and being secure in God to post more precisely about location.... I guess mine may look cryptic for someone outside Midwest USA but it has metro abbreviation, area code & state abbreviation.... DFW was an interesting acronym at first - Dallas Fort Worth, I am not from TX 🤣.... Like the town or city of Washington could be like in 52 different states & territories in the USA ....

@Jason haha, the shameless plug is great. Thank you for developing an app that adapts to the modern world whilst remaining grounded in Christ. It’s good that you’re bringing community into dating apps, I honestly think it’s more in tune with a Godly ideal. I actually have never been bold enough to ask my dates to go to church with me for a first date. I usually do the modern traditional thing of going to a cafe or something but maybe I need to try something different.

@Oasis but perhaps moving forward I could do a bit more, “Jesus comes first, deal with it” kinda vibes. 😂

@Oasis oh can take absolutely no credit for anything on SALT app , and I feel like a later arrival as a user this year in the USA ... The Third Wheel Date show got me hooked and TABLE made this app feel more like a ministry than a business ... Discord group is family and I cannot take any credit for that ... Cannot comment on the Salty Instagram group - do not use IG ... But it's clear positive community fosters more positive community ... God bless you 🙏

@Jason Sorry, I thought you were one of the SALT app team replying. I just joined a couple of days ago and still don’t getting used to the app! 🙈

That is already ... There is a little learning curve with the SALT app and there are some context to learn , like some people on Tables chatter with each other cozy because they have been on the app for couple years .... David - Customer Service Mgr is great and here and there does open Master Class Tables on how to use the app well They are pretty good about answering questions as well ☺️