I would like to share some awesome advice concerning the topic of dating...by PastorShaun.

How do I say this sensitively? I think dating is STUPID! Why? Because the current system of dating is soooo anti-biblical. Dating today means to pick up relationships with someone of the opposite sex to see if you like them. Like them! The Bible presents one plan for a relationship between man and woman and that is marriage.

So how do you find the one you are suppose to marry? You run after God with all you are. If you see someone keeping up, start meeting with them in a group setting to keep yourself accountable. You don't need to be alone with a girl, particularly a girl you are attracted to! Now if the relationship develops and you feel that she is the one that God has for you because:

1 She is a Christian who does not require you to back up in your walk.

2. She has a call in her life that compliments yours.

3. You think she could put up with you for the rest of her life.

If you get to this stage you have probably met your wife. Notice what wasn't included here. No kissing, petting, being alone for long periods of time, sharing you most intimate secrets, hanging on each other like you have already have a relationship blessed by the Lord.

This process is not referred to as dating. It is called courting because it has a very specific purpose. By the way every couple I know who has pursued their relationship God's way, regardless of the final result, has no gaping wounds in their heart, no unwanted children, no STDs, and no regrets.

I hope this helps.

Love the Father, Follow the Son, Be filled with the Holy Spirit, and Shine for the glory of God.

.....another comment on dating by PastorShaun

If the other person is not your spouse (you are not pronounced husband and wife before God and witnesses) then you should protect the purity of that person. Not purity by the worlds standards but by God's.

In all honesty the person who is the most dangerous to your purity is the one you are attracted to. So if you are considering a relationship with someone you had better have a great plan on how to protect them from you, and how to protect yourself from them.

If that is in place and you are persuing the relationship in a way consistant with biblical purity you can call it dating, courting, defoliating, percolating, or anything you want.


.....the difference between dating and courting

Dating as practiced in popular culture consists of two people spending time together in a relationship with no clear goal or intention other than enjoying each other.

Courting can look a lot the same except that it is bounded by the idea that the time spent together is for the purpose of developing a covenant (permanent) relationship.

Dating often leads to broken temporary relationships where two people share more than they should have and end up very hurt and full of regrets.

Courting that recognizes the purpose of marriage focuses on not going to fast or too far, because the ultimate goal is determining if the other person is your spouse.

I just heard a great quote, "premarital sex will damage a good relationship, and prolong a bad relationship." That is soo true. When you consider that a biblical definition of sex is much more conservative than current culture, dating or any non-accountable relationship is dumb.