Back to Issues Christians Face
DATING vs COURTSHIP part 7
The problems with dating
Top 25 reasons not to date!
Why do people feel so strongly about these issues? Because the "dating game"
is such a dangerous game to play! Whether you are the predator or the prey, you are quite
likely to be hurt by the recreational dating scene. Some may come out unscarred from the
pit of snakes, but is that any reason to walk through it? :)
- Dating promotes lust and moderate sexual activity, opening the door for fornication.
- Dating develops a self-centered, feeling-oriented concept of love.
- Dating creates a permanent endorphin-bond between two people who will not spend their
lives together.
- Dating teaches people to break off difficult relationships, conditioning them more for
divorce than marriage.
- Dating creates a standard of comparison by which mates are first chosen, but after
marriage rejected.
- Dating develops an appetite for variety and change, creating dissatisfation within
marriage.
- Dating causes late marriages, leaving more time for falling into sins associated with
singleness.
- Dating destroys fellowship, leaving Christians alienated and ineffective for cooperative
ministry.
- Dating lacks the protections and guidance afforded by parental involvement of courtship.
- Dating doesn't prepare children to face "life's realities" -- it
warps
life's realities!
- Dating devalues sex and marriage.
- Dating leads to intimacy but not necessarily to commitment.
- Dating tends to skip the "friendship" stage of a relationship.
- Dating often mistakes a physical relationship for love.
- Dating often isolates a couple from other vital relationships.
- Dating, in many cases, distracts young adults from their primary responsibility of
preparing for the future.
- Dating can cause discontentment with God's gift of singleness.
- Dating creates an artificial environment for evaluating another person's character.
...
more to come!
These problems are extracted from "Dating: Is it worth the risk?" by
Reb
Bradley; "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris; "Dating,
Betrothal and Courtship" by Dr S. M. Davis; "Dating vs. Courtship"
by Paul Jehle and various posts to the "Courtship Ring" mailing list.
Please see the list of resources
for details of where to access these resources!
Back to Issues Christians Face