Courtship - Introduction

"Biblical Courtship in the Modern World"

I'm reading this booklet today - going to review/summarize it here, chapter by chapter.

Introduction

Our current dating practice encourages sexual activity, emotional vulnerability without covenant protection, and comfort with serial relationships and break-ups. Just because many “survive” and successfully marry after dating doesn’t make it a good system. God made men to initiate, and women to respond, generally. Dating takes most of the risk out of the initiation, with flirting – the guy can tell after a while if she will say yes. This removes the girl’s father from the process, when his permission should be sought upfront. This is the real risk for the boy to initiate! Courtship protects the girl from boys running roughshod over her, which is systematically allowed in dating. Labels are relative here. While "dating" has bad connotations, it isn’t against Scripture for a boy and girl to go out alone. "Courtship" comes from a medieval system associated with immorality. “Some couples who ‘date’ are in closer conformity with biblical principles than other couples who embrace the ‘courtship’ model.”