What Is Christian Courtship & Why Isn't It Just Called Dating, Per The Bible
Is God a part of your romantic relationship?
pexels When you think of dating someone, it usually goes along the lines of, 'pick up your date, go to the movies, grab some dinner, and maybe end the night with a kiss.'
Your main concerns on the date probably revolve around how kind, smart, generous, and funny the person is.
The topic of religion may not even be brought up in conversation.
Within the Christian faith, dating is a little different; in fact, they call it Christian courting.
Christian courting revolves around maintaining God's presence within your budding relationship.
The couple must decide if it is in God's will that they are together in the long run.
The couple must also have a present mentor within their relationship:
A pastor, parent, or close friend may be the mentor. This mentor ensures that the couple stays faithful to each other and God.
The term 'courtship' mainly represents the willingness to resist temptations in a relationship.
Instead of casually dating around and opening your heart to multiple people, courting calls for each person to save their raw emotions for their one true love.
Purity is the guiding factor that plays into courting; resisting any desire beyond what's allowed in marriage is key to a successful Christian courtship.
You may think that there is a possibility of having both aspects of regular dating and Christian courtship within a relationship – there is, as every relationship and circumstance is different.
The main difference between dating and Christian courtship is that those who casually date do not always prioritize the thought of marriage.
When someone is dating around and testing the waters, they are not necessarily in it to find their one true love.
Courtship occurs only when two people have made the decision that their only purpose is to one day get married, in the presence of God.
When two people start dating, they usually wait a while to introduce their significant other to their parents.
We have all heard the horror stories of the guy bringing his girlfriend to his parents' house on the first date and it ends up being very awkward.
In courtship, both parties in the relationship have their families front and center. A families approval holds a lot of meaning within a Christian courtship.
During the era of the New Testament, it was an eternal sin to engage in premarital sex because it can lead to more than one partner down the road due to lack of commitment.
The Bible says, "But, because of sexual immoralities, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband..." (WEB,1 Corinthians 7:2).
There are Christians today who believe that having any physical intimacy before marriage is a sin, while others are a little more flexible with that rule.
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Christians who casually date may engage in physical intimacy and give in to temptations; however, those who begin Christian courting may not give in to any physical desires or risk losing their virtue.
There is no set rule either way – every individual is allowed to follow their heart and seek a path they deem valuable.
Dating may open the window to possible temptations that are frowned upon in the Christian community; however, there is also nothing wrong with casually dating and having fun.
Seek the life you want to live and find a partner that also cherishes those values.
Carlie Fox is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture and relationship topics.