The Five Myths About Christian Dating (Including: Friends 1st? Sex? Future Spouse?)

  • Thread starter Thread starter SocialArtist
  • Start date Start date
  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
We are all different. God made us that way. He meets us where we are in more ways than salvation.

There's no magic formula on how to find someone to share your life. Perhaps that's the message behind the stories we read about how those in scripture found mates. Some were created especially for the other. Some couples were introduced by a third party. Some were arranged. Some had to go after them. Some were brought to them. Some met along the way.

Some choose to put more restrictions upon themselves than scripture calls us to do. Some don't. Some like complicated. Some don't.
I couldn't agree more!!
 
I guess the reason it frustrates me that Christians are so quick to tell others why waiting on God for a spouse is not biblical is because no one knows the heart of man but God. I know what God has spoken to me in regards to His call on my life, on waiting for my spouse, and in trusting Him. There are specifics that, honestly, are pearls that aren't to be tossed about to prove a point, but my waiting for God to bring me a spouse is not a fairytale or an excuse to avoid social situations.

oops really old thread...:o
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I don't understand why Christians are so fearful about trusting completely and fully in God for all things. Why do people assume that waiting on God for a spouse means that one is sitting idly by, hoping that Mr or Mrs Right will knock on the door of their house? Waiting on God is not a passive thing, it is an active and passionate thing.

I guess the reason it frustrates me that Christians are so quick to tell others why waiting on God for a spouse is not biblical is because no one knows the heart of man but God. I know what God has spoken to me in regards to His call on my life, on waiting for my spouse, and in trusting Him. There are specifics that, honestly, are pearls that aren't to be tossed about to prove a point, but my waiting for God to bring me a spouse is not a fairytale or an excuse to avoid social situations.

Though I know that there are some that do take it to an extreme, is there anything harmful about people choosing to trust God and wait on Him for their future spouse? Why are we so quick to tell these people that they are wrong? As mentioned in the OP, who are we to say what God does and doesn't do? God Himself confronts Job on this very issue. Where were you when He laid the foundations of the earth? Have you seen the storehouses full of snow? Honestly, one does not know what God has spoken to another person, so why are we so quick to assume that God doesn't have the one perfect match for some of His children? I wouldn't dare surmise that all should wait and trust, since that seems to be a major taboo among a great deal of people here.

What is the rush to marry anyway? Where is the hurry to find someone? Regardless of what is stated here, in the heart's of man, most believe there is a soul mate out there. Isn't that ironic? Even the general masses believe that each person has that one person that is made specifically for them, yet Christians, for whatever reason, are quick to argue and refute it.

So, God made Eve for Adam. A servant prayed that God would give him a sign when he was sent to find a wife for Isaac and God responded in Rebekah. When Jacob took the initiative to work for Rachel, the world cheated him and gave him Leah instead, though he ultimately marries Rachel, too. God gave Ruth Boaz, through the wisdom of her mother-in-law, Naomi, placing a Moabite in the lineage of Jesus Christ. The fact that she is in the lineage of God's only Son tells you that God had His hand in her joining with Boaz. God preserved the love and marriage of Mary and Joseph, since Mary's obedience to Him would have lost her Joseph and her reputation, yet He interceded and Joseph harkened to the words of the angels and married Mary.

God is a creative Father and He will do as He pleases how He pleases. As you can see, He never does the same thing twice. Let go and let Him be God, let Him be your father, and stop trying to dictate the way others believe and see and feel because you honestly don't know what He has spoken to them. All those in the Bible that followed hard after God looked to be insane. All that I want is what He has for me and I know His voice as I am one of His sheep and Jesus Christ is my shepherd. I trust in Him in all things, that includes marriage and the finding of a spouse. I am waiting on the Lord, unapologetically.

Love your post!
 
Full article link here.. I've copied and pasted a customized shorter version below. If you want to read something more in detail then just click this link..
http://www.crosswalk.com/11620987/

All Below is From the Above Link*******************

Myth #1: "God has one woman picked out for you to marry. You are destined to be with her, and God will guide you to her."
Good luck finding this one in the Bible. There is plenty of stuff about God's will for his people, God wanting good things for you, and God's ultimate plan. Nowhere, however, does it say that God picked out a spunky brunette whom he's waiting to spring on you at the right moment. I'm not saying that he doesn't. When it comes to God, I'm pretty careful about saying what he does or doesn't do. But I do know this—if you rely on this idea too much, your dating life will get really confusing.

Some Christians take a lot of comfort in the idea that God will do the heavy lifting when it comes to dating. God will tell them if a relationship is right, and God will end it if it's not. All they have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride. This may be the biggest excuse men use for being lazy in relationships, much less finding one.

Myth #2: "The Bible has clearly defined guidelines for dating."
People didn't date in biblical times. Dating as a socially accepted means of finding a mate has been around for less than a century. Before that, strict courtship rituals governed the path to marriage. Whom you married wasn't even up to you most of the time. Falling in love before you got married or engaged is a twentieth–century concept. Dating as we know it occurred after marriage. In college, I had an older professor from Japan whose marriage had been arranged. He made fun of modern dating, saying, "By the time you get married now, the fun is over. In an arranged marriage, the fun starts after the wedding!" (No, that wasn't a suggestion for you to set up an arranged marriage.)

For the Hebrews and the early church, dating wasn't an issue to be addressed in Scripture. Sex and marriage were, but not dating. When the Bible was written, a person basically had one of three options: remaining single, an amoral life with multiple partners or prostitutes, or an arranged marriage. There were courtship rituals in place, but nothing that looks like what we consider dating today.

Myth #3: "God will reveal to you the woman that you are going to marry the instant you meet her."
If this is true, I screwed up somewhere. I thought my wife was out of my league when I met her. We had a nice conversation, but I left thinking that she wouldn't go out with a guy like me. Regardless, I didn't get a divine telegram saying, "She's the one! Start picking out china patterns!"

Waiting for God to whack you on the head and tell you whom to marry isn't faith; it's fear. Many people want nothing to do with dating because of the risk and potential pain that it involves. This is certainly understandable, as dating can have traumatic results in unhealthy circumstances. But what do you think serves us better in the long run? Growing and suffering in the process of learning or a revelation that lets us off the hook? I would have loved to know that the beautiful woman I was talking to would one day be my wife, but I might not have worked as hard to earn her hand in marriage. I would have missed a lot of experiences that made me a better man.

Myth #4: "You have to be friends with a woman before you can date her."
This is the point where I might tick off some of you, so allow me to assuage your anger before I explain this myth. I am not saying that you cannot or should not be friends before dating. I'm also not talking about a man and a woman who are interested in each other and agree to be friends for a period before dating. Some of the most successful relationships begin in friendship. Sometimes you don't even know you want to date someone until you're friends with her. I've met couples who were friends for years and then fell in love. It's a super way to start a relationship.

The problem is that a lot of men think the best way to pursue a woman is to befriend her while hiding their interest in dating her. This is a rotten idea and sets a lot of men up for trouble.

Myth #5: "A man's sexuality is a ravenous, snarling beast that should be kept in a cage until he's married."
I admit I've never heard it put that way, but the implication is out there. Any lecture or book on dating inevitably includes something about sex (and, yes, this one does too). Frequently, the message is "Control yourself! Your sex drive is out to get you! It's just waiting for one weak moment to jump out and turn you into a nymphomaniac and demolish your soul." And then we wonder why so many Christians end up with sexual problems, both before and after marriage.

The Bible tells us to save sex for marriage (1Cor. 7:2). That's crucial. But you knew that already. The problem is we tend to emphasize this prohibition and leave it at that. No one talks about sexuality before marriage because sexuality before marriage is bad.

This leaves us with a small problem. Our sexuality is part of who we are from the moment we're born. If you take away a man's sexuality, you take away his identity. Your sexuality will be there, playing an active role, from the moment you ask a woman out. In fact, without sexuality, men wouldn't date. They'd play video games and eat pizza. Our sexuality is what gets us interested in women in the first place, and that's a good thing.

Did you think God gave you a sex drive just to torture you until you got married? There are plenty of things God does that I don't understand, but he's not cruel. Many people confuse sexual drives with sinful desires. Though sexual drives, like all drives, can become sinful, they're holy in their raw state. Yes, I said holy. Your sex drive comes from God. If you don't think that makes it holy, take it up with him.


I agree with some of what you said. As I can see now...this is a very old post. However, when it comes to sexuality...are you encouraging people not to wait for marriage? Yes it is something that is with us from birth. But just because God died on the cross for our sins should we knowingly sin and then just say "oh, God will forgive me?" Yes you will be forgiven, but when you know
Gods word you live it. Not just make excuses for sinning.
 
I don't even get the sexuality thing.

I've only asked a woman out once and never really been interested in them.