Thursday, August 11, 2011

Matt Chandler on Christian Dating

Sometimes, you run across something which perfectly encapsulates your thoughts. I have long believed that Christian dating has gotten really weird. I don't know when this happened, but some of us are not far from advocating something like temporary monasticism absent miraculous intervention. Here's Pastor Matt Chandler of Village Church in Dallas, a godly man I respect on the topic:


3 comments:

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

I think the problem about "Christian Dating" originated with Bill Gothard and his cultic views of "courtship," which have been adopted by so many in the homeschool movement. Home school icon Josh Harris helped promote it. And there are other various promoters of the "courtship" idea as being the only godly way to find a spouse. It has really gotten so bizarre as to be almost a cultic movement in itself, as they twist the Scriptures to "prove" that their particular brands of "courtship" are "God's Way" of doing matrimony.

The Bullhorn said...

Glenn-
I agree. The Bible has little to say about courtship vs. dating and a lot to say about conducting yourself with godliness in all areas of life. How did we get into this mess with these things that should be pretty basic?

Joe

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

We got into this mess because everyone seems to want a rule book where they can just check off the lists to be the perfect Christian. That is how Gothard got the power he attained - by giving people the lists. I've seen a lot of damage done by this movement, and a new blog just started a couple weeks ago which highlights the Gothard courtship version and the harm it caused.