Ruby in the Rough: Courtship vs. Boyfriends

What is the difference between a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship involving two Christians and courting? This is a question I get asked a lot! I think one of the key differences can be summed up by a single word: ‘BELONGING’. Let me explain! Read the rest here!

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One thought on “Ruby in the Rough: Courtship vs. Boyfriends”

Hobbit says:

April 10, 2016 at 5:32 am

It’s interesting that this is a British article, because the British Christian culture does not have what an American would call ‘dating’ to any degree.

More useful, perhaps - and I write as a single - to acknowledge that in practice there is a significant grey area between courtship and dating, which the main article really didn’t acknowledge. It turns on Feasibility, Intentionality and Accountability:

* Feasibility - could the couple get married?
* Intentionality - are the couple working towards getting married?
* Accountability - are the couple accountable in their relationship?

If these things are present in full, we can talk about it as a courtship. If none of them are present, then it is recreational dating and therefore to be avoided. If these things are present in part… then, there is room for growth. What in a British context is called, “going out”, sits somewhere between dating and courtship.

Having had too many years to think about this, one weakness of “I kissed dating goodbye” is that it did not acknowledge any grey area between courtship and dating. It also did not acknowledge that courtship for anyone over thirty is going to work very differently than it will for someone barely out of their teens.

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