Biblical Dating

Holding Hands Holding Hearts by Richard D. Phillips & Sharon L. Phillips

What does the Bible say about dating? Nothing. And everything!

That's the catch-phrase of this book and the closest thing to a summary provided for it. Holding Hands Holding Hearts is a book by a husband and wife couple about how to date as Christians devoted to Jesus, not as people of the world do. For all 1.5 of you who have been reading my blog, you're probably surprised to see a book this frothy on my list. I usually read more intellectually engaging books rather than practical or self-help books, but I had nothing to read at the time and this book is short so I got it. Since this book is about single people dating they naturally spend about half of the book talking about marriage. Wait... What? As exasperating as that can be it is a necessary thing as Christians should date in order to lead to marriage. One thing I did enjoy about the book was their in-depth look into the curses that God places on men, women, and the earth and how it affects our relationships with each other in this fallen world. Unfortunately, I didn't agree with everything they said. In chapter 9 they say, without equivocation, that singleness is not a gift. I kept rereading it to see if I misinterpreted them, but I don't think I did. What is singleness then? It is a trial. While it is not untrue that singleness is a trial, and that marriage and parenthood, even though they are gifts, are also trials, and that there certainly are people who have this gift of being able to stay single for the Kingdom (all things that they claim), I think their insistence that singleness itself is not a gift is an erroneous claim. Indeed, I can't say I'm always happy to be single, but does God not have a loving reason for giving it to me? I'm more in agreement with Paul Matthias, a pastor at the Village Church, that singleness is a gift and marriage is a gift. Both have their own trials in this fallen world and both provide us with opportunities to serve God and serve the church.

Despite some issues I have with it, I did enjoy the book. The fact that it's simple and quick helps. I recommend it to anyone curious about gender roles, the value of men and women, and how to date them well. Now if only I could put the advice to use!