Just had to ask...
Tonight in our sophomore girls' bible study, we posed the question "Is it okay for Christians to date non-Christians?" I took the question and discussion guidelines from a book called Controversial Discussion Starters for Youth Ministry. (True to its title!) My intent was to get the girls thinking and to let them discover God's perspective from scripture. Well, it got them talking, some more than others. Some had very definite opinions on the issue. It was a lively discussion. Not everyone agreed. Sometimes you get to end the study with everything all neatly wrapped up. And everyone goes home happy. This was not one of those nights.
posted by Flower Mound Mom at 7:37 PM
7 Comments:
I can honestly say I couldn't care less about anyone's "happiness" when they leave...but I care a great deal about people's spiritual growth and learning to think about each and every issue from a Biblical perspective.
A speaker from a K-12 private school came to my course the other night. In talking about how his teachers don't just give children answers to their questions, but rather guide them in finding those answers. His comment, which I thought was simple but wonderful: "Sometimes it's okay for a child to go home without having an answer given. To live with a question is a really powerful experience for a young child."
How did you define "date??" Maybe I'm a heathen, I don't know, but as a teen I would have found it difficult to grill every guy who asked me out about his spiritual walk with Christ when all we were doing was going to a goofy movie. I suppose I could argue both ways on this one depending on the definition of "date." Kudos to you for making them THINK for themselves. I think that's more important than the right answer. Just remember that the Bay of Pigs occurred because of "groupthink" so sometimes everyone agreeing and being happy isn't the best thing.
The girls seemed to all agree that they would atleast know something about the guy before they went out with him (other than his name). Some thought that they would know right off that he was a Christian. I asked how they would know. This brought on more discussion. We were more specific with the term "dating" as being exclusive with one guy. Should they be exclusively dating one guy who was not a Christian? With the very possibility that it could turn into a serious relationship?
With that definition in mind, that does make it a trickier question. I think that was probably a very meaningful discussion for all involved. I'm glad you brought it up - it would be a good discussion to have with my sons!
Who decides who is Christian? Who decides whose version of Christianity is acceptable to date? I can honestly say that I couldn't care less about anyone's judgement about whether my spiritual growth meets their approval.
what do you care about mary?
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