Dating 101: What is Dating Anymore?

David began by bringing a few teens up on stage. He asked them to quickly define these words: to date, dating, seeing each other, and hooking up – according to today’s culture. The answers were quite despairing. Answers included talking about sex, no strings attached, and conditions.

David then asked the teens about the goal of dating. The arena all answered in unison, “marriage”. So, according to our culture, we are supposed to prepare for this sacred union of marriage by a no strings attached and a hook up culture. Really?

The world is constantly disintegrating the ideas of the way of dating and marriage that God has for us. David explained that, “The world doesn’t understand the sacredness of marriage”. So how do we get back God’s idea?

The idea of dating needs to be renewed. David said,

“Dating is when we learn to sacrificially love people. It should give us a chance to discover ourselves, others, and God’s place in relationships.”

David gave some great tips to keep in mind for dating:

  • Ask God’s blessing at the beginning of a relationship
  • Enter it with direction, toward discerning marriage
  • Involve the families and friends
  • Be accountable to others
  • Pace yourselves as you spend time together
  • Always listen for the Lord’s guidance

At the end, David brought Katie Prejean-McGrady out on stage to answer some of the teen’s questions, which you can listen to on the audio embedded at the top of this post, or our live stream.

Written by Kelsey Rohman
Hi everyone! I am a senior at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas studying Psychology and Theology. My five main loves are Jesus, St. Louis sports (Go Cardinals and Blues!), my pets, sleep, and coffee! I'm from St. Louis and am a part of All Souls Parish in Overland.