Then with your Class Activity groups, create a padlet to talk and discuss  with one another:

1. Your preconceived notions/ definition of what is courtship and dating ( before you read the articles)

2.  What new learning/ understanding have you gained? 

3. What are the key differences between Christian courtship/ dating and engagement

4.  How do you think modern time understand and practice these concepts

2.  https://tradcatfem.com/2017/07/27/stages-of-traditional-catholic-courtship/

Courtship happens first before dating because in courtship this involves acts of doing something for another person in a romantic way to deepen their relationship that eventually leads to dating when they have established a closely intimate relationship.

2. What new learning/ understanding have you gained?

I learned that there is a big difference between courtship and dating. I understood from the articles that marriage should always be kept in mind and it is the end goal for courtship while for dating it can just be done to satisfy pleasure without upholding serious commitments.

3. What are the key differences between Christian courtship/ dating and engagement

Courtship is inclined to emphasize on marriage as the main goal that involves Christian values in fulfilling commitments to the person that he/she thinks is the right person to consider as his/her wife or husband in the future. Dating is just used for entertainment purposes to satisfy worldly desires. Engagement is when the person has decided that he or she wants to marry.

4. How do you think modern time understand and practice these concepts

I think that people in the modern time does not fully utilize and comprehend the concepts of Christian courtship and dating because I see that people nowadays neglect practicing this type of Christian courtship but instead practices more the concept of dating that is just for seeking pleasure without thinking about nourishing the commitments they established. People tend to forget in their relationships the importance of Christian values in fulfilling their commitments with one another which leads to problems or conflicts in their relationships. I also think that many people in the modern time today view relationships as a worldly tool for satisfying temporary satisfaction instead of forming these relationships with Christian values to achieve a more permanent satisfaction with the grace of God.

2. What new learning / understanding have you gained? 

I learned that dating is a serious thing and not just simple. It is the foundation of every relationship. I learned that the Church’s dating and courtship is really serious and it is like a covenant. 

3. What are the key differences between Christian coutship / dating and engagement?

Biblical courtship, also known as Christian courtship is a conservative Christian alternative to dating. "Courtship" is a rather outdated word used to describe the activities that occur when a couple is past the dating stage and in a more serious stage of their relationship. It happens before the couple becomes engaged or married and is usually meant to describe when a man is attempting to woo a woman, with marriage as the end goal. 

Dating has a more informal connotation and implies that the couple is not necessarily exclusive.

4. How do you think modern time understand and practice these concepts? 

I think the modern time understands these concepts just the way we did, as a Christian we are thought by our parents about how important marriage is in a very simple way. I think the modern times will value it in a respectable manner. 

 

2.     I have learned that my assumption of how courtship and dating is defined is entirely different from what it truly means. My initial idea about the two was that one thing leads to another, as courtship leads to dating. I’ve learned that these two are completely different practices--with courtship having greater weight than dating as it has marriage in mind. 

 

3.    What sets the two apart is their concept with respect to marriage—wherein courting someone mean that you value your exclusivity with this someone, commit, and have marriage in mind; whereas dating someone does not always mean that you plan on marrying in the future. Moreover, dating does not involve the commitment and responsibility that comes with establishing relationships. It is more of the immediate gratification of our desires and longing for companionship. In this connection, engagement is the time when people who are in a courtship decide to marry. 

 

4.    I think today’s generation has varying motions with regards to these concepts. Most people nowadays willingly choose to not commit themselves up until marriage for varying reasons. Some of these reasons include their fear of commitment, their notion of building a family as something economically unwise, or simply because they find that they enjoy their freedom to date or to be single more than being exclusive with someone.  However, I still think that there are Christians upholding the value of courtship with response to God’s call for us to marry. It is a challenge for us, therefore, to contemplate how the world has changed our views with regards to courtship and marriage.

 

2.   After reading the articles, I’ve learned that my notions about dating and courtship are far from what the articles convey. There a big difference between courtship and dating, especially regarding its view on marriage. Dating is not courtship. It is important for us to not use courtship and dating interchangeably.  We should not enter into these two things lightly.

 

3.   Intent. The key difference between courtship and dating lies on the intent. Courtship has marriage in mind as the ultimate goal. There’s exclusivity happening. Courting someone means that your find this person as a person you want to spend your life with. You commit yourself to him in a sense that you forsake others, not indefinitely but as courtship ensue. Dating is a form of entertainment. Dating someone means you spend time with the person without serious bearing or commitment. There’s no marriage in mind. It is more of a sampling process. Engagement means a person it set to marry someone; he/she already made a decision to marry.

 

4.   How the modern time understands and practices these concepts differs because it is dependent on someone’s upbringing and opinion regarding these matters. There are people who treat dating and courtship in a serious manner and there are people who don’t. However, to be honest, I observed that most people of our generation today lack the seriousness when it comes to dating and courtship. They treat these two as something they would enter for the sake of experience or the pressure of getting into a ‘relationship.’ Hence, I feel that they forget the concept of Christian courtship and dating. Dating and courtship now becomes a mean to satisfy and pleasure ourselves and of self-validation, rather than a mean for to know each other in a way that will lead us to marriage.