I Kissed Dating Goodbye

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 238 pages
• Published by: Multnomah Books; Updated edition April 2, 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1590521358
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1590521359
• Book Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 8 ounces

Product Review
While most Christians agree to seek purity and save sex for marriage, few have been given a blueprint for how that should affect their view of dating and love. In I Kissed Dating Goodbye, Joshua Harris exposes the "Seven Habits of Highly Defective Dating" and offers a realistic outline of how to have a biblical vision of marriage. Harris contends that one must begin with a new attitude, viewing love, purity, and singleness from God's perspective rather than thinking that love and romance are to be enjoyed "solely for recreation." In such well-named chapters as "Guarding Your Heart" and "What Matters at Fifty," Harris encourages the reader to look at one's character rather than reveling in infatuation, to regard love as a truly selfless, biblical act rather than a feeling. He refutes the concept that we are victims of "falling in love" (that it is beyond our control), saying that "God wants us to seek guidance from scriptural truth, not feeling. Smart love looks beyond personal desires and the gratification of the moment. It looks at the big picture: serving others and glorifying God." Before you roll your eyes, moaning that this sounds terribly unromantic, know that Harris does a superb job of couching his convictions in the sincere belief that if we are purposeful in our singleness and date with integrity, a fulfilled marriage awaits us--in God's timing. --Jill Heatherly --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Joshua Harris's first book, written when he was only 21, turned the Christian singles scene upside downand people are still talking. More than 800,000 copies later, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, with its inspiring call to sincere love, real purity, and purposeful singleness, remains the benchmark for books on Christian dating. Now, for the first time since its release, the national #1 bestseller has been expanded with new content and updated for new readers. Honest and practical, it challenges cultural assumptions about relationships and provides solid, biblical alternatives to society's norm.

Tired of the game? Kiss dating goodbye.

Going out? Been dumped? Waiting for a call that doesn’t come? Have you tasted pain in dating, drifted through one romance or, possibly, several of them?

Ever wondered, Isn’t there a better way?

I Kissed Dating Goodbye shows what it means to entrust your love life to God. Joshua Harris shares his story of giving up dating and discovering that God has something even better—a life of sincere love, true purity, and purposeful singleness.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: I Kissed Dating Goodbye: A New Attitude Toward Relationships And Romance (Paperback) I saw the fruits of this book before I read it, and sadly they were mostly negative, despite the potential of the book's intended message. Its wild popularity is one reason why I no longer attend an evangelical church. For instance, new converts often own 3 copies of Harris' book and can spread the anti-dating gospel, but know nothing about the trinity, the Sacraments, or social justice matters. Men sit worried while their girlfriends are on a retreat because the leaders there are giving a "dating talk," which will likely pressure their girlfriends to go into confusion about their otherwise healthy relationship. Men go to the movies with a girl; they pay, they buy dinner, and then call it every term under the sun but "date" to avoid committing the perceived ultimate sin. Harris has identified the problem: secular dating can be wrong, silly, and dysfunctional. However, the alternatives Harris gives are dysfunctional too. He asserts that romantic love distracts teens from potentially good achievements. However, he fails to consider that a love relationship is itself a good thing! To create a dichotomy between fully serving Christ and dating is false. One can be a good Christian AND be in a meaningful "romantic" relationship. We lose freedom in Christ when we restrict one-on-one interactions to only one sex! While it may seem liberating to know that singleness is okay, his book strikes me as extreme. Josh takes biblical sources, which were interwoven into the culture of the time, and transports them to the present time, neglecting the original context. He uses many personal stories, but rarely quotes more than one or two lines of scripture. Using this method, one could say that "Biblical" love consists of having multiple wives, marrying cousins, or supplying virgins to keep old married kings warm at night (all of these examples occur in the Bible and are not condemned). From Song of Songs, one can infer that romantic love makes life much more meaningful, and therefore is an essential part of life. Fortunately Harris admits his ideas are not for everyone. However, since his book is all the rage, most people ignore his caveat, and take the message "the best Christians don't date" with them. Just compare the few youth group studies on the Trinity or the Incarnation to the large number on dating! Perhaps teens do need a book that challenges them to step back from the dating scene and breathe a little easier if they are dateless. However, teenagers soon grow up, and realize that relationships often require trial and error to perfect, and can be meaningful in spiritual and physical ways outside of marriage (but don't take it too far!). If you want to date, then by all means, use your liberty and date. If you prefer "courting," then court. Let's just place Harris' book in its own proper context: one man's interpretation of Christian ethics, but not for everyone. Comments (9) | | (Report this)