Her Hand in Marriage- Introduction Quotes-

I am reading a really good book, and I am going to use this page to share some of those quotes..

The Book: Her Hand in Marriage
The Author: Douglas Wilson

-Introduction-

Now, all that is left is the quotes....

The quote is really long, but it is the one that has given me the most thought..

"..If a man expects a woman to respond to something when he has not yet initiated, he is like someone who expects a tennis partner to return the serve when he has not yet served. This is an "easy way out"--young Christian men often abdicate in this way. They want to find out what the woman's response would be if they initiated--without actually having to take the risk of initiation. Once the man knows that the woman would respond positively, then he initiates. This is the coward's option, leaving the burden of the initiation on her. When the man abdicates in this way, the woman is being conned into taking the initiative. Having to deal with the girl's father prevents all this. This means that a man who is initiating in a relationship must take quite a risk in talking to her father. But God has designed it so that the man is the one who is to take such a risk. He initiates, and, if she has received her father's blessing, she responds. This is biblical courtship."

This quote in particular is very valuable, because this world likes to confuse us about our roles. God's design is perfect. We would forsake a bundle of problems if we chose to view dating as well as marriage from God's perspective, and would not have a problem with submission. Initiating is not how we were made. We were made with the desire to be protected. How we carry out our roles can determine whether or not we are protected in our future relationship.

"If a couple only went out three or four times, there may not be much damage--that will come after they each have seen twenty people three or four times."

"Because the church has largely adopted a worldly system of dating, the walls of protection for our children which God designed have been broken down."

"Apart from BIBLICAL dating or courting, there are many destructive consequences--emotional, sexual, and spiritual. But if a young man seeks to initiate a relationship, and takes full responsibility for the relationship under the woman's father, there is scriptural accountability and protection."

"The modern dating system does not train young people to form a relationship. It trains them to form a series of relationships, and further train them to harden themselves to the break-up of all but the current one. At the very least, this system is as much a preparation for divorce as it is for marriage."

"Men are created to initiate, and women are created to respond. But we are not mechanical robots--God does not want us to initiate foolishly, or respond foolishly. First, the bible calls men and women to fulfill their respective roles in courtship, and secondly, they are called to fulfill them with wisdom. Such wisdom requires that we follow God's revealed design."