Geared toward single adults rather than teenagers, Recovering a Biblical View of Christian Dating attempts to answer the question, "What does the Bible say about dating?" The fact is that dating is a twentieth-century notion so the challenge is to think biblically about a matter on which there is no direct teaching. Organized into three main sections, the book explores God's design in creation, the relationship fallen through sin, and the relationship redeemed by God's grace.

There has been a resurgence of books in recent years on how to tackle singleness, dating, courting and just about every other area associated with people who hope to be married one day. Add Holding Hands, Holding Hearts by Richard and Sharon Phillips to this growing list.

There has been much extremism on this subject, from I Kissing Dating Goodbye to whole-heartedly embracing dating without thought given to the worldliness that can creep into a dating mindset. What I appreciate about the Phillips’ attempt to address this subject is best summed up in this quote from the introduction:

What does the Bible say about dating? Nothing. And everything! Our challenge is to think biblically about an activity that isn’t in the Bible…Our approach is to take the biblical principles of a healthy marriage and work backwards to a healthy dating relationship. The foundations for a healthy, godly marriage begin while dating. This gives a firm indication of where they are going to take the reader in this book. The first half of the book addresses what the Bible says about marriage from God’s design in creation, how sin has affected male/female relationships and how Christ has redeemed these relationships. The second half of the book provides biblical wisdom, gaining insight from the Proverbs while addressing such topics as the first date, when to commit, waiting on love, and how to move from dating to marriage.

Richard and Sharon Phillips have given an excellent contribution to the oft-written subject matter of singleness drawing on ten-plus years of singles ministry experience. They use a very clear-cut writing style that is Bible-centered and practical. I would say that Holding Hands, Holding Hearts rises to the top of choices of books for the Christian single person as they seek to have Christ-honoring relationships with the opposite sex. This book provides a nice balance to the extremes found in many Christian circles. – Todd Burgett, Christian Book Previews.com

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Reviewed by Tammy (North East, PA), September 17, 2009

With three daughters of dating age, I purchased this book with the hope that it would reinforce the biblical values that my husband and I have attempted to instill in our girls about the importance of dating only men who are marriage material. The book did not disappoint. While it starts out a bit dry, (the authors lay the foundation beginning with the story of creation/Adam & Eve/sin),as you read on you come to understand and recognize the importance of laying the foundation. This book is different than many of the books written on the topic of dating and is very thought provoking. Rather than encourage young people to focus on "compatibility factors" and self centered lists of "must have character qualities", it challenges them to build their relationship on the foundation of Christ. They are encouraged to consider every step in the dating process in light of their relationship with Christ and in line with biblical standards. Young men and women are motivated to think deeply about the dating relationship in regard to the next step, marriage. The book is most certainly targeting spiritually grounded single men and women looking to please God and discover His plan for them in regard to the dating/marriage relationship. I plan to purchase two other copies to pass on to my younger daughters as they approach the age to be married.

Reviewed by Lauren (Clemson, SC), May 20, 2008

I absolutely loved this book. If you're thinking about dating, or even if you're skeptical or outright opposed to dating because of the worldly approach many take, you should read this book. It presents a very godly approach to dating. They begin the book looking at a lot of Scripture and explore the very general ideas of God's intentions for man and woman and the affects of sin. Then, they give some practical advice for dating. My boyfriend and I read through it together, and, although I don't think it's really intended for that (it's more for an individual read), it helped us think on a lot of issues and make some good choices.

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