I have to admit that, until recently, I had no idea that there existed this vibrant, if a bit contentious and uncertain singles scene at Southern Seminary… a scene that has spilled into the blogosphere. Laura Beth Atwood apparently opened up a can of worms and sparked quite a debate with her open letter to single seminary men. The complaint, as I understand it, is that too many seminary men have kissed dating goodbye… and in some cases along with it some have kissed goodbye manners and chivalry. Nikki is now embroiled in a related brouhaha on her own site – you really need to go over there and see. But you might find yourself in some kind of 8th grade flashback. For their part, the women seem to be uncertain exactly what they want, and their united front may be intimidating to the guys.
So I, blessed to be removed from the single scene for 5+ years now, would like to offer a bit of perspective.
Fellas – let me simply turn to Scripture, and present to you a biblical pattern of acquiring a wife. I think this plan is the next Christian dating (or non-dating) fad that will soon be sweeping the nation and impacting a youth group near you:
Judges 21:20-23
“So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, ‘Go and hide in teh vineyards and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of the Benjamites… So that is what the Benjamites did. While the girls were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them”
So maybe my hermeneutic isn’t all that great here…. but this plan’s beauty is its simplicity, right? Just try not to hurt them.