Dads against daughters dating?

There's a new t-shirt, a couple of new books out on the subject and a movement that goes beyond the bookstores pushing the concept.

But say what you want, it is an idea whose time once was, and needs to be renewed. Dating is a lousy idea. Somewhere along the line in the early to middle twentieth century culture decided that young couples pairing off and discovering fuller (actually, far shallower) meanings and implications of sexuality was a good idea.

The concept of courtship is winning out in the minds of a growing number of evangelical parents. Here is the basic, if woefully brief, brief - let Dads in particular and parents in general be on the lookout for mates for their daughters. Pray long and hard. Trust in God. If a guy takes an interest in your gal, he works through Dad first, not Dad later. Courtship is done with the purpose of marriage in mind, so it is not done lightly. Precious little physical contact prior to marriage. First kiss ought to be at the wedding altar. Time alone with the opposite sex ought to be limited.

You get the gist. It works out differently for different families. But for all those wondering which planet these practitioners of courtship are from one would be hard-pressed to suggest that dating as a norm has worked out well Christians since we began participating in this now-cultural norm unthinkingly.

Only one problem with the T-shirt. Mine reads "Dads-Against-Sons-Dating, Too." I have five of those "sons."