John Wesley and Date Night by Earl Gosnell

John Wesley started Bible studies on Friday nights for college students as an alternative to partying, to be better prepared for worship come Sunday. Friday night being the beginning of the old Sabbath, and Sunday morning the new time of worship celebration, he had pretty much bracketed the weekend to help the students stay focused on the Lord. It was like the early Christians who celebrated both days.

Wesley was simply offering an alternative. He was in no way implying that a Christian who wanted to use Friday as a date night, or just go have some wholesome fun, was not in the Lord's will.

What followed can be surmised. Of the mixed group that attended Wesley's studies, some being of the age to form liaisons were attracted to each other and went and got married ... happily, we should imagine. That's fine.

Then along comes a modern preacher to take this as the norm for finding a mate, so much so that he uses it to advise brothers who complain to him that there were not enough marriageable sisters in the church. Thus he ignores the Biblical norm found in Esther of meeting a lot of women, dating the ones one likes, and marrying the one he loves best. Dating and socializing also help bring maturity in relations with the other sex.

Finally we get a pastor who turns it into a commandment to 'seek first the kingdom of God.' Now all the faithful sisters in the church believe that if they faithfully attend the Friday night Bible studies, sooner of later the match made for them will appear and proceed with serious intention. But what about operating under the Biblical norm where one wishes to date a variety of the opposite sex he simply likes, and sooner or later, if it be God's will, a serious liaison will develop. But the sisters will hardly go out on such casual dates because they are too busy going to Bible studies, and thus date night (at least for him with any sister in such a church) has been preempted by Bible study.