For Bible College students wishing to go out on a date, it was necessary to submit a request form to the appropriate office at least 48 hours in advance. Required information included: name of your date, departure and return times, destination, and most importantly, the names of your chaperones.
Couples were not permitted to single date, and in order to be approved, the chaperones had to be trustworthy enough to rat on you if you were to do anything inappropriate, such as breaking the six-inch rule. The "six-inch rule" specified that members of the opposite sex were to maintain a safe physical distance of at least six inches. Shaking hands at church was specifically allowed as an exception to this rule.
Members of the opposite sex were not allowed to be alone in a car, classroom, or even in the church auditorium. On campus, sitting together beyond hearing distance from other students was permitted, as long as the couple was not out sight.
One morning at the beginning of the Chapel service, the College Vice President made a shocking announcement: Some of the students had found a way to circumvent the dating rules - the mall!
Two couples would go to the mall together, but once there, would split up and stroll around the mall without chaperones, sometimes as long as a full 90 minutes. "What could be the harm in that?" You might ask. "What kind of gross immorality are you going to commit in a public mall full of people?" Ah, but the mall is filled with people of "the world". A couple might hold hands or even kiss, and not one of those worldly people would even think to report it to the College faculty.
The VP ranted for 15 minutes or so about the sin of single dating at the mall, and this was followed by a sermon. After chapel, I went straight to his office to confess. I had no idea I had done something wrong until his announcement sermon showed me the error of my ways! The VP assured me that it wasn't me he was worried about - it was those who had NOT come to his office to confess that had him concerned.
From reading these blog entries, one might think that all relationships between members of the opposite sex were discouraged. On the contrary, there was a lot of pressure to find a wife before graduation. We were encouraged to put off the actual marriage until after graduation, but it was made clear to us that our ministries would be limited by the lack of a spouse.
What was not made clear was how, without ever spending time alone, and without broaching any taboo subject, two people were supposed to get to know one another well enough to marry and stay married for the rest of their lives.
The relationships were orchestrated and guided by the Pastor and Faculty, who carefully absolved themselves of responsibility by giving an interminable and unrealistic list of do's and don'ts. If the marriage succeeded, it was due to the wise counsel the couple received. If the marriage failed, they could always point to the list and say, "They were told what to do and paid no attention, so it's their own fault the marriage failed."
So every year after College graduation, a rash of marriages would take place between young couples who had never kissed or held hands, whose conversations had been extremely limited in scope, and who had practically no idea what the other expected from the marriage beyond the class notes given them by The Pastor.
The results were sometimes disastrous.
Religious Tolerance Webring!
