The issues of dating, courtship, and marriage have become hot-button concerns among American evangelicals--and especially among young people, their parents, and those who would minister among them. This much is clear: The model of dating, "hooking up," and romantic involvement that prevails in the larger culture is incompatible with the Christian understanding of marriage, love, sex, and romance.

So, what are Christians to do? In one sense, Joshua Harris lit the fuse on the current discussion with the publication of his book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye in 1997. Since the publication of Harris's book, writing books on courtship and dating has become something of a cottage industry among evangelicals.

Now, Alex Chediak attempts to clear the air with the publication of Five Paths to the Love of Your Life: Defining Your Dating Style. Chediak hopes to assist parents and young people as they try to determine a truly Christian model for the development of romantic relationships in preparation for marriage.

Chediak is currently an apprentice at The Bethlehem Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota under the direction of Dr. John Piper. While serving in Nevada as a pastoral intern, Chediak had presented a series of messages on singleness, romance, and biblical wisdom to a local congregation. In the process of preparing those messages, he encountered the very confusion he now attempts to clarify.

Chediak has pulled together a top-rank team of writers, each of whom has given serious thought to these questions. Some are already publicly identified with these concerns, while readers may be introduced to at least some of these authors for the first time.

In Five Paths to the Love of Your Life, Chediak brings together authors Lauren F. Winner, Douglas Wilson, Rick Holland, Jonathan Lindvall, and Jeramy and Jerusha Clark. Through these authors, the book introduces the reader to five different "paths" toward romance, love, and marriage. This much is clear--Five Paths to the Love of Your Life will plow new ground and prompt many energetic conversations.

"Deep down inside, many Christians are frustrated with their dating experiences," Chediak advises. "They've been wounded. They've given in to sexual temptation. They've compromised their standards to avoid being lonely. They know, instinctively, that it should not be this way. Most do not desire to position themselves for lifelong singleness, but very few know how to go about finding true, lasting, committed, exclusive love." Thus, "This book is here to help."

The structure of the book allows each of the five "paths" to be presented with both theoretical explanation and practical application. Readers are almost certain to find some questions unanswered in these presentations, but this book offers a fair and informative analysis that will inform and prompt further thinking.

Lauren F. Winner argues for what she calls "the countercultural path" to love. Winner is perhaps the most interesting writer to be included in this collection. Just a few years ago, her writings on the issue of unmarried sex sparked considerable controversy in evangelical circles. Her new book, Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity, offers a truly counter-cultural perspective on human sexuality. Clearly, Winner has been thinking seriously about these issues, even as she has spoken openly about her own spiritual pilgrimage and intellectual path.