DATING:
The motive of recreational dating is to have fun. A person will often date someone who they do not really know at all and have no intention of eventually marrying. One of the goals of dating is to impress the one you are out with, usually for selfish reasons.
Men try to charm their date and women try to entice. Dating is progressive by nature. Each person has their own personal standards as to what is appropriate actions of conduct and what is not on a first date. But both parties hope that they will become more and more intimate as time passes.
The Problem with this is that there is no real commitment and the lives of those who date are littered with failed relationships and the pain that follows. By the time most people in America gets married, they have already gone through a number of painful 'divorces' without ever being legally married. They bring all this baggage from the past into their marriage. The temptation to compare your new mate with those whom you were involved with before is extremely difficult to avoid. This can and sometimes easily breed discontentment.
Many people are excellent daters. They have learned how to impress a date. But this is a "dating" behavior not a "marriage" behavior - it will not carry over into your relationship as mates.
COURTING:
Is spending time getting to know a prospective mate. The goal of courting is not to have fun or impress the other person, but to gather information and analyze compatibility. It is not time set aside to flirt. People who date usually begin at high school age, and date without any thought of Marriage. People who Court do so because they are ready to marry and are specifically looking for a mate who is also ready.
The Bible teaches that the Church is the future Bride of Jesus Christ, and that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for His Bride. Before a man can Court he must do as Jesus is doing,- prepare a place for his bride. This means he must have a suitable home ready and be financially able to provide for a wife and children.
The Apostle Paul teaches the Church that we are not to be joined with unbelievers who are outside the faith. Paul also taught that to be married to a man who did not provide for his family financially is actually worse than marrying an unbeliever, -"If a man does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 1 Timothy 5:8