before i say anything i'm not getting into a debate about dating versus courting. both are exactly what the individuals and individual couples make it to be. both can be extremely Godly and both can be extremely reckless.
okay now on to the actual post
why date? depends entirely on your motives. Why i'm dating my bf is to see if he will be the one i wind up spending the rest of my life with.
how to let someone down without hurting them in any way? I have no clue
I've had to do it before and i hated it because they were extremely nice guys and i didn't want to hurt them for anything but ultimately its kinder to just be honest with them because yeah they may be a little hurt and disappointed if you turn them down right upfront but leading them on will only hurt more in the end.