Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian
Overview
Friendship is a relationship like no other. Unlike our family, we choose our friends. Unlike marriage, friendship is tenuous—we can end a friendship at any time. But should friendship be so free and unconstrained? Although our culture tends to pay more attention to romantic love, marriage, family, and other forms of community, friendship is a genuine love in its own right. This eloquent book reminds us that Scripture and tradition have a high view of friendship. Single Christians, particularly those who are gay and celibate, may find it is a form of love to which they are especially called.
Writing with deep empathy and with fidelity to historic Christian teaching, Wesley Hill retrieves a rich understanding of friendship as a spiritual vocation and explains how the church can foster friendship as a basic component of Christian discipleship. He helps us reimagine friendship as a robust form of love that is worthy of honor and attention in communities of faith. This book sets forth a positive calling for celibate gay Christians and suggests practical ways for all Christians to cultivate stronger friendships.
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- Examines our contemporary understanding of friendship
- Surveys historic Christian views of the nature and purpose of friendship
- Presents a positive calling for celibate Christians
- Suggests practical ways for all Christians to cultivate stronger friendships
- Reading Friendship
- An Eclipse of Friendship
- “I Love You Because You’re Mine”
- The Transformation of Friendship
- Living Friendship
- “A Piece of Ice Held Fast in the Fist”
- Friendship Is a Call to Suffer
- Patterns of the Possible
This is a book that challenges all of us—whatever our sexual experience or longings may be—to think more truthfully about the meaning of love and the complex ways in which our communities either stifle or nurture it.
—Richard B. Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament, Duke Divinity School
Here is a book everyone interested in Christianity, and everyone interested in friendship, can profit from reading.
—Alan Jacobs, distinguished professor of humanities, Baylor University
Wesley Hill’s very personal book is an elegant, theologically rich plea on behalf of the love of friendship that uncovers fresh ways to improvise on a lost Christian tradition of committed spiritual friendship.
—Peter Leithart, president, Theopolis Institute, Birmingham, Alabama
