We last tackled the idea of friendship when we explored the so-called ‘hermeneutic of suspicion’ – that cloud of concern that today hangs over any close relationship between two people. But friendship in the Bible was not inevitably corrupted by sex, coercion, or power plays. Today we pick up some other themes from John’s new book Transforming Friendship to look at paradigmatic friendships in Scripture – Ruth and Naomi, David and Jonathan, Jesus and Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and Paul and Timothy. What do these friendships teach us about the wonderful intimate friendship with God we are invited into by Jesus? Why do we miss the earth-shattering importance of Jesus declaring his disciples will no longer be his servants but his friends? And how can we bring these ideas of faithful, covenant loyalty and vulnerable love into our 21st century friendships?
Find out more about my new book Transforming Friendship and how to pre-order your copy here.
In each episode of Matters of Life and Death, brought to you by Premier Unbelievable?, John Wyatt and his son Tim discuss issues in healthcare, ethics, technology, science, faith and more. John is a doctor, professor of ethics, and writer and speaker on many of these topics, while Tim is a religion and social affairs journalist. We talk about how Christians can better engage with a particular question of life, death or something else in between.
We last tackled the idea of friendship when we explored the so-called ‘hermeneutic of suspicion’ – that cloud of concern that today hangs over any close relationship between two people. But friendship in the Bible was not inevitably corrupted by sex, coercion, or power plays. Today we pick up some other themes from John’s new book Transforming Friendship to look at paradigmatic friendships in Scripture – Ruth and Naomi, David and Jonathan, Jesus and Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and Paul and Timothy. What do these friendships teach us about the wonderful intimate friendship with God we are invited into by Jesus? Why do we miss the earth-shattering importance of Jesus declaring his disciples will no longer be his servants but his friends? And how can we bring these ideas of faithful, covenant loyalty and vulnerable love into our 21st century friendships?
– Find out more about John’s new book Transforming Friendship and how to pre-order your copy: https://www.johnwyatt.com/transforming-friendship/
– Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173
– If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John’s website: http://www.johnwyatt.com
– For more resources to help you explore faith and the big questions, visit: http://www.premierunbelievable.com