Tried With Fire

I'm reviewing Why Can't We Be Friends? at Out of the Ordinary today: There has been a lot of discussion about Why Can't We Be Friends? even before its release. There have been concerns that Aimee is advocating antinomianism (disregarding the moral law) in the area of friendship. I don't think this is the case at all. I believe she steers a theologically straight course between license and legalism, which is why I strongly recommend this book. She is not advocating permissiveness in our friendships. Neither does she give a list of cast iron dos and donts. Rather she raises the bar by encouraging her readers to look to Christ and what he has done on our behalf. It is through our union with him that the family of God can be family in holiness and purity. He sets the standard for friendship, not the culture. Read the entire review here.

(Lord willing, I will write a proper review of Why Can't We Be Friends?   at Out of the Ordinary next week, but I wanted to get these thoughts out that are in response to the book. For the record, I've been waiting for Aimee Byrd's book ever since she announced she was writing it. I've lost count of the times I've seen something on social media that would make me groan causing me to say, "Aimee, we need that book!" Having read it, I still concur. The church needs this book. ) Back when I was homeschooling, we were friends with several homeschooling families. We would get together for various activities and share the latest books or ideas that helped us. I remember a friend coming back from a convention so excited to find a book written by a brother and sister pair on how brothers and sisters can be best friends. She had a son and daughter in the middle school years who had trouble getting along, so she was hoping this book could help them out. As a mo...

I'm excited to be part of the launch team for Aimee Byrd's new book Why Can't We Be Friends?. The topic of biblical friendship brings forth strong opinions among Christians. Some say men and women cannot be friends because of the temptation to sin which affects our witness to the world. Others say we can and should be friends for the good of the body of Christ and our witness to the world. I am of the latter persuasion.  In many Christian circles for the sake of purity, cross-gender relationships are discouraged among teens because one needs to save one's self for a future spouse, not just physically but emotionally too. I get that this is a reaction to "casual" dating and to avoid immorality. Some avoid cross-gender friendships even after marriage. But this can set up marriage as the be all and in end all. It can also set up one's spouse as the sole fulfillment of every need - physical, emotional, and spiritual. (pg. 24) I'm still proces...