What is friendship? Is it ethically important? Does it exist outside ethics? Is it a potential distraction from the love of God or from moral responsibility? How might it nourish our spiritual lives? How should we make sense of the moral responsibilities we often take ourselves to have to our friends? Does friendship have anything to do with politics?

Understanding Friendship answers these questions by painting a picture of friendship as a vibrant expression of Christian love that can enrich individual lives even as in various ways it can also prove socially, culturally, politically, and spiritually significant. Through a wide-ranging, erudite, yet accessible exploration of theological and philosophical traditions, Understanding Friendship examines what friendship is while showing how its distinctive moral status can be supported by multiple approaches to Christian ethics. Understanding Friendship ultimately reveals friendship's place in a fruitful understanding of Christian spirituality.