Rediscovering Friendship: Awakening to the Power and Promise of Women's Friendships

by Elisabeth Moltmann-Wendel (Editor)

"Friendship is a broad sphere which unites heaven and earth..." Less beholden to traditional models of family and to classical male ideals, a new generation is re-evaluating and transforming friendship, says Elizabeth Moltmann-Wendel. Observing this phenomenon, particularly among women, she elaborates its biblical affinities and its potential for enriching an often-friendless culture. In an honest and meditative style, Moltmann-Wendel finds in friendship new dimensions of adventure, consolation, self-knowledge, love, and political relevance, as well as profound resonances with Jesus' friendships with women, especially Mary Magdalene, and with his friends at the Last Supper.

136 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

Reviews

[Emmanuel Roldan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moltmann-Wendel's chapter on Mary Magdalene's friendship with Jesus was especially thought-provoking. Tracing the history of the early church's preference for the "theotokos" (Mary, the mother of Jesus), she argues that the church pushed aside the important traditions of "friendship" by elevating "motherhood" and pressing "all notions of women into it." So, what would a church "in the spirit of Mary Magdalene" look like? She answers:"The vision which this produces for us is that in the churches, the powers of transformation and renewal which are hidden and suppressed in women must be addressed and liberated, and that women have a special message for life as it is lived, which no priest, no man, no pope, no state can take from them. There must be women followers of the first woman apostle whose lives are set free for the message of life (77)."