About the Author

Revd. Dr. E.D.H. (Liz) Carmichael, MBE is Chaplain and Tutor in Theology at St. John's College, Oxford.

Reviews

."..a robust and objective book, yet one which takes us deep into the pastoral realities encountered in human life and church ministry. Few could fail to profit from this well written, accessible and yet deep study." --Sanford Lakoff "Regent's Reviews "
--Sanford Lakoff
'...timely, stimulating and paradoxical book.'--Sanford Lakoff "Theology "
'...The book demonstrates well how human limitations mean that, in practice, people have to choose whom to love...The book makes its case well, arguing persuaisvely that friendship has a least as much to say as sexual love does about the goal of Christian living...at a time when many close-knit communities have broken down, and television shows like Friends respond to a nostalgic yearning for this kind of relationship, it is good to be reminded that Christianity has a lot to offer her.'--Sanford Lakoff "The Way "
'[a] marvellous, rich and stimulating book.' Bernard Green, The Tablet--Sanford Lakoff "The American Spectator "
'Carmichael's book is a beautiful one, gathering the wisdom and insights of the ages in a learned and detailed but very accessible way....Friendship: Interpreting Christian Love is a masterpiece...a book to read and read again - to savour for a lifetime.' Canon Ivan Mann, Church Times--Sanford Lakoff "Church Times "
'Carmichael's comprehensive and careful survey has given those who follow in her wake the wherewithal to do more, and her book is certain to remind every reader of the pleasures of friendship.' Lesley Smith, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol 57, No. 1--Sanford Lakoff
'Dr Carmichael has produced a most valuable and scholarly book. ... Not only is hers the first book to pull together a wealth of material from the past ... but she has spotted that the discussion of friendship is a genuinely new phenomenon in twentieth-century theology.'--Sanford Lakoff "Scottish Journal Of Theology "
'This is an important contribution to an aspect of theology that has been both studied intently and neglected and which can provide a paradigm in our troubled world for building relationships and brining peace, ' Celia Thomson, The Brown Book, 2006--Sanford Lakoff
"Liz Carmichael recognizes that much of our religious talk about fellowship or even love somehow misses the mark and threatens to become abstract. In this wonderful study, she argues, with a wealth of scholarship and of experience alike, that friendship is the really radical and transforming category we need to make our hopes concrete and to flesh out love in action, mindful of how Christ himself uses the language of friendship and how theologians have thought about faith and love as friendship with God. This is a treasury of insight and resource." Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury--Sanford Lakoff "Canterbury Press Norwich "
"The sources include an impressive array of writings, both ancient and contemporary. This book is a valuable resource for scholars, students, and others for deeper reflection on the place of friendship-love in Christian theology and spirituality." - Dongsheng John Wu, Anglican Theological Review, Summer 2008--Sanford Lakoff
Article by John Pridmore with quote from Liz Carmichael's book Friendship: A Way of Interpretating Christian Love--Sanford Lakoff "Church Times "
The book makes its case well, arguing persuasively that friendship has at least as much to say as sexual love does about the goal of Christian living, or as the experience of parental love which led Jesus to use Abba as his preferred name for God.--Sanford Lakoff "The Way: A Review Of Christian Spirituality "
--,
'...'--, "Theology "
--Theological Best Books- mentioning (Fall/ Winter 2005)
'...timely, stimulating and paradoxical book.'--Teresa Morgan "Theology "
Reviewed in International Review of Biblical Studies, 2007.
"Liz Carmichael recognizes that much of our religious talk about fellowship or even love somehow misses the mark and threatens to become abstract. In this wonderful study, she argues, with a wealth of scholarship and experience alike, that friendship is really the radical and transforming category we need to make our hopes concrete and to flesh out love in action. This is a treasury of insight and resource."