Can Christians be Friends with Non-Christians? Disclaimer: Use this note if the Christian uses Quran 3:28, Quran 5:51, etc Credit to Quran and Bible Blog —— First Scriptural Evidence: 2 John 1:9–11 “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” (2 John 1:9-11) The unknown author of this letter did not mince words regarding associating with unbelievers. A Christian was forbidden to greet such a person or to let him in his house. As we will see later, Paul forbid his followers from associating with anyone who claimed to be a Christian (i.e., a “brother” or “sister”) but committed sins like sexual immorality or idolatry. Obviously, friendship would be out of the question with such a person. Of course, modern Christians may interpret these verses differently and try to sanitize the meaning to make it less restrictive. However, in doing so, such Christians would deviate from the teachings of their beloved church fathers? As it turns out, they were unanimous that Christians should not associate with non-Christians and used 2 John 9–11 as scriptural support. First, let us establish that the people that “John” banned Christians from letting into their homes included a “wide range of heretics”, according to Bede “the Venerable” (d. 735). According to Bede, “John” included Jews and anyone who denied Jesus’ divinity in his blacklist. In his commentary on 2 John 1:7, Bede stated that: “this verse might apply to a wide range of heretics. It may refer primarily to those who believed that Christ was incarnate but who understood this in the wrong way by denying some aspect of it. Perhaps they rejected the idea that his flesh was real or that his soul was as ours. Or perhaps they refused to accept that he was truly divine, or that his Father was really God or that the Holy Spirit was really Almighty God. John may even be referring to those Jews who, rejecting any link between Jesus and God, deny that Christ has come in the flesh but are waiting for the antichrist, to their own damnation.” Source: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, Volume XI [electronic edition], ed. Gerald Bray (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2000). —— Also, even if the unknown author of 2 John was speaking specifically of “heretics” who professed to be “Christians” only, and not pagans or Jews in general, it would be reasonable to conclude that the author was still urging his followers to avoid any contact with a particular group of “non-Christians” (since “heretics” would not be considered “orthodox”). But, as we just saw, this was not the view of Bede. —— Earlier church leaders, including Tertullian, Ambrose of Milan, Hilary of Arles, Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, Didymus “the Blind”, and Basil “the Great” all interpreted 2 John as forbidding any association with “heretics” or non-Christians in general. Below is a list of their respective commentaries, which are taken from the book “Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture” 👇 Tertullian: “Although we ought to be seeking at all times, where ought we to seek? Among the heretics, where all is foreign and opposed to our truth, with whom we are forbidden to associate?” Ambrose of Milan: “Since it is written that we should *avoid such people,+ how can we not assume that someone who associates with Arians is also an exponent of their heresy?” Hilary of Arles: “Here you see an example of excommunication in the New Testament, both from table fellowship at home and from table fellowship in church.” Irenaeus of Lyons: “By wishing that we do not even give them a welcome, John, the Lord’s disciple, made their condemnation even stronger.” Clement of Alexandria: ”John forbids us to greet such people or to offer them hospitality, which in the circumstances is not at all unkind. But he also warns us not to argue or dispute with people who are unable to handle the things of God, lest we should be taken away from the true doctrine by clever arguments which have the appearance of truth. Furthermore, I think that it is wrong to pray with such people, because during times of prayer there is a moment for greeting and sharing the peace.” Didymus the Blind: “Anyone who dwells in the doctrine of the gospel and who acts according to its teaching will separate himself from those who think and act differently.” —— These commentaries are crystal clear. However, we saved the best for last. Basil “The Great” plainly stated that Christians cannot be “friends” with non-Christians. He condemned Christians who did take friends from “non-Christians” as those who “do not love the Lord”: 👇 ”It is obvious that those who make friends of people who speak falsely about God and who even eat with them do not love the Lordwho made them and who feeds them. Instead of being content with that food they are led away into blasphemy against the one who feeds them.” —— Second Scriptural Evidence: 1 Corinthians 5:9–11 The Apostle Paul, the author of 1 Corinthians, prohibited Christians from associating with “immoral” believers: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” (1 Corinthians 5:9–11) Here as well, the writings of the church fathers offer some insight. According to these early Christian scholars, Christians should not tolerate “immoral believers” and instead should “expel” and “avoid” such people. The following commentaries are taken from the “Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture”: Origen: “Immoral unbelievers cannot harm the church, but immoral believers corrupt it from within, which is why they must be avoided and expelled.” Ambrosiaster: “Paul means that it would be better to die than to mix with fellow believers who sin like the fornicator in question, because death would put an end to it sooner rather than later.” Theodoret of Cyr: “Obviously if we are not to eat ordinary food with such people, we are not to admit them to the Lord’s table either. Source: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: 1–2 Corinthians, Volume VII [electronic edition], ed. Gerald Bray (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1999).