Can men and women 'just' be friends?

Every man is hard wired to get attracted to what he sees and the primal drive kicks in. The god fearing wants to know although the biology is true does not mean it is right according to what God's will is. So self control is a good thing. And I know all women like compliments and like to be watched, but all though this is true, the true women of god dress modestly and practice self control as god would want. Men and women struggle with temptations and need to wear the armour of God.

No

Do you want your spouse to spend one on one time with someone of the opposite sex?

Impossible!! 😂😎

I think it’s something to be very cautious about.. especially with dating. I experienced a situation where I was seeing someone, but the bond with a male friend included emotional support.. and that felt very wrong. We parted ways, and it woke me up to why it’s not so wise. For me, friendship with a male who’s not my actual brother needs to be kept reasonable at a surface level, and one that if you did meet someone, would pose no hidden confusion or disrespect to your beau.

A solid no, from me. Men are visual creatures and chances are there will be physical attraction. It would even be complicated in a case where either one is in a relationship or marriage. An unnecessary temptation to tread into.

The only way is if neither one is physically attracted to the other. Otherwise, no

Yes

It can but the chances of not falling into temptation is slim

Yes, 2 of my closest friends happen to be girls

It can be difficult, and I find that really close friends are rare without someone ending up liking the other person . I’ve known people who have had that, but it just hasn’t worked out for me, sadly

Yes I believe this is possible—I may be too idealistic though? 😆

No !

No they can't be just friends don't waste your time.

Most every man is attracted to the woman initially, but after that goes away, good brother and sister relationships can form. Whether or not they stay when married should be decided by mutual understanding and respect. One of my best Christian friendships is with a woman who is

Absolutely, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. The problem is that both parties need to know that it is platonic only and that can require an awkward conversation.

Only if both agree that there isn't going to be a relationship and the guy isn't really attracted to her

I've had female friends before, but we never got personal. I'd say you can be just friends, but you need boundaries.

Yes. But there must be boundaries. You can't treat a friend of the opposite sex the same way you would a friend of the same sex. There has to be an appropriate level of distance

Yes with boundaries.

That depends on their mindset. Honestly so many churches only talk about the other sex like an object that people never learn how to treat them like Paul described in 1 Timothy 5, like mothers and sisters.

Absolutely.

The only way this can happen is with defined social boundaries.

I think the situation matters here. I have a really good online friend, but I have no intention on ever meeting him, so while I believe males and females cannot be just friends, I think this is a good boundary if you do. Otherwise you may risk getting a close relationship with a friend and your future partner may or may not have a problem with it

Yes they can, with clear boundaries

I think so

I think so. I’ve 2 male friends I think the world of who do nothing for me romantically or vice versa. We share faith, friendship and ups and downs as if we were all completely sexless

Not close friends

nah nah they can’t

Yes, we are brothers and sisters in Christ so I believe we should be friends before being anything else!

Yes

I'd say 'yes', as I always have boundaries in friendships. When I have a spouse, then it's important that my male friends and my spouse are friendly towards each other. With my male friends that are married, I'm now friends with their wives and just typically say 'hi' off their wives' phones when we're talking.

Yes, but only when boundaries are naturally clear.

Yes! I have met some great friends!

Yes

I think if both parties are single then yes. I'm friends with girls in relationships, but I don't have them on social media or in my contacts because I feel that's a dangerous slope to go down, and it's not respectful to their parents.

I don’t think so. If you tell a man you just want to be friends he will probably go with it but most of the time he has no interest in being your friend.

Premised on the question without inferences from things not asked in the question …. “YES”

Sure, they can be friends depending on how both of them read meaning and understanding to their communication. There are friends in kindness, being selfless,compassionate, unconditionally kind

From my experience, yes, but friends means that are in communication relatively irregularly, not constantly talking, especially if one of you is single

Yes. I have a number of such friends.

This should be a poll! I think it is possible, as someone mentioned already Jesus had friends that were women, personally I think it can get complicated quickly. What happens when one or the other marries? The husband should confide in the wife & the wife her husband. I think once married neither should have close friends of the opposite sex.

Yes.

With appropriate boundaries.

Am I the only one that’s made male friends from this dating app and no actual relationship???

I think perhaps at some point or another we may question our feelings as something more than friendship. Buy after some other circumstances and time then yes friendship alone could occur.

I would love for the answer to be yes but in my experience it's never worked out because they've always let attraction get in the way. I find it easiest for me to just keep my distance from having guy friends now.

Absolutely they can. Jesus had women around him. It’s about appropriate boundaries and respect

I think you can definitely have friends of the opposite sex. Like any friendship/relationship you have to invest time and work at it. Agree with lots here though that if there begins to be an attraction it can become complicated.

Yes they can just be friends, it is possible

Men and women can be nice and resourceful to each other but friends no maybe at work or at school in your younger years. But as couples you can socialise. There is a difference

I don't think so

Yes

I definitely think they can. I've made friends through online dating when it hasn't developed into a romantic relationship.

I think so; not everyone is a potential future spouse. I believe It helps to have a balanced view of life

I’ve a lot of female friends who I’m really close to. But I’ve got a good mix of male friends too. You can be friends with the opposite sex as long as it’s respectful and you don’t push those boundaries.

Yes. I have male friends that are like my brothers. They are all Christians so they are respectful

Speaking from experience, roughly half my friends are women, and over the years they’ve provided great perspectives on all kinds of situations. I don’t think I’d be as complete a person as I am now if I didn’t have these people as friends. I understand why an SO would be worried or put off, but at the end of the day there’s a reason why I don’t date my friends

I think it is possible but true platonic friendships with the opposite sex are RARE. Not every male is your friend just to be your friend and vice versa. So if you see any hidden agendas, act accordingly and set boundaries in place. Boundaries are immensely important when it comes to friends with the opposite sex!

I think so

Of course you can be friends its very important to have girls and guys be friends you can learn a lot from the opposite gender not always feelings involved

It depends on how they are friends, if they like the same thing, and are friends because of that, then why not. I write, I want writer friends, I don’t care if they’re male or female, I just want friends I can talk about writing to, bounce writing ideas off, who will encourage me etc. I think it depends how close you are to that friend though. A writer friend wouldn’t be an intimate friend, especially a male one.

I would say this is very possible …. As I’ve got friends at church whom are ladies but would never think about dating them … as it could be awkward if we fell out … I’d need to move church

A simple no, women and men can’t be friends

I have some wonderful friends of the opposite sex. I sometimes wonder how they see the relationship as I hope they see it in a similar way. Any suggestions on how to keep things platonic, guys?? Joanna

No, someone always catches feelings.

If he has friend- zoned her yes

Very possible but. But we tend to focus on marriage and most times lost the real connection

No

Not if you're attracted to each other, I guess it would be more difficult to keep "friendship boundaries "

Of course, clear communication matters as well

I think it depends on the individuals and also if any attraction is involved on either side. I and many of my friends have good friendships with those of the opposite gender.

Only if you can treat her as one of the lads 😅

Yes absolutely but sometimes laying out boundaries at the start is good and other times it isn’t needed. It just depends on the situation. I have had both types but I personally prefer the second as you know even without saying it that you don’t see each other in any way other than friends.

Yes, boundaries must be set from day one

Yes,it is possible!

Nope

No. Period.

100%. I have guy friends who are like brothers to me. I think obvs you can have those awkward moments where maybe someone likes you, but then that’s when boundaries come in handy

I have a close female friend, who I worked with 14 years ago, i treat her just like one of my male friends the two of us recently went on holiday together. I think the friendship takes longer with someone of the opposite sex. The main issue has been jealously when I’ve been dating someone,

Tricky but possible

Absolutely. I have many male friends. They're like brothers to me. Life would be boring without the company and in sight of men!

If you don’t think men and woman can be friends it means that you don’t value women as people, but only see women as partners for men. Women aren’t here solely to be a wife. Of course we can have friends!

Yes, of course. It might be trickier and you have to be careful about boundaries, but it's entirely possible. After all, we can be extremely close to family members of the opposite sex. Why can't it be the same with our brothers and sisters in Christ? Just intentionally taken romance out of the equation in your mind.

In my experience, in can happen, but rarely does. So long as neither man or woman is attracted romantically to the other, it can work quite well. As with any friendship, clearly understood boundaries are crucial. However, as soon as attraction creeps in...yeah, nah.

Depends on circumstance, I have had a male friend for 15 years (he is 8 years younger), there has never once been romance whatsoever, he sees me more as a big sister because he came from a family of boys only

yes, it's called husband and wife. The Holy Spirit said to me once "don't foster relationships as a single man you wouldn't want as a married man".

Time + proximity = inevitable romance. It’s the equation of every chick flick. With limited time and proximity, yes. Men and women can be friends. But it’s a sliding scale that is never still without great intentionality. Keep time and proximity low, you might attain it. But start pushing either of those towards “high”, someone is going to fall.

Friends as Christians can happen more often , outside of Christianity almost all the time is very difficult than just staying friends

No is the straight answer.. Because someone always like the other person, those so called friendships always develope the closer they get.

I would say not really

To a certain degree. There should be boundaries that should not be crossed.

No they cant it never works

Depends if there’s attraction from either side. If so, probably not. If not, yeah sure!

Yes, but to a very low extent I would say. It might definitely get to the point feelings will set it

Yes, I think...but not as best friends and making clear boundaries is crucial.

Yes, but not super close friends.

Mmm no

YES. ‘Philia’ and ‘Eros’ are 2 different loves. You can either have ‘Philia’ alone OR ‘Eros’ and ‘Philia’ together. You just need to CONTINUALLY communicate where you’re at and what you want to the other party.

Yes, a men and a woman CAN be Just friends. It's good to have variety and different energy and point of views in life. I'm friends with both married and unmarried men