Not every deep connection needs a covenant. Some today are reviving the idea of “spiritual friendships” with vows that start to resemble marriage—especially in conversations around same-sex attraction. But Scripture never models covenantal relationships between friends. Not even David and Jonathan. That bond was political and familial—not romantic, not spiritual partnership. So where does this idea come from? Not the Bible, but a medieval monk named Aelred of Rievaulx… and now it’s being rebrand