Teenagers certainly can understand love. I think that adults try to write that off sometimes because teenagers tend to fall in and out of love easily. A more accurate judgment would be "Teenagers think they are in love more often then they really are." And I think that's what you need to give some thought to. Do you love this guy as a best friend? Of course you do. Is there anything else going on there? Maybe, but you need to think about whether or not it's a good idea to continue pursuing it.

I don't know how far away the two of you are right now, but if you are unable to see each other, does that leave much of a chance that you could have a relationship together. The answer to that question is almost always no. Even if you are able to get over the distance, then there still seems to be an issue where he isn't willing to date outside his religion... and you aren't his religion. Faith is a very personal thing, I think that it's absurd to say "I have these beliefs but they are so weak that they can be pushed aside because I happen to have a crush on this guy." That's not converting to his religion, that's being a pushover of the worst kind.

Even if you can get over both of these things, your dad still seems to have these negative thoughts about you going to this guy's church (likely imparted on him by your explanation that you need to change faiths to be in a relationship with this guy... what parent would have a problem with that? :rolleyes:) Your next step would be to convince your parents that this isn't an issue and you should be allowed to try out this church.

And so on, and so on.

As you see, there are a HUGE number of obstacles to going out with him. I know that you really like this guy and if all the conditions were in your favor, you would jump on the chance to date him, but the reality is far from the ideal situation. He's already you friend, maybe someday a few years into the future things will have changed, but for now it's almost impossible to make this work. Part of growing up is understanding when reality prevents us from having what we really want. Being grown up is learning how to accept this and continue on despite it.

One thing that I'm not clear on is whether or not the 4 miles away is where he moved to, or is he planning on moving further away? If he's only four miles away, that's not a big deal at all. When you talked about him moving away, I was under the impression that it was going to be beyond your means to continue seeing him. Hell, at four miles you could walk and see him. (It wouldn't be a fun walk, but it would at least be possible.)

As far as the phone goes, don't try to look too much into that. Some people just aren't phone people. If that's not a way he likes to communicate, just smile and figure out something else that works better for him. There is no end of alternatives to keep in touch; text messaging, email, MSN, etc. This is something you are probably best off trying to talk with him about rather than second-guessing him and worrying that he doesn't want to talk to you because you are being annoying.

Religion is a rough subject sometimes. But it seems like the two of you are interested in working things out between you despite it. It might be a hell of a lot harder for you to get your parents to go along with it, but sometimes just a little time and gentle coaxing work for parents in that way. If one of your parents are reluctant, then arrange to get to know that parent a little bit better, if they have a face and a personality to match to the person that wants to date their child, they might be a little bit more open to it than they would be otherwise.

Congratulations!