Christianity
The Christian understanding is that love comes from God. The
love of man and woman—Eros in Greek—and the unselfish love of others (agape),
are often contrasted as "ascending" and "descending" love,
respectively, but are ultimately the same thing.[31]
There are several Greek words for "love" that are
regularly referred to in Christian circles.
Agape: In the New Testament, agapē is charitable, selfless,
altruistic, and unconditional. It is parental love, seen as creating goodness
in the world; it is the way God is seen to love humanity, and it is seen as the
kind of love that Christians aspire to have for one another.
Phileo: Also used in the New Testament, phileo is a human
response to something that is found to be delightful. Also known as
"brotherly love."
Two other words for love in the Greek language, eros (sexual
love) and storge (child-to-parent love), were never used in the New Testament.
Christians believe that to Love God with all your heart,
mind, and strength and Love your neighbor as yourself are the two most
important things in life (the greatest commandment of the Jewish Torah,
according to Jesus; cf. Gospel of Mark chapter 12, verses 28–34). Saint
Augustine summarized this when he wrote "Love God, and do as thou
wilt."
Christianity of Love
Sacred Love Versus Profane Love (1602–03) by Giovanni
Baglione.
Intended as an attack on his hated enemy the artist
Caravaggio, it shows a boy (hinting at Caravaggio's homosexuality) on one side,
a devil with Caravaggio's face on the other, and between angels representing
pure, meaning non-erotic, love.
The Apostle Paul glorified love as the most important virtue
of all. Describing love in the famous poem in 1 Corinthians, he wrote,
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is
not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always
perseveres." (1 Cor. 13:4–7, NIV)
The Apostle John wrote, "For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16–17, NIV)
John also wrote, "Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes
from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does
not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:7–8, NIV)
Saint Augustine says that one must be able to decipher the
difference between love and lust. Lust, according to Saint Augustine, is overindulgence,
but to love and be loved is what he has sought for his entire life. He even
says, “I was in love with love.” Finally, he does fall in love and is loved
back, by God. Saint Augustine says the only one who can love you truly and
fully is God, because love with a human only allows for flaws such as
“jealousy, suspicion, fear, anger, and contention.” According to Saint Augustine,
to love God is “to attain the peace which is yours.” (Saint Augustine's
Confessions)
Augustine regards the duplex commandment of love in Matthew
22 as the heart of Christian faith and the interpretation of the Bible. After
the review of Christian doctrine, Augustine treats the problem of love in terms
of use and enjoyment until the end of Book I of De Doctrina Christiana
(1.22.21-1.40.44;).[32]
Christian theologians see God as the source of love, which
is mirrored in humans and their own loving relationships. Influential Christian
theologian C.S. Lewis wrote a book called The Four Loves. Benedict XVI wrote
his first encyclical on "God is love". He said that a human being,
created in the image of God, who is love, is able to practice love; to give
himself to God and others (agape) and by receiving and experiencing God's love
in contemplation (Eros). This life of love, according to him, is the life of
the saints such as Teresa of Calcutta and the Blessed Virgin Mary and is the
direction Christians take when they believe that God loves them.[31]
In Christianity the practical definition of love is best
summarised by St. Thomas Aquinas, who defined love as "to will the good of
another," or to desire for another to succeed.[12] This is the explanation
of the Christian need to love others, including their enemies. As Thomas
Aquinas explains, Christian love is motivated by the need to see others succeed
in life, to be good people.
Judaism
In Hebrew, Ahava is the most commonly used term for both
interpersonal love and love between God and God's creations. Chesed, often
translated as loving-kindness, is used to describe many forms of love between
human beings.
The commandment to love other people is given in the Torah,
which states, "Love your neighbor like yourself" (Leviticus 19:18).
The Torah's commandment to love God "with all your heart, with all your
soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5) is taken by the Mishnah (a
central text of the Jewish oral law) to refer to good deeds, willingness to
sacrifice one's life rather than commit certain serious transgressions,
willingness to sacrifice all of one's possessions, and being grateful to the
Lord despite adversity (tractate Berachoth 9:5). Rabbinic literature differs as
to how this love can be developed, e.g., by contemplating divine deeds or
witnessing the marvels of nature. As for love between marital partners, this is
deemed an essential ingredient to life: "See life with the wife you
love" (Ecclesiastes 9:9). The biblical book Song of Solomon is considered
a romantically phrased metaphor of love between God and his people, but in its
plain reading, reads like a love song. The 20th-century Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer
Dessler is frequently quoted as defining love from the Jewish point of view as
"giving without expecting to take" (from his Michtav me-Eliyahu, Vol.
1).
Islam
Love encompasses the Islamic view of life as universal
brotherhood that applies to all who hold faith. Amongst the 99 names of God
(Allah), there is the name Al-Wadud, or "the Loving One," which is
found in Surah [Quran 11:90] as well as Surah [Quran 85:14]. God is also
referenced at the beginning of every chapter in the Qur'an as Ar-Rahman and
Ar-Rahim, or the "Most Compassionate" and the "Most
Merciful", indicating that nobody is more loving, compassionate and
benevolent than God. The Qur'an refers to God as being "full of loving
kindness."
The Qur'an exhorts Muslim believers to treat all people,
those who have not persecuted them, with birr or "deep kindness" as
stated in Surah [Quran 6:8-9]. Birr is also used by the Qur'an in describing
the love and kindness that children must show to their parents.
Ishq, or divine love, is the emphasis of Sufism in the
Islamic tradition. Practitioners of Sufism believe that love is a projection of
the essence of God to the universe. God desires to recognize beauty, and as if
one looks at a mirror to see oneself, God "looks" at himself within
the dynamics of nature. Since everything is a reflection of God, the school of
Sufism practices to see the beauty inside the apparently ugly. Sufism is often
referred to as the religion of love.[citation needed] God in Sufism is referred
to in three main terms, which are the Lover, Loved, and Beloved, with the last
of these terms being often seen in Sufi poetry. A common viewpoint of Sufism is
that through love, humankind can get back to its inherent purity and grace. The
saints of Sufism are infamous for being "drunk" due to their love of
God; hence, the constant reference to wine in Sufi poetry and music.
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