Religious views on love
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Religious views on love vary widely between different religions.
Specific religious views
[edit]Abrahamic religions
[edit]Baháʼí Faith
[edit]"Love is the mystery of divine revelations! Love is the effulgent manifestation! Love is the spiritual fulfilment! Love is the light of the Kingdom! Love is the breath of the Holy Spirit inspired into the human spirit! Love is the cause of the manifestation of the Truth (God) in the phenomenal world!. Love is the necessary tie proceeding from the realities of things through divine creation!"
Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Baháʼí Faith, taught that God created humans due to his love for them, and thus humans should in turn love God. `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, wrote that love is the greatest power in the world of existence and the true source of eternal happiness. The Baháʼí teachings state that all genuine love is divine, and that love proceeds from God and from humans. God's love is taught to be part of his own essence, and his love for his creatures gives them their material existence, divine grace and eternal life.[2]
The Baháʼí teachings state that human love is directed towards both God and other humans; that the love of God attracts the individual toward God, by purifying the human heart and preparing it for the revelation of divine grace. Thus through the love of God, humans become transformed and become self-sacrificing. It is also stated that true love for other humans occurs when people see the beauty of God in other people's souls. The Baháʼí teachings state that Baháʼís should love all humans regardless of religion, race or community, and also should love their enemies.[2]
Christianity
[edit]Most Christians also believe that God is the source and essence of eternal love, even if in the New Testament the expression "God is love" explicitly occurs only twice and in two not too distant verses: 1 John 4:8,16 (NIV).
Most Christians believe that the greatest commandment is "thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment"; in addition to the second, "thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself", these are what Jesus Christ called the two greatest commandments (see Mark 12:28–34, Luke 10:25–28, Matthew 22:37–39, Matthew 7:12; cf. Deuteronomy 6:5, Deuteronomy 11:13, Deuteronomy 11:22, Leviticus 19:18, Leviticus 19:34). See also Ministry of Jesus#General ethics.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus said: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (NIV, John 13:34–35; cf. John 15:17). Jesus also taught "Love your enemies." (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27).
"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, always perseveres."
The New Testament, which was written in Greek, only used two Greek words for love: agapē and philia. However, there are several Greek words for love.
- Agapē. In the New Testament, agapē is charitable, selfless, and unconditional. It is primarily a decision of will and self sacrifice. Agape is the way God is seen to love humanity, and it is seen as the kind of love that Christians aspire to have for others.
- Philos. Also used in the New Testament, philos is distinguished from agape as being a more emotional love or friendship. Thus it is also known as "brotherly love".
- Eros (sexual love) is not used in the New Testament but is found in the Greek version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint.
- Storge (love for those alike - such as family love, nationalism, love for one's tribe) is not strictly found in the New Testament but does appear within the compound word philostorgos (Rom 12:10).
Saint Paul glorifies agapē in the quote above from 1 Corinthians 13, and as the most important virtue of all: "Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away." (13:8 NIV).
Christians believe that because of God's agapē for humanity He sacrificed his Son for them. John the Apostle wrote, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16–17 KJV)
In Works of Love (1847), Søren Kierkegaard, a philosopher, claimed that Christianity is unique because love is a requirement.
Regarding love for enemies, Jesus is quoted in the Gospel of Matthew chapter five:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” - Matthew 5: 43-48
Tertullian wrote regarding love for enemies: “Our individual, extraordinary, and perfect goodness consists in loving our enemies. To love one's friends is common practice, to love one's enemies only among Christians.”[3]
Latter-day Saints
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According to Russell M. Nelson, there are examples of the love of Jesus in the Book of Mormon.[4][non-primary source needed]
First there is a covenant with Christ. King Benjamin stated in the Book of Mosiah:
And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.
Then there are the ordinances of the gospel. Jesus stated in the Book of Mormon in Third Nephi:
Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.
And at last Jesus exhorts his followers to follow his example:
And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.
Moroni, the last prophet of the book, wrote about love:[5][non-primary source needed]
But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
Unificationism
[edit]The concept of True Love is the most central part of Unificationist theology:[6]
The central value in human life, which we may term "true love," means that which seeks the best for others and the betterment of human life in all its dimensions. True love means living for others, giving without thought of a return. Its source is transcendental, beyond the self; the person who practices true love taps into an inexhaustible reservoir of life. The various philosophies and religions of the world speak of this value with a variety of emphases, aspects, and concepts, such as: compassion, grace, justice, charity, liberation, righteousness, and agape love. While recognizing that certain of these aspects may sometimes be in tension (e.g., the well-known Jewish discussion of the dichotomy between divine justice and divine mercy), we may regard the positive tendency of all of them as aspects of a single divine and universal value. This value, true love, is the aspiration and hope of all human beings and the manifestation of the best in human nature.
Islam
[edit] | This section uses texts from within a religion or faith system without referring to secondary sources that critically analyse them. (June 2012) |
In a Sahih Muslim Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said: “You will not enter paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love to the other Muslim what you love to your self.”
Muslims are directed by Allah ('God') in the ways to become close to Him and how to gain His love.
God loves those who:
- do good.[7][8][9][10][11]
- are pure and clean.[12][13]
- are righteous.[14][15][16][17]
- are just and act rightly.[18][19][20]
- trust Him.[21]
- are patient and persevering.[22]
- love Him and follow the Prophet.[23]
- fight in His cause.[24]
The Qur'an also says that God loved Moses,[25] and God Himself will produce people He will love.[26]
Here in this selection of verses we notice again the Arabic preference for the negative to state an opposite. While the following do not state that God hates, it certainly enforces the idea that the love of God is withheld from those who practice certain deeds or are described as manifesting a certain character. Several of the verses are repetitious and so we have the following categories.
God does not love:
- the mua'tadeen, those who overstep boundaries or limits.[27][28][29]
- the mushrikeen, those who associate anything with God.
- the fasideen, those who spread corruption or mischief.