Can we Love a God that we don't understand?

[PJM]

Friends,

Is it possible for anyone to love God IF they don’t really [actually] have an understanding of the Devine Nature of God?

God Bless you,
Pat

 

[Joannm]

That’s what faith is all about.

 

[grasscutter]

Of course! And, if you think about it, we don’t even understand our spouses - and they’re fellow human beings!

 

[LegoGE1947]

Of course! And, if you think about it, we don’t even understand our spouses - and they’re fellow human beings!

It’s hard enough to understand ourselves at times!

 

[grasscutter]

It’s hard enough to understand ourselves at times!

 

[SMA_12]

Of course! And, if you think about it, we don’t even understand our spouses - and they’re fellow human beings!

This is what I was going to say but you beat me to it!

 

[Cara_Serrano]

If you have to have somebody all figured out before you can love them, then I question the sincerity of the relationship. Part of the joy of falling in love with God is not knowing what great mystery He will reveal to you next time you meet. Enjoy the endless revelations!

 

[JRKH]

Friends,

Is it possible for anyone to love God IF they don’t really [actually] have an understanding of the Divine Nature of God?

God Bless you,
Pat

Maybe this will answer your question:

1John 4:7-8
7 Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.

So - in order for someone to be incapable of loving God they would have to be incapable of Love, for the divine nature of God IS Love.

Peace
James

 

[Cathryn]

Friends,

Is it possible for anyone to love God IF they don’t really [actually] have an understanding of the Devine Nature of God?

God Bless you,
Pat

Sure. This is why God become Man. We are made to know, love, and serve Him.

 

[PJM]

=JRKH;9040893]Maybe this will answer your question:

1John 4:7-8
7 Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.

So - in order for someone to be incapable of loving God they would have to be incapable of Love, for the divine nature of God IS Love.

Peace
James

Thanks James!

Pat

 

[Eric_Hyom]

JRKH;
for the divine nature of God IS Love.

Peace
James

Just some thoughts on this…

When Jesus spent his time on Earth, he would have lived by the greatest commandments, this would have been the greatest way he could respond to each and every situation in his life. But how did Jesus love all his neighbours as he loved himself, the ones who condemned him to death, the soldiers who crowned him with thorns and nailed him to the cross?

It seems that nothing, and no one should stand in the way of Jesus living by the greatest commandments, and we know that he prayed on the cross, ‘ forgive them Father’
It seems that every time Jesus suffered injustice here on Earth, he forgave, in order that he should continue to love the sinners as he loved himself. If Jesus can forgive the people who had him killed, then it should give us hope that we can be forgiven also. What kind of a burden do we place on Jesus with our sins?

After his resurrection does the divine nature of Jesus, follow his human nature? When Jesus ascended into heaven, does Jesus still forgive us, in order that he should continue to love each and every one of us as he loves himself?

 

[zertech]

Friends,

Is it possible for anyone to love God IF they don’t really [actually] have an understanding of the Devine Nature of God?

God Bless you,
Pat

I doubt there is a human alive who fully understands God’s divine nature, however there is plenty of love out there for him if you look in the right place.

 

[Joannm]

St Augustine said something to the effect that if you think you understand God, what you understand is not God.

 

[PJM]

=Joannm;9051878]St Augustine said something to the effect that if you think you understand God, what you understand is not God.

Allow me to be a bit more precise.

Can we Love a God" without understanding His Divine Nature?

God Bless,
Pat

 

[JRKH]

Man cannot Love God as he deserves to be Loved.
That is why we are to Love our neighbor as ourselves…

From the dialogues of St Catherine of Sienna:
…"And it cannot be otherwise, because (the soul’s) love of (God) and of her neighbor are one and the same thing, and, so far as the soul loves (God), she loves her neighbor, because love towards him issues from (God). This is the means which (God) have given you, that you may exercise and prove your virtue therewith; because, inasmuch as you can do (God) no profit, you should do it to your neighbor. This proves that you possess (God) by grace in your soul, producing much fruit for your neighbor and making prayers to (God), seeking with sweet and amorous desire (God’s) honor and the salvation of souls.

Peace
James

 

[PJM]

=JRKH;9052987]Man cannot Love God as he deserves to be Loved.
That is why we are to Love our neighbor as ourselves…

From the dialogues of St Catherine of Sienna:
…"And it cannot be otherwise, because (the soul’s) love of (God) and of her neighbor are one and the same thing, and, so far as the soul loves (God), she loves her neighbor, because love towards him issues from (God). This is the means which (God) have given you, that you may exercise and prove your virtue therewith; because, inasmuch as you can do (God) no profit, you should do it to your neighbor. This proves that you possess (God) by grace in your soul, producing much fruit for your neighbor and making prayers to (God), seeking with sweet and amorous desire (God’s) honor and the salvation of souls.

Peace
James

GREAT INSITE Jamres, Thanks,

Buy does one need to know God to do this?

God Bless,
Pat

 

[JRKH]

GREAT INSITE Jamres, Thanks,

But does one need to know God to do this?

God Bless,
Pat

This will get into how you mean “knowing”. Are we talking about an “intuitive” knowing or an intellectual knowing? Does " accepting on Faith" count for “Knowing” even if one has not had a “mystical” experience?

St Paul, when he went to speak to the Greeks, walked passed a series of altars to the various gods of the Greeks. As he did so he noticed one altar with nothing on it and the inscription said, “To the unknown god”.
Paul counted this to the credit of the Greeks and used it as a jumping off point for his evangelization. But why did He count it a credit? Because it demonstrated that the Greeks were open minded. They were able to say, “There may be a god we know nothing of” and then they would, by their methods of discussion, debate and study, try to learn more.
In the same way, a person who has never hear of Christ, or has only heard inaccurate snippets, might actually grow into a knowledge of God without even realizing it, so that if and when someone were to point to 1 John 4:8 “…God is Love” they might cry with the Greeks, Eureka!!!

Peace
James

 

[PJM]

=JRKH;9055208]This will get into how you mean “knowing”. Are we talking about an “intuitive” knowing or an intellectual knowing? Does " accepting on Faith" count for “Knowing” even if one has not had a “mystical” experience?

St Paul, when he went to speak to the Greeks, walked passed a series of altars to the various gods of the Greeks. As he did so he noticed one altar with nothing on it and the inscription said, “To the unknown god”.
Paul counted this to the credit of the Greeks and used it as a jumping off point for his evangelization. But why did He count it a credit? Because it demonstrated that the Greeks were open minded. They were able to say, “There may be a god we know nothing of” and then they would, by their methods of discussion, debate and study, try to learn more.
In the same way, a person who has never hear of Christ, or has only heard inaccurate snippets, might actually grow into a knowledge of God without even realizing it, so that if and when someone were to point to 1 John 4:8 “…God is Love” they might cry with the Greeks, Eureka!!!

Peace
James

Thank you for you’re response.

I suspect both types of knowledge are necessary in order to understand the WORD of God that is God. [John 1:1]

Can one actually understand the Word “Of God” without a knowledge of God’s Devine Nature and how that unsderscores the Gospel message?

God Bless,
Pat

 

[JRKH]

Thank you for you’re response.

I suspect both types of knowledge are necessary in order to understand the WORD of God that is God. [John 1:1]

Can one actually understand the Word “Of God” without a knowledge of God’s Divine Nature and how that underscores the Gospel message?

God Bless,
Pat

No - One cannot “Know” (intellectual) the “Word of God”, Jesus OR the Gospel message correctly clearly without without knowing “intuitively” the divine nature of God.

Of course I do not mean to infer that there is any clear demarcation in this. Intellectual knowledge can and often does lead to a realization of what already exists intuitively.

We often speak of God’s grace being the prerequisite for all other knowledge - even our ability to repent must come from God. So I think that where we speak of “intuitive knowledge”, we are really speaking about grace, but maybe grace that has not been recognized yet. The intuitive knowledge (grace) preexists the intellectual, but the intellectual might trigger a recognition of the intuitive.

However - if one closes their heart to, or resists the promptings of, this intuitive knowledge (God’s Grace and Love), the Gospel seems foolishness.

Peace
James

 

[PJM]

=JRKH;9057826]No - One cannot “Know” (intellectual) the “Word of God”, Jesus OR the Gospel message correctly clearly without without knowing “intuitively” the divine nature of God.

Of course I do not mean to infer that there is any clear demarcation in this. Intellectual knowledge can and often does lead to a realization of what already exists intuitively.

We often speak of God’s grace being the prerequisite for all other knowledge - even our ability to repent must come from God. So I think that where we speak of “intuitive knowledge”, we are really speaking about grace, but maybe grace that has not been recognized yet. The intuitive knowledge (grace) preexists the intellectual, but the intellectual might trigger a recognition of the intuitive.

However - if one closes their heart to, or resists the promptings of, this intuitive knowledge (God’s Grace and Love), the Gospel seems foolishness.

Peace
James

Now, friend james I get it And I AGREE:thumbsup:

THANKS,
Pat