Faith, Hope, and Love

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"There is no love without hope, no hope without love, and neither hope nor love without faith." Saint Augustine

Does anyone disagree with any of Augustine’s above sentiment?
 
"There is no love without hope, no hope without love, and neither hope nor love without faith." Saint Augustine

If you don’t have faith there is no One to love but you can still “hope against hope” there is One you can love!
 
Well of course, faith is more than knowledge that God exists. “The devil believes in God and trembles.”
Faith is acceptance of God.
But faith can’t be alone. It must come with hope and love. Knowing of God’s goodness we have to hope to get it. Finally, you love that which you want, just as you fear that which you hate. So faith, hope and love are a package deal.

The three virtues working together are manifested as trust in God.
The Book of Psalms has many psalms about trust in God.
On the catholic.org forums I posted this easy to remember four sentence version of Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie in green pastures; he leadeth me to still waters.

Though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil for Thou art with me.

Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
 
Charlemagne_II said:
"There is no love without hope, no hope without love, and neither hope nor love without faith." Saint Augustine

Does anyone disagree with any of Augustine’s above sentiment?
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As far as the theological virtues are concerned, love always contains faith and hope but faith and hope can exist without love. Augustine put it this way in regard to faith, at least:

**Without love faith can indeed exist, but can be of no avail. **

OTOH, in cultivating these virtues, faith precedes the other two.
 
fhansen said:
As far as the theological virtues are concerned, love always contains faith and hope but faith and hope can exist without love. Augustine put it this way in regard to faith, at least:

**Without love faith can indeed exist, but can be of no avail. **

OTOH, in cultivating these virtues, faith precedes the other two.
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It could be argued that if you have no love for anything you see no reason for anything and you don’t have faith in anything. Faith implies not only belief but commitment… 🙂
 
fhansen

**OTOH, in cultivating these virtues, faith precedes the other two. **

I’m inclined to agree. 🙂

Faith produces hope in the hereafter, provided the person is hopeful by nature. I have always felt that atheism results from a general malaise of hopelessness (caused perhaps by childhood abuse or trauma), which is exacerbated by lack of faith. Some of the novels of Sartre and Camus explore this problem.

Faith is required for love on a purely human level because we have faith in the person we love that this person deserves and returns our love. On the supernatural plane faith is absolutely required to love God. As faith is strengthened, love and hope are strengthened with it.
 
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