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Pugsly
Guest
Tonyrey and Pugsly…agree with Shoe on this one
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tonyrey
Guest
Like the vast majority of people in this world who understand the significance of love…
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tonyrey
Guest
Considering that love “makes the world go round” it must be infinitely more powerful than gravity or any other physical force! 
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tonyrey
Guest
The nature of love obviously has a direct bearing on its origin. The message of Easter is that the power of love is not limited by anything whatsoever. It liberates us from evil because evil separates us from others whereas love unites us. Evil is caused by a lack of love for others and by excessive love for ourselves.
We are not isolated individuals but members of one family. If we have to die for others we give life to them by dying for them. If we live solely for ourselves we die to others because we separate ourselves from them. They suffer as the result of our neglect but we suffer more because we become isolated and in extreme cases no longer have anything in common with anyone. We can condemn ourselves to hell even while we are in this world.
Redemption and vicarious suffering are not theological myths but facts of life. If we think that nothing we do affects those we don’t know we are not only unrealistic but introverted. The mere fact that we are inspired by love enhances our personality and is a positive influence on society. No effort or sacrifice for others is ever wasted.
The death of Christus was regarded as insignificant by most of his contemporaries yet it has transformed the history of the world. Even sceptics concede that His example and teaching are the only means by which peace and harmony can be established in this world. Bertrand Russell wrote a book entitled Why I am not a Christian yet in his History of Western Philosophy he remarked:
“Nietzsche despises universal love; I feel it the motive power to all that I desire as regards the world.”
Russell never considered how love originated but surely if it occupied such an outstanding role in his concept of human civilisation it cannot be attributed to physical instincts. The fact that he was an advocate of “free love” explains why his interests did not lie in that direction. The highest form of love is not natural because it is not motivated by the urge to survive or by what we stand to gain but by deep concern for those we do not even know. It is universal because it extends to animals as well as members of our own species and even to persons elsewhere - both in and beyond the universe. It is eternal because it is indestructible and not affected by time or space or any other factor. It is divine because it is a positive, creative force that cannot be explained by anything except its own perfection…
We are not isolated individuals but members of one family. If we have to die for others we give life to them by dying for them. If we live solely for ourselves we die to others because we separate ourselves from them. They suffer as the result of our neglect but we suffer more because we become isolated and in extreme cases no longer have anything in common with anyone. We can condemn ourselves to hell even while we are in this world.
Redemption and vicarious suffering are not theological myths but facts of life. If we think that nothing we do affects those we don’t know we are not only unrealistic but introverted. The mere fact that we are inspired by love enhances our personality and is a positive influence on society. No effort or sacrifice for others is ever wasted.
The death of Christus was regarded as insignificant by most of his contemporaries yet it has transformed the history of the world. Even sceptics concede that His example and teaching are the only means by which peace and harmony can be established in this world. Bertrand Russell wrote a book entitled Why I am not a Christian yet in his History of Western Philosophy he remarked:
“Nietzsche despises universal love; I feel it the motive power to all that I desire as regards the world.”
Russell never considered how love originated but surely if it occupied such an outstanding role in his concept of human civilisation it cannot be attributed to physical instincts. The fact that he was an advocate of “free love” explains why his interests did not lie in that direction. The highest form of love is not natural because it is not motivated by the urge to survive or by what we stand to gain but by deep concern for those we do not even know. It is universal because it extends to animals as well as members of our own species and even to persons elsewhere - both in and beyond the universe. It is eternal because it is indestructible and not affected by time or space or any other factor. It is divine because it is a positive, creative force that cannot be explained by anything except its own perfection…
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yppop
Guest
How did love originate?
“There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.” (Corinthians 1:13)
Faith, hope, and love (charity) are the theological virtues.
According to the Catholic Catechism, a virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.
From the above I infer that the virtue we call love is the working of Actual Grace, the special gift given by God to assist us in performing specific good acts.
An act of love resulting from and with the awareness of Actual Grace is always rewarded with the feeling of joy. Therefore, the origin of love is Actual Grace.
In a like manner, the origin of Hope is Sanctifying (or Habitual) Grace and the origin of Faith is Sacramental Grace.
I have found the efficacy of Actual Grace in the “joy of giving” .
Yppop
“There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.” (Corinthians 1:13)
Faith, hope, and love (charity) are the theological virtues.
According to the Catholic Catechism, a virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.
From the above I infer that the virtue we call love is the working of Actual Grace, the special gift given by God to assist us in performing specific good acts.
An act of love resulting from and with the awareness of Actual Grace is always rewarded with the feeling of joy. Therefore, the origin of love is Actual Grace.
In a like manner, the origin of Hope is Sanctifying (or Habitual) Grace and the origin of Faith is Sacramental Grace.
I have found the efficacy of Actual Grace in the “joy of giving” .
Yppop
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Darryl1958
Guest
Those with a medical condition that does not allow them to feel pain normally leads to a psychological abnormality where those people also do not develop feelings of empathy for others.
Biologically speaking, love originates in suffering.
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Robert_Sock
Guest
In Hasidim, Hell could not contain itself without the element of mercy (divine love).
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tonyrey
Guest
As the sceptic David Hume pointed out, the cause has to be proportioned to the effect. It’s sad he didn’t take love into account in his philosophical investigations…
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tonyrey
Guest
Suffering is also an inevitable consequence of love. Pascal believed Jesus is in agony until the end of the world…
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tonyrey
Guest
A profound insight based on the fact that nothing could exist without divine love, not even evil!
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