Quick question - why does God love?

  • Thread starter Thread starter cynic
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

cynic

Guest
Which is closer to Catholicism:
  1. God chooses (elects) Christians to increase his own glory. God’s love is duty, and ultimately self-seeking.
  2. God’s love is passionate and sentimental, and he wishes all to be saved.
 
I’d say the second one best represents God’s love.
 
God chooses to create us so that we can share in His life. He loves us as lovers.
 
God is neither passionate nor sentimental, but #2 is still probably the better choice. God took on flesh – a scandal! – to save those who had forsaken a relationship with him. There are no “elect”, because we have all elected to reject God. (That is what it means to sin).

As for judging God’s style of love, this is somewhat anachronistic. God was before love was, and there is no moral or linguistic measuring stick for God. Saying that “God loves” is something of an anthropomorphism, but it is still in some sense true.
 
My dear friends

My opinion is - God is infinite and eternal Living Love. God is Love and this understanding that God is Love is the answer to every conceivable question or piece of knowledge when it is taken to its ultimate conclusion. An infinite mind can look at anything or think anything and conclude God is Love. So God loves because He is Love.

Hope I make sense. Think about it.

God bless you all dear friends:thumbsup:🙂
John
 
John_Russell_Jr said:
My dear friends

My opinion is - God is infinite and eternal Living Love. God is Love and this understanding that God is Love is the answer to every conceivable question or piece of knowledge when it is taken to its ultimate conclusion. An infinite mind can look at anything or think anything and conclude God is Love. So God loves because He is Love.

Hope I make sense. Think about it.

God bless you all dear friends:thumbsup:🙂
John
Click to expand...
I was going to say the very same thing.

God loves because love is who he is!

Asking why God loves is like asking why God exists!

I understand that the OP was probably asking something more along the lines of: “For what reason does God love?” Of course, God wishes all to be saved.
 
Zahmir said:
I was going to say the very same thing.

God loves because love is who he is!

Asking why God loves is like asking why God exists!

I understand that the OP was probably asking something more along the lines of: “For what reason does God love?” Of course, God wishes all to be saved.
Click to expand...
My dear friend

Well said. Asking why is God love is like asking why do we have reality too. God is reality and therefore love is reality.

My ultimate conclusion to any possible thought, question, experience and every conceivable thing must lead to the conclusion - God is Love, is based on the fact that God is infinitely perfect and does all infinitely perfectly and He possesses infinite knowledge. So a created being either finite or infinite can deduce by looking at, experiencing or thinking about anything that the ultimate conclusion to all is - God is Love.

Therefore the ultimate answer to all is not 42 as on hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, it’s - God is Love.

What do you and all think of my theory? Make sense?

God bless you and keep you:thumbsup:🙂
John
 
Prodigal_Son said:
God is neither passionate nor sentimental, but #2 is still probably the better choice. .
Click to expand...
If he isn’t passionate, but increasing his own glory isn’t the goal either, then doesn’t the question remain unanswered?
 
cynic said:
If he isn’t passionate, but increasing his own glory isn’t the goal either, then doesn’t the question remain unanswered?
Click to expand...
Abiding love is the character of God. That is not a description, but a definition. Everything we know of love comes from seeing the character of God, because “God is love”.

You interpret “increasing his own glory” as being “self-seeking”. But you’re missing the point. God’s love is directed at increasing the glory of everyone, by creating a world in which free souls can freely choose to return love for love.

I suppose you could accuse Jesus (who is God) of being ultimately self-seeking in dying on the Cross, but this is a distortion. The Cross ultimately increased his glory, but only because it increased the glory of his chosen people. Who are his chosen people? Not the “elect”, but *those who elect *to follow Christ’s example and live a life of service.

Of course, all selfless love is ultimately self-serving – but it is also ultimately generous to others. Why? Because that’s the way God made the world.

Is that a better answer?
 
Prodigal_Son said:
I suppose you could accuse Jesus (who is God) of being ultimately self-seeking in dying on the Cross, but this is a distortion. The Cross ultimately increased his glory, but only because it increased the glory of his chosen people.
Click to expand...
I guess if his own glory was the ultimate goal, then I might, as horribly negative as that sounds.

I recently had a conversation (read argument) with a Calvinist who believed that God sees no value in any of us, basically God loves what he does, not us. Electing some and making them acceptable pleases him , and that is why he does it. I realise that isn’t your belief, and probably not a Catholic one by any stretch… but if God has no ‘emotions’ then it’s hard to avoid.
 
cynic said:
I guess if his own glory was the ultimate goal, then I might, as horribly negative as that sounds.

I recently had a conversation (read argument) with a Calvinist who believed that God sees no value in any of us, basically God loves what he does, not us. Electing some and making them acceptable pleases him , and that is why he does it. I realise that isn’t your belief, and probably not a Catholic one by any stretch… but if God has no ‘emotions’ then it’s hard to avoid.
Click to expand...
A quick terminology clarification. An “ultimate” goal is not the most important goal, only the *last *in a series of goals. The word “ultimate” is horribly abused nowadays. So Jesus ultimately enhancing his glory does not imply that the actions were done primarily with that goal in mind.

As far as God having emotions, it’s very hard to reconcile an unchanging God who is outside of time with emotions, which after all are extraordinarily mercurial phenomena. But the incarnation clearly endows Jesus with real human emotions, which may serve for us as indications of how God the Father feels. We must not mistake our understanding of God for the reality of God, however. “Passions” are things that seem to take control of us, and it is rather incomprehensible that anything take control of God.
 
Isaiah 55:8 My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways,

Just be VERY VERY glad He does. 🙂
 
Qoheleth said:
Isaiah 55:8 My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways,

Just be VERY VERY glad He does. 🙂
Click to expand...
Great quote dear friend

It makes me think I should just trust God, all the more. And like you say just be grateful He loves us.

May God bless you and keep you:thumbsup:🙂
John
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top