by wobble 76 Replies latest watchtower bible
The concept that "God is Love" comes, for Christians, from the letters of John.
On another thread P Sac. said "God is Love, reconcile that with...(the matter being discussed in the thread, babies in Hell) and then get back to me".
My question is, was John saying that the God of scripture is "Love" , for that is mighty hard to "reconcile", or was he saying that when we humans "love" we have found the Divine ?
I think that God is love because he is almighty and therefore lawgiver he is not limited by laws which are for the benefit of the creation therefore it is just our perception of his great love and righteousness that is flawed as we do not understand 80% of creation or more and could not therefore understand God fully but must trust him (I havent seen the Babies thread)
My question is, was John saying that the God of scripture is "Love" , for that is mighty hard to "reconcile", or was he saying that when we humans "love" we have found the Divine ?
God is the source of Love, all that love is comes from God.
Of course if God is NOT love we are all seriously fucked, pardon my Egyptian, LOL !
God loves us so much that he doesn't play the dictator, he doesn't enforce his will on Us, He allows us free will and free expression, even the bad stuf.
God is love because no matter what we do, we still have the chance to reconcile with God.
When Jesus preached of God being our Father it put God in a role far more personal than just the creator, he is our Parent, the one that is there for us ALL the time, with unconditional Love, a love so great that God came down to US in the form of His Son because there was no way for Us to go "up" to Him in our current state.
When we love, we are able to Love because of God and when we truly love (wothout conditions - love our enemy) then we get a very small glimpse of God's love.
So, John was saying BOTH actually, God is Love and when we truly Love, we are closer to God and to "being" God than we ever can be.
But watch out below if you don't follow the guy, he's got a wicked temper- 'the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire' Luke 3;17 sweet maniacal guy
This question often comes up and I puzzled by the way some people view love, as though it's a separate entity. Once love is seen to have an existence or life of its own, it's a small step to see this entity as having a life of its own. Then think that love 'is' Perhaps God.
To me love is something inside ourselves; an emotion that we feel towards people and things that we value or treasure. It is possibly one of the strongest and most subjective emotions that creatures can experience. If an invisible creature that 'is' love, made us, then we may start to wonder if love is an invisible force that we can tap into.
Alternatively, if we are of the earth and come from it, love will come from us. It all comes down to whether we hold the view that we come onto this earth or out of it.
We can feel love and demonstrate love but we can never 'be' love. The opposite side of the coin is hate. Our ability to also hate rules that out. So -can any creature or being, actually be love?
May you all have peace! A huge mistake that many make is believing that what is written [in the scriptures/Bible/letters] was to everyone (well, anyone who is NOT a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, etc., which, by default... makes one a "christian. It was not written to everyone... and such (not being non-christian) does not automatically make one a christian. The scriptures (Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets)... was written to Israel... and those that went with Israel. The NT letters were written, for the most part, for and to "the holy ones and faithful ones in union with Christ," either collectively or individually. Not everyone... but ANYONE putting faith in the Son of God.
For such ones God IS love... for these only know love by means of God, through His Son, Christ. The same is true of faith, peace, joy, truth, goodness, wisdom, etc. Prior to a union with him, such ones don't KNOW these things... in the same way that they didn't know God. In the same way that Adham... didn't know "bad" (death). Apart from Him, these know nothing. They know OF such things... and may even have a FORM of them to one extent or another (as well as "godly devotion"), but it is NOT according to an accurate knowledge. It is lacking, even partial... because they will only know such things COMPLETELY, when the One who IS complete in these things arrives.
The nations, however, often know such things... simply by means of being a law unto themselves. These "do by NATURE the things of the Law." Unfortunately, Israel wasn't able to learn/acquire such a nature, by means of THEIR nature... of rebellion. Which is why they are CALLED "Israel" - "Contender with God."
Christ is the One who subdues Israel (those putting faith in him)... and those who go with that group (of those who put such faith in him, and in turn put their faith in him, as well)... by TEACHING them peace. And love. By teaching them about God... and showing them God... by means of revealing himself to them. So, yes, for them... God IS love. Because it is when they attain to such love... that they see God. Because they see... His image: Christ.
Again, I bid you all peace!
A slave of Christ,
SA
Love is human
God is an opinion about the HIGHEST and most SUPERLATIVE (imaginable) BEING unique among all else.
But--make no mistake about it: it is IMAGINABLE only because humans choose to imagine in the first place!
Why do humans so choose?
God becomes a way to tie up in a single thought an over arching REASON WHY for everything without having to KNOW thousands of unrelated facts.
God is a short cut solution. A cure all. A "go-to" guy for favors, a weapon and a boogeyman.
(Eventually, humans split the boogeyman concept apart from the go to guy who bestowed favors.)
In fact, we LOVE God because the very concept is so useful in substituting a cause and an end result for everybody and everything!
God, we insist, LOVES US! Doesn't that alone make him loveable?
Well, practically and logically speaking LOVE is the superlative of values.
The natural progression is Good, better and best. Love is the very BEST.
The EMOTION we feel is, of course, the strongest and most considerable possible as a result.
But--wait! What you esteem is YOUR OPINION of what is the very best!
You might love fat women with glass eyes or midgets with wooden legs.
What people esteem and what they feel because they esteem it is highly eccentric and individual.
And that--my friends, is why there are so damned many flavors of God on the market!
Happy New Year Terry
I think God is an imaginable concept of necessity which includes love as a component
