Is "unconditional love" a myth?? (page 9)

doogie

LT:

I think the mother-child bond is an example of "exclusive unconditional love", as is born testimony to in some of the cases on this board where a mother eventually cracks and talks to their DFed child.

no, i get what you're saying. and i understand what people on this thread are implying when they say "unconditional" love (as in the love of a mother). but maybe "unconditional" is just not really the most appropriate word to define this unbreakable bond. i agree that "special" love bonds exist, but "technically" speaking the term "unconditional" implies something that these bonds are not.

i'm just being nitpicky. i know what y'all mean, and i agree that these extra special bonds exist.

hillary_step

Hello,

Just thought I would remind you all again of some unanswered questions that bear on this subject :

So all of the people who believe that there is such a thing as unconditional love, would love their families even if they were JW's who molested children and were brazen in their crimes?

Would you love your father ( unconditionally ) if he sodomized you when you were seven and murdered your sister as happened in a case in Europe recently. He was part of someones family? You would place no conditions on your love for him?

Many thanks - HS

whyamihere

Loving someone unconditionally can be broken in cases like that!

As in trust! It can be broken!

Brooke

jeanniebeanz

So all of the people who believe that there is such a thing as unconditional love, would love their families even if they were JW's who molested children and were brazen in their crimes?

Hillary,

Do you believe that it is impossible that some would have the capacity to love so unshakably that there would be nothing that would turn that love off?

There are examples that suggest that this is possible. So do you believe that this undying unconditional love is a mental illness? Do you believe that unconditional love is immoral in some way?

I'm not sure if you're trying to swing everyone to your thinking on the matter because you think that a belief in unconditional love is harmful, or if you are just looking down on those who believe in unconditional love as mentally unstable. Little help here?

Jean

hillary_step

Jeannie,

Do you believe that it is impossible that some would have the capacity to love so unshakably that there would be nothing that would turn that love off?

I do believe that peoples capacity to love other humans is profound, however I believe that situations *always* exist that will eventually place a condition on this love. Hence my questions abouve, that still remain unanswered.

It has been amusing to me to see that most of those who claim to believe in an unconditional love focus only on their families. What they are saying in essence is this : I believe in the concept of unconditional love, but only for my family.

Can you see a logical fallacy in this? This is actually admitting that they do not believe in unconditional love at all, because they place philial conditions on this love to begin with. I happen to believe that even within a family, unconditional love is an ideal rather than a reality. Those who do claim to believe in it just have not been tested to their limits.

Do I think the concept of 'unconditional love' is harmful? Yes, I think it can be, just as believe any concept that tries to alter reality is harmful.

Best regards - HS

jeanniebeanz

It has been amusing to me to see that most of those who claim to believe in an unconditional love focus only on their families.

So glad that our thoughts "amuse" you! *reaches over and pulls Hillary's nose out of the air* LOL

At any rate, maybe it would help us to understand what you want if you describe what it is that you mean by unconditional love. If by unconditional love you mean that a person would have unconditional love for all people equally, under all circumstances, then I would say that's not a reasonable conception of what most people think of as "unconditional love."

If by unconditional love you mean that a person can choose the object of their love and then stick to it in spite of everything to their dying day, whether or not they are related by blood, then that is a more reasonable understanding of unconditional love.

What do you think it is?

Jean

LittleToe

HS:

Those who do claim to believe in it just have not been tested to their limits.

Surely it's presumptious to claim that others have limits, based on your own subjective experience?
You are assuming that such limits exist, that would thereby define a "condition" upon that love.

Would you love your father ( unconditionally ) if he sodomized you when you were seven and murdered your sister as happened in a case in Europe recently. He was part of someones family? You would place no conditions on your love for him?

I would lovingly put him out of his misery - does that count?

hillary_step

Jeannie,

At any rate, maybe it would help us to understand what you want if you describe what it is that you mean by unconditional love.

I already have. It is back on another page on this thread.

Just to remind you :

1 entry found for unconditional love.
Main Entry: unconditional love
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: affection with no limits or conditions; complete love

HS

hillary_step

LT,

Surely it's presumptious to claim that others have limits, based on your own subjective experience?

Not my subjective experience, the experience of human history. I would of course be open to reading the experiences of those who lived by the principle of unconditional love, especially given that Christ and God seem to agree that it is a myth.

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son that those who exercise faith in him might have everlasting life" NWT - What happens to the others who do not meet this condition?....lol

I would lovingly put him out of his misery - does that count?

lol....No, it does not count but does underline my point.

Best regards - HS

LittleToe

The "limit" you speak of is a hypothetical "condition". Yes?
Or are you going to argue that there are absolutely no cases where a mother's love has transcended the abominable acts of her child?

LT, of the "I can nitpick with the best of them" class.

Is "unconditional love" a myth??

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