courtesy http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1138128

Love varies from individual to individual. Its intensity is contingent upon how much a person cares about another person. The Wikipedia encyclopedia defines love as any number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes ranging from generic pleasure to personal attraction. The different types of love seek to help individuals distinguish between giving and self-fulfillment. It also helps us to establish a healthy balance with appropriate ingredients for maintaining happy and successful relationships. There are three major traditions in the philosophy of love. These three traditions are Christian agape, Platonic eros, and Aristotelian
philia.

AGAPE is the most prominent theme in the entire New Testament and
is considered to be “spiritual love” or “divine love.” Agape love is the most
striking feature of God’s love. It is spontaneous and motivated. One does not
have to search for anything in man, nor does man have to worry about being
judged! Agape love is unique. Its divine power is determined by the initiation
of fellowship with God. “Those who love (agape) Jesus will do what Jesus
taught.” (John 14:15, 23)

EROS is the love of desire, acquisitive love, and egocentric love. The word
eros is not used in the New Testament. Eros can be described as intermediate
between having and not having. Plato believes the most obvious thing about
eros is man can only strive for that which he feels valuable. For example:
eros love will only last as long as a person yearns to have its own hunger
satisfied. It is a form of self-assertion of the highest. Eros announces with a
smile “I’m in Love.”

PHILIA means the love of friendship in Greek. It is a concept developed
by Aristotle and includes loyalty to family, friends and the community. This
type of love has high virtue for equality and familiarity with people you really
enjoy. Although philia is classified as a wonderful love, its history of reliability
is challenged.

Reflection: Think about the people you love! Of the three types of love,
which one is most dominant in your life and your relationships?

References:
Eros, Agape, and Philia (Readings in the Philisophy of Love) By Alan Soble
A Short Handbook on Love http:///www.sjchurchofchrist.org/agape.shtml
Greek words for love http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek words for love
The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis

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Teresa Hall is an inspirational writer and author of the children's book, "Jesus, Where are You?"  An active member of New Psalmist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, Teresa enjoys being part of the Drama mininstry and spending quality time with her twins, Blake and Blair. She can be reached via email: spiritualvisions2@msn.com.

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