Love Builds Up
Spiritual language including scripture is transferred or metaphorical language. Thus, saying love builds up (Corinthians 13) is a metaphor.
P212
To build up means to presuppose love; to be loving means to presuppose love; only love builds up. For to build up means to draw forth something from the ground up, but spiritually love is the ground of everything. No man can bestow the ground of love in another man's heart; nevertheless, love is the ground and one can only build up by presuposing love. Take love away - then there is no one who builds up andno one who is built up.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Kierkegaard - Works of Love Chapter 5
Our Duty To Be in the Debt of Love to Each Other
Love is a passion, a want, a longing. "It takes everything and it gives everything."
Love is best described as an infinite debt. And it is the lover that is in debt, it does not place the loved one in debt. To the loved one the most trifling expression is infinitely great than all sacrifices and all sacrifices are infinitely less than the smallest trifle in making partial payment on the debt.
As soon as love concentrates on itself it is out of its element - it is lost when it becomes an object for itself. It becomes a fixed point, a boundary or a stopping place instead of an immeasurable infinitude.
For love to be truly earnest, we must recognize a higher power over it. Otherwise it is simply human passion, intention, or fanaticism. Only the God-relationship is earnestness. Since Christianity does not simply ponder or dwell on the condition, but hastens to the task, there are two aspects to love; namely conscience and act.
The second aspect of acting out one's love in the world creates a double danger. The first is the self-renunciation side of love which by definition puts one's own will beneath everyone else's. The second is the resulting mockery of the world which considers this foolish behaviour. The mockery grows stronger the more earnest a Christian one becomes. The example Kierkegaard uses is that of two sets of children playing together. One set of children brought up very strictly join a group of children who were not brought up so strictly. When the strictly brought up children refuse to join in with some of the behaviour of the less strictly brought up children, they will be seen as foolish and mocked because they do not understand the strictly brought up children's behaviour.
When one recommends Christianity, one should not be silent on this danger.
Love is a passion, a want, a longing. "It takes everything and it gives everything."
Love is best described as an infinite debt. And it is the lover that is in debt, it does not place the loved one in debt. To the loved one the most trifling expression is infinitely great than all sacrifices and all sacrifices are infinitely less than the smallest trifle in making partial payment on the debt.
As soon as love concentrates on itself it is out of its element - it is lost when it becomes an object for itself. It becomes a fixed point, a boundary or a stopping place instead of an immeasurable infinitude.
For love to be truly earnest, we must recognize a higher power over it. Otherwise it is simply human passion, intention, or fanaticism. Only the God-relationship is earnestness. Since Christianity does not simply ponder or dwell on the condition, but hastens to the task, there are two aspects to love; namely conscience and act.
The second aspect of acting out one's love in the world creates a double danger. The first is the self-renunciation side of love which by definition puts one's own will beneath everyone else's. The second is the resulting mockery of the world which considers this foolish behaviour. The mockery grows stronger the more earnest a Christian one becomes. The example Kierkegaard uses is that of two sets of children playing together. One set of children brought up very strictly join a group of children who were not brought up so strictly. When the strictly brought up children refuse to join in with some of the behaviour of the less strictly brought up children, they will be seen as foolish and mocked because they do not understand the strictly brought up children's behaviour.
When one recommends Christianity, one should not be silent on this danger.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Kierkegaard - Works of Love Chapter 4
Our duty to love those we see.
The need for love and the need to love are deeply embedded in the human nature. This is visible in the need for community that we all share to some extent. Most "religious" folks would also add there is a human need to love God. A Christian has the added qualification that "anyone who says he loves God, but hates his brother ( fellow human ) is a liar."
Our duty is to love all those we see, not to seek out those with lovable qualities and love them. In other words our task is not to find the lovable object, but to find the object lovable.
Special Considerations:
If you want to show that your life is intended for service to God, then let it serve men. For God has indicated, if you love me, love the ones you see.
Those who call it misfortune that they have not found a lover ( ie someone to love ) further prevent themselves from finding him or her since the do not understand the initial step.
If the duty is to be fulfilled, there is to be no double-mindedness about the lovers faults, weaknesses or imperfections. The love is limitless and unchanged regardless whether the object changes. See for example Jesus love of Peter. "when he no longer loves you, when he perhaps turns indifferent away to love someone else, love him as you see him when he betrays and denies you."
The need for love and the need to love are deeply embedded in the human nature. This is visible in the need for community that we all share to some extent. Most "religious" folks would also add there is a human need to love God. A Christian has the added qualification that "anyone who says he loves God, but hates his brother ( fellow human ) is a liar."
Our duty is to love all those we see, not to seek out those with lovable qualities and love them. In other words our task is not to find the lovable object, but to find the object lovable.
Special Considerations:
If you want to show that your life is intended for service to God, then let it serve men. For God has indicated, if you love me, love the ones you see.
Those who call it misfortune that they have not found a lover ( ie someone to love ) further prevent themselves from finding him or her since the do not understand the initial step.
If the duty is to be fulfilled, there is to be no double-mindedness about the lovers faults, weaknesses or imperfections. The love is limitless and unchanged regardless whether the object changes. See for example Jesus love of Peter. "when he no longer loves you, when he perhaps turns indifferent away to love someone else, love him as you see him when he betrays and denies you."
Kierkegaard - Works of Love Chapter 3b
Love is a matter of conscience
For love to be the sum of the commandments it must be from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith, but in this chapter S.K. deals mainly with conscience stating that "love is a matter of conscience in which the other two are essentially contained and to which they essentially lead."
He does this be walking through the process of showing that in Christianity, everything is a matter of conscience and that the primary task, as defined earlier is to love. Therefore, all love must first be a matter of conscience. To love falsely is to hate.
Since, love ( and faith ) are a matter of inwardness ( and conscience ) they do not require visible evidence and proof from the object loved, but have confidence due to the confidential relationship that comes from confiding in one another.
Confide -> Confidential -> Confidence
For love to be the sum of the commandments it must be from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith, but in this chapter S.K. deals mainly with conscience stating that "love is a matter of conscience in which the other two are essentially contained and to which they essentially lead."
He does this be walking through the process of showing that in Christianity, everything is a matter of conscience and that the primary task, as defined earlier is to love. Therefore, all love must first be a matter of conscience. To love falsely is to hate.
Since, love ( and faith ) are a matter of inwardness ( and conscience ) they do not require visible evidence and proof from the object loved, but have confidence due to the confidential relationship that comes from confiding in one another.
Confide -> Confidential -> Confidence
Friday, February 12, 2010
Kant -Fundamental Principles
Much better than Nietzsche. It really is the motive and the intention that determines morality - not the net effect.
Imagine 2 cars run a red light and each kills an innocent pedestrian. Now consider that one driver was an ambulance driver with a pregnant mother in labour. If he waits for the light, the life of the mother and her triplet babies lives will all be lost. The second driver was coming from a domestic fight with his wife and was so enraged that he actually intended to hit the pedestrian.
Nietzche would at best consider the acts morally equal, and at worst would raise up the enraged man as a superman willing and able to take his actions into his own hands and thus rising above the slave morality mentality.
Imagine 2 cars run a red light and each kills an innocent pedestrian. Now consider that one driver was an ambulance driver with a pregnant mother in labour. If he waits for the light, the life of the mother and her triplet babies lives will all be lost. The second driver was coming from a domestic fight with his wife and was so enraged that he actually intended to hit the pedestrian.
Nietzche would at best consider the acts morally equal, and at worst would raise up the enraged man as a superman willing and able to take his actions into his own hands and thus rising above the slave morality mentality.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Kierkegaard - Works of Love Chapter 3a
Love is the fulfillling of the Law
Regarding the illustration of Matthew 21:28-31 "No" does not hide anything, but a "yes" very easily becomes a deception. The first son that answered "no", is closer to doing his father's will than the second son who answered "yes" and changed his mind.
Asking "who is my neighbour" creates a trap for yourself. For Jesus, love is pure action in that he acts and does not simply feel. "Love is no shirker of tasks."
Love is the fulfilling of the Law. It is not contradictory or conflicting. Love is the sum of the commandments. Think of the law as the artist's sketch. love is the painting that results from the sketch. There is no quarrel between them any more than between hunger and the blessing which satisfies it.
To love God is to love oneself in truth and to help another person to love God is to love another.
What the law demands is not up for debate or interpretation. It is not an accidental morality such as determined by the majority. If the majority do wrong - it is still wrong.
The world says "look out for number one" but the law says ignore escapes and excuses. Love begins with a relationship with God and is characterized by inwardness and perseverance. Yet time does not alter the eternal requirement that love is the fulfillment of the law.
We are the first son, and we daily face the opportunity to move from our initial "no" to a loving, repentant "yes".
Regarding the illustration of Matthew 21:28-31 "No" does not hide anything, but a "yes" very easily becomes a deception. The first son that answered "no", is closer to doing his father's will than the second son who answered "yes" and changed his mind.
Asking "who is my neighbour" creates a trap for yourself. For Jesus, love is pure action in that he acts and does not simply feel. "Love is no shirker of tasks."
Love is the fulfilling of the Law. It is not contradictory or conflicting. Love is the sum of the commandments. Think of the law as the artist's sketch. love is the painting that results from the sketch. There is no quarrel between them any more than between hunger and the blessing which satisfies it.
To love God is to love oneself in truth and to help another person to love God is to love another.
What the law demands is not up for debate or interpretation. It is not an accidental morality such as determined by the majority. If the majority do wrong - it is still wrong.
The world says "look out for number one" but the law says ignore escapes and excuses. Love begins with a relationship with God and is characterized by inwardness and perseverance. Yet time does not alter the eternal requirement that love is the fulfillment of the law.
We are the first son, and we daily face the opportunity to move from our initial "no" to a loving, repentant "yes".
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Going To The Olympics
My Family and I are fortunate enough to be able to go to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Opening ceremonies are Friday and we get in on Saturday. I will try to record some of the amazing sports experiences we will take in.
Here are links to their official web site and logo. .
Official Web Site
Opening ceremonies are Friday and we get in on Saturday. I will try to record some of the amazing sports experiences we will take in.
Here are links to their official web site and logo. .
Official Web Site
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Beyond Good and Evil
Nietzsche - you either love him or you hate him. There is no in between, and I believe he intended it that way. By those who love him he feels confirmed. By those who hate him he feels superior. A goal to which every man must aspire.
People who love Nietzsche are obviously on the same wavelength as him when it comes to nihilism and the destruction of all old fashioned ways of thinking. And I have to admit he is compelling.
His compelling statements however are merely opinion and there are serious inconsistencies within them that should cause one to question.
For example, he makes fun of Descarte by questioning why does it have to be I think THEREFORE I am? He argues that it could just as well be I am BECAUSE I think.
So it is interesting to note that a mere mortal can be the source of their own existence, but that same ability to create could not be granted to God - the creator of everything.
Beyond Good and Evil is an interesting read to get into the mind of Nietzsche, but it is simply a compilation of rants, pet peeves and prejudices which unfortunately keep perpetuating among those who want justification to feel superior.
People who love Nietzsche are obviously on the same wavelength as him when it comes to nihilism and the destruction of all old fashioned ways of thinking. And I have to admit he is compelling.
His compelling statements however are merely opinion and there are serious inconsistencies within them that should cause one to question.
For example, he makes fun of Descarte by questioning why does it have to be I think THEREFORE I am? He argues that it could just as well be I am BECAUSE I think.
So it is interesting to note that a mere mortal can be the source of their own existence, but that same ability to create could not be granted to God - the creator of everything.
Beyond Good and Evil is an interesting read to get into the mind of Nietzsche, but it is simply a compilation of rants, pet peeves and prejudices which unfortunately keep perpetuating among those who want justification to feel superior.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Kierkegaard - Works of Love Chapter 2
"You shall love your neighbour."
Only when it is a duty to love, only then is it eternally secure.
Love of neighbour brings equality not duplicity. Any differences are only disguises.
You love your neighbour up close or not at all.
1) We have no control over the world.
2) In death there is no reward or consolation for avoiding one's neighbour.
Therefore -place yourself where God can use you.
Where is that? In the position of loving your neighbour.
Only when it is a duty to love, only then is it eternally secure.
Love of neighbour brings equality not duplicity. Any differences are only disguises.
You love your neighbour up close or not at all.
1) We have no control over the world.
2) In death there is no reward or consolation for avoiding one's neighbour.
Therefore -place yourself where God can use you.
Where is that? In the position of loving your neighbour.
