A Philosophical and Biblical approach to the fundamental meaning of love. read the previous edition
ULTIMATE SOLUTION
In this final edition, all I seek to do is to come out with the being qua being of love. In other words, what love really means in itself beyond contradiction. Also, the originative principle behind love.
A lot of people refer to Corinthians 13:4 -7 where Paul said “love is patient, kind, it perseveres, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking and it always trusts…” as the definition of love. But when you consider the text carefully, you will notice that the text is not telling us what love is but it is giving us attributes, instances or examples of love. In other words, the text is giving us the “are” of love. But what we are looking for is the “is” of love. In The Meno, Socrates sought from Meno a definition of virtue which is one and common to all the attributes and examples of virtue that Meno gave. So with the same approach, I have examined the attributes or examples of love Paul gave us and I noticed that one thing is common within them. That one thing is sacrifice.Â
Sacrifice is reality;Â sacrifice is being when it comes to what love really means. Again, to use the word of Immanuel Kant, I would also say sacrifice is the noumena (what things are in themselves) of love. Thales, the first western philosopher, looked at the world and noticed that everything is moist. For that reason, he went on to propose water as the originative substance of all that exists. In the same way, have I looked at all that exists in what Paul regarded as love, and I have noticed that the originative principle behind them is sacrifice.
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“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12-13
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“But God demonstrate his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.
