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What is Love?

Valjean

Veteran Member
Premium Member
What is love? I have noticed that when you ask that question of people, they tend to tell you what they hope love is, rather than what they have observed love to be. Not all, but enough do.

Here's what I hope love is: The summit of living well.

Here's what I know love to be: An intense or extreme form of attraction to another person, place, or thing that is typically characterized by -- among other things -- desiring the best for them (or it).

But that's love in general. In actuality, there are many different, but closely related, kinds of love. There is parental love, which is expressed differently from sibling love, which is expressed differently from romantic love, which is expressed differently from companionate love, and so on and on. When I try to count all the different kinds of love, I usually come up with a number between nine and twelve.

The sciences have only begun to investigate love using neuroscientific techniques, but already we have hard evidence for the hypothesis that there are different kinds of love. I think by now that's a settled issue.
So there's oxytocin love, dopamine love, serotonin love, endorphin love &c?
;)
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
Interesting word, love. It has so many different meanings. I look at it as presenting in 2 ways, in odic force and in actinic force. Odic force is the one that has attachment written all over it. When a person says, 'I love my car' it just means 'I'm (emotionally) attached to my car.' Much love is that way, sticky, like glue. Actinic force is deeper than that. It's lighter, deeper, and nowhere near so emotional. I think as love grows, (as the person grows) it deepens from odic to actinic.

But, yeah, with regard to love, I really know nothing at all.
 

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
I suggest trying some focused imagination.

Thinking about the abstract concept of love can be self changing. If you think about love without form or requirement or limitations and really focus (perhaps with eyes closed) for a period of time, you can admire it, can joy in it. Focus on how good it is conceptually. Forget yourself and all things. If you drive all other thoughts away and just think about that for a period of time you may experience something you'll never forget. Doing this dedicated imagining of something which you can't see but which has all kinds of good attributes can be an interesting experience. Maybe there is a biochemical brain effect or maybe you encounter the supernatural, but when you succeed you won't be able to tell. You may experience precognition or other strange effects. You may also have some stray thoughts which may seem to speak to you, but take those with a grain of salt. Process later if you hear anything as it could just be a brain fart. Just try to remember everything. You will probably need a very quiet location, very safe with a cool even temperature. That will help.
 

nPeace

Veteran Member
What does love mean to you?
To me, love is a quality, or characteristic. To my understanding, it is not an emotion, as many people think it is.

I like how it is described at 1 Corinthians 13.
When one understands what Paul said there, to me, the quality of love has proper meaning.
For example...
People are familiar with the expression, 'God is love'. Not God has love, but God is love. So is love is as described at 1 Corinthians 13, it means that God's essence - his entire character is love. hence, God can only exhibit all the aspects of love - understood from the human capacity - patient and kind. Not jealous - the negative aspect, not the positive (zeal for what is right). Does not brag, not get puffed up. Does not behave indecently, nor look for its own interests. Does not become provoked - lose control, opposite to righteous indignation. Does not keep account of the injury. Does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. Bears all things, Believes all things - as in always sees the potential... Or hopes all things. Endures all things. Unfailing.

How have you seen love in your life?
Yes. I would say I truly have found true love, as never ever seen before in my life, since I have been in association with Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs), and learned what the Bible really teaches.
Not only in receiving love, but giving it, and seeing it in action among throngs of people of all nationalities - young and old.
That's amazing to me, because it's not often you see, young people especially, showing real loving care to older ones.
 

A Vestigial Mote

Well-Known Member
Hard to actually "define," I suppose, but I would say you know you've at least trekked quite a bit toward the destination of "love" if you know you'd jump off a cliff that someone you care about just fell off of on the off chance that you might be able to grab them and snag something to break your fall, or catch up to them, put yourself beneath them quickly (not that you actually have this much time - but this is the mind's justification for jumping off a dang cliff we're talking here) in order to put yourself between them and the ground to soften the landing even just a bit.

That's, I think, one of the ways that you can know you're there... in love. I would do this for any of my children, my wife, my siblings. I'd say I'd do it for my mother or father also... but they would likely scold me if I did (even on the way down - again, if we had time) - citing the longer span of life they got to live than I have, no doubt.
 

halbhh

The wonder and awe of "all things".
What does love mean to you? How have you seen love in your life?
When I was young I might have said that love is when you feel someone really cares about you. A little older and I might have answered that love is when you are enamored with someone. After I really heard chapter 13 of 1rst Corinthians the first time (and having heard the Words of Christ), then I knew what love is. Or remembered...

a link for those not already knowing the words:
1 Corinthians 13 NIV
 

Dave Watchman

Active Member
Personally a favorite Scripture that I think of with love is Jesus with the little children. People were bringing children to Jesus for him to bless them and the disciples discouraged it. However Jesus said for them to let the little children come to him. And he took the children up in his arms and blessed them. See Mark 10:13-16. This is what I have often desired that I may come into his arms like the little children, feel his embrace, the shine of his eyes, and his smile.

That's a pretty good one.

And welcome to the forum Psalm23

I like the one where Jesus said no greater love. No greater love than to lay down your life for your friend. As He was headed for the cross. I think it goes back to the garden.

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13​

That goes back to Genesis. Adam was due to die on the very day that he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

But when he saw that Eve had taken of the fruit, the dread that he must have felt. What did she do? I shouldn't have left her alone. He must have known, must have feared that the wife that he loved, the flesh of his flesh, would soon be killed by God. For the penalty of sin is death, and the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.

Did Adam, with full knowledge of the repercussions, eat of the fruit so as to stand with his wife? For better or worse, until death do they part.

Did the pre incarnate Jesus see this, see the great love that Adam had for Eve? So much so that Adam would even find it preferable to join with her in death, and in the Creator's wrath, rather than to witness her stand there and suffer alone? Was this example of the truest love one of the reasons Jesus was motivated for a solution?

And then Jesus stood in the way, in between them and God's wrath. Offering Himself up as the ultimate solution for all mankind.

“This is my commandment,
that you love one another as I have loved you. - Jesus​
 

Psalm23

Well-Known Member
That's a pretty good one.

And welcome to the forum Psalm23

I like the one where Jesus said no greater love. No greater love than to lay down your life for your friend. As He was headed for the cross. I think it goes back to the garden.

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13​

That goes back to Genesis. Adam was due to die on the very day that he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

But when he saw that Eve had taken of the fruit, the dread that he must have felt. What did she do? I shouldn't have left her alone. He must have known, must have feared that the wife that he loved, the flesh of his flesh, would soon be killed by God. For the penalty of sin is death, and the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.

Did Adam, with full knowledge of the repercussions, eat of the fruit so as to stand with his wife? For better or worse, until death do they part.

Did the pre incarnate Jesus see this, see the great love that Adam had for Eve? So much so that Adam would even find it preferable to join with her in death, and in the Creator's wrath, rather than to witness her stand there and suffer alone? Was this example of the truest love one of the reasons Jesus was motivated for a solution?

And then Jesus stood in the way, in between them and God's wrath. Offering Himself up as the ultimate solution for all mankind.

“This is my commandment,
that you love one another as I have loved you. - Jesus​

I never have thought about that option that Adam ate the fruit to stand by Eve. Still it seems to me he threw her under the bus pretty quickly ( see Genesis 3:8-12.
 

URAVIP2ME

Veteran Member
What does love mean to you? How have you seen love in your life?
The type of love Jesus believed in was ' self-scrificing love ' as per his New Commandment found at John 13:34-35
In other words, we are now to love neighbor MORE than self, more than the Golden Rule.
Put the other person first when possible as per Philippians 2:3
Christ-like love is also defined at 1 Corinthians 13:4-6.
Such love believes all things recorded in God's Word (Bible) - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The application of such principled love leads to lasting relationships built on such trusted love. An international brotherhood based on such applied love.
 

URAVIP2ME

Veteran Member
I never have thought about that option that Adam ate the fruit to stand by Eve. Still it seems to me he threw her under the bus pretty quickly ( see Genesis 3:8-12.
Yes, Adam chose to ' stand by Eve ' choosing Eve over his God. - 1 Timothy 2:14
Did Adam ' throw Eve under the bus' or did Adam love Eve so very much that he did Not want to live without her.
By Adam deliberately eating the forbidden fruit then Adam was committing suicide rather then live without Eve.
 

Psalm23

Well-Known Member
Yes, Adam chose to ' stand by Eve ' choosing Eve over his God. - 1 Timothy 2:14
Did Adam ' throw Eve under the bus' or did Adam love Eve so very much that he did Not want to live without her.
By Adam deliberately eating the forbidden fruit then Adam was committing suicide rather then live without Eve.

The reason I said Adam throw Eve under the bus is because when God asks him what he had done, Adam blamed Eve instead of taking responsibility for his own actions. Though as to the reason Adam ate the fruit is in my opinion only conjecture.
 
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