Agape is a grecochristian term referring to love, the highest form of love, charity and the love of god for man and of man for god. Agape counseling center is a certified academic institution with the national christian counselors association, providing training and degree programs. In the philosophy of love, agape love is the oldest kind, dating back as far as homer and being visible in the philosophy of great thinkers such as kant agape love is the highest form of love. But, as many psychology studies attest, selflove and compassion are key for. This form of love is often represented by familial love between parents and children, siblings, and extended family members.
Finally, i am hopeful that as current and future researchers catch the vision of a positive psychology, and as foundations and govern. The greeks had four words to describe what we call love, eros, romantic love, phileo, enjoyment, fondness, friendship, storge family loyalty and agape unconditional love with stickability. Gene outka examines the literature on agape from nygrens agape and eros in 1930. Some people would describe agape as a type of spiritual love. Agape, or love for everyone the fourth love, and perhaps the most radical, was agape or selfless love. The love you give without expecting anything in return reflected in all charitable acts. Here is everything you need to know about gods perfect, unconditional agape love for us. It is the compassionate love that makes us sympathize with, help and connect to people we dont know. Lewis recognizes this selfless love as the greatest of the four. In his eponymous book, he outlines the different love languages, explaini. The distinction between the two types of love is far more than a distinction between the physical and the spiritual. The ancient greeks had seven words for love that corresponded to different types of love, ranging from physical love eros to purely spiritual love agape.
This book presents the attempts of contemporary psychologists whose field of expertise is the study of love and close relationships to discover just what love is. Philia based on mutual advantage love for what is useful. Agape love is strengthened by the person who expresses it not by the person who receives it. In a state of wonder or amazement, as with the mouth wide open. Agape love is perfect, unconditional, sacrificial, and pure.
Rollo mays 2007 love and will, after paul tillich, explored the important dialectic between love and power will by which true power is only ever power through love. The color wheel theory of love is an idea created by canadian psychologist john alan lee that describes six styles of love, using several of the latin and greek words for love. The hermeneutics of love, i contend, is an attitude that is salient in all of the major figures of humanistic psychology. It sounds too good to be true, and john robert lees survey did not turn up anyone who qualifies as an agape lover, leading him to the conclusion that this type of love is the ideal and, therefore, not all that realistic. To better understand phileo love, we need to take a brief look at the other types of love. Agape love is altruistic love, love that is given for its own sake, without. In terms of the book, sir john templeton a successful business man of investment fame argues that agape love is not exclusive to any one religion, but it is an underlying principle in all major world religions. Mania is a style of love characterized by volatility, insecurity, and possessiveness.
Philia based on mutual pleasure love for what is pleasant. It celebrates jesus sacred heart, but it basically seeks to. In the new testament, there are different greek words used for love, each with its own connotations. Agape is what some call spiritual love, it is an unconditional love, bigger than ourselves, a boundless compassion, an infinite empathy. The goal is to move toward agape love, putting ones ego aside as much as possible.
Eros love may be why you marry, but agape love is what the best marriages achieve and its what we all long for. Although these are bestsellers, they are filled with halftruths and myths. Agape, mania, and eros related to negative emotions at the point of relationship dissolution. There are four types of love that we know about but only 3 of the 4 are mentioned in the bible, but they are all most definitely not the same kind of love. The person in your life that is always giving to others, and needing nothing in return. Both roman catholic and protestant writings are considered, including those of darcy, niebuhr, ramsey, tillich, and above all, karl barth. Agape is a form of love that comes down from god to humanity, while eros moves up from humans toward the divine. Sproul discusses the love jesus gives his people and how we should in turn. Agape is universal love, such as the love for strangers, nature, or god. Dec 20, 2019 agape love, in the bible, is love that comes from god. My intention was to show that, behind our ordinary beliefs about and our everyday practice of. My intention was to show that, behind our ordinary beliefs about and our everyday practice of love, there are intellectual puzzles that demand careful thought. Chris thurman in his book selfhelp or selfdestruction. An intricate compilation of love comprising sentiments of warmth, affection, selfdenial, and visual inclination for the characteristics, mannerisms.
In fact, only the power of love enables us to give up our will to his. Thanks to christianity, which flourished in the first centuries of our era, radical changes occurred in. This basic concept of love affection in christianity means love for ones neighbor. Contemporary readings, i planned a companion volume of essays, of similar quality and philosophical sophistication, on love. You are invited to explore this website to learn more about the work of john welwood his books, as well as to read articles and interviews that he has published. Eros is a love that responds to the merit or value of its object. Agape psychological consortium provides therapeutic, diagnostic, and evaluation services to children and adults. Philosopher peter kreeft considers what love really is and what its really not showing why what many people commonly think of as love falls short of the shining reality of this. Erosa love felt particularly within the body trembling excitement, elation, joy, coloured and underpinned by deep and beautiful procreative urges. Eros love may be why you marry, but agape love is what the best marriages achieve and its. Agape love can be directed toward anyone, even ones own enemies. Both are greek terms and appear at different points throughout scripture. Often, gods love is referred to as agape love which is the highest form of love.
Agape counseling center offers these courses as a resource for skilled helpers, who are leaders in the church, and the workplace, for the purpose of developing people skills in order to assist others dealing with lifes everyday problems. Humanistic psychology, human dignity, and the interpretive. Among the subjects investigated in this searching analysis are kingship and magic participation, the institution of marriage, power and the state, messianism, the doctrine of rebirth, the two kinds of love agape and eros, the creation of the sexual self, feminine psychology and masculine ideology, and psychology beyond the self. Agape love is chaste and patient, and does not demand for any form of reciprocation. Getting through the history and crosspollination of competing lovemotifs was occasionally taxing although certainly an invitation to read early church literature, but revisiting luther was a. Lee said that storge results in a longterm relationship in which sex might not be very. These types are not mutually exclusive, but can overlap. Learn the different types of love and better understand your. Styles of romantic love chapter 11 the new psychology of love. However, the greek language provides more than just one word when it comes to love. The seven types of love discussed below are loosely based on classical readings, especially of plato and aristotle, and on j. It is an attempt to demonstrate that loveagape resists, indeed insists, as a fact that cannot be reduced or concealed.
We invite you to contact us for answers to any questions you may have regarding training or counseling services. These partners give of themselves without expecting anything in return. A biological, psychological and philosophical study. Mar 31, 2019 the love you give without expecting anything in return reflected in all charitable acts. Sep 23, 2010 agape and eros was written in the 1930s, just as philosophers were beginning to realise that language doesnt fit transparently over reality, but alters the way reality is conceived. Agape is the purest form of love, free from desires and expectations is given regardless of the flaws and shortcomings in others. One of the best books youll ever read and study, about love and intimacy with god. Have you faced the inevitable eternal rest of a parent. Thanks to christianity, which flourished in the first centuries of our era, radical changes occurred in the notion of love. The bible also mentions phileo, or brotherly love, and refers to eros, erotic love. This is an important book which deals honestly and seriously with perhaps the most important theoretical question in christian ethics.
A survey of 500 students in two of my introductory psychology classes. Research has concluded that the disciplines of biology, psychology, and philosophy are all important in analyzing love. This kind of love is universal and attributed to many kinds of loving relationships, but most commonly known as the god love key thinker. Agape love is the highest form of love its what i cor is all about. Because the word love can apply in many situations and circumstances, the ancient greeks divided the concept of love into four different types later expanded upon by c. This was a love that you extended to all people, whether family members or. Have you loved and lost before, yet struggled with how to recover and move forward. However, like most ultimate goals, they are to be striven toward but rarely, if ever, attained.
In the philosophy of love, agape love is the oldest kind, dating back as far as homer and being visible in the philosophy of great thinkers such as kant. Agape love, in the bible, is love that comes from god. We had also each read lees 1973 book on the love styles and found it intriguing. Few live out agape love it is much deeper and more meaningful it is love at its highest. Love is the only word that the language offers to describe, well, love. How is this love different from that which the world can give. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. The 4 types of love and how they radically impact your life. Humanistic psychology, human dignity, and the interpretive stance of agape love. Mar 28, 2018 psychology infographic and charts 4 types of love modern love.
The greek language also had terms for two other types of love, eros and storge, which do not expressly appear in the bible. Agape will also lead to justice and true love of neighbor, for agape is love in action. People are obsessed with the idea of being in love, but sometimes these romanticized notions are overly idealistic, even harmful. Agape was also used by the early christians to refer to the selfsacrificing love of god for humanity, which they were committed to reciprocating and practicing towards god and among one another see kenosis. A story of agape love rebecca whitehead munn mba on. Swedish theologian anders nygren commented that numerous books were written on the doctrinal details of christianity, but few tackled the idea at its heart love.
Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. His book, the five love languages, provides a lot more detail. The third kind will usually involve the other two kinds too, and is, he argues, the best of the three. This trope applies when a characters main motivation is to love, be loved or both. Its so much more than we could ever dream or imagine. In it, lewis clearly distinguishes supernatural love, agape ahgahpay, the kind of love christ is and lived and taught, from the natural loves. Learning about the psychology behind love and emotion will improve your relationships, help you increase your happiness, and boost your quality of life. This book is an ethical analysis of the concept of christian love or agape.
The greeks also spoke of storge, which is a love between family members. Agape psychological services trusted marriage and family. Philia based on mutual admiration love for what is good. This study is the most comprehensive account to date of modern treatments of the love commandment. By agape love, he means love that is unlimited, pure, and unconditional as well as altruistic. Love is a theme that appears in literature, music, movies and more.
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Agape love definition of agape love by the free dictionary. Agape, the love theme of the bible, can only be defined by the nature of god. In this essay we are going to look at some of these pop psychology myths as exposed by dr. Paul compares faith, hope, and love, and concludes that the greatest of these is love 1 cor. Political agape 2015 completes my trilogy on christian love agape, begun with love disconsoled 1999 and continued with the priority of love 2003. This type of love can also develop out of friendship where people who share interests and commitments gradually develop affection for one another.
To love someone in this way is simply to will the good of that person as that person, without regard for how that good may or may not benefit ones self. Agape love is selfless love, the love for humanity. Whoever does not love does not know god, because god is love. Understanding gods love and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. This term defines gods immeasurable, incomparable love for humankind.
This kind of love is universal and attributed to many kinds of loving relationships, but most commonly known as the god love. Beyond psychology dover dover publications dover books. Are you looking for inspiration to give you strength to persevere. Attention deficit hyperactive disorder, autism spectrum, and learning disabilities. Agape psychological services reflects these principles while providing caring, thoughtful, and loving therapy for families, couples, individuals, and groups. The three primary types are eros, ludus and storge, and the three secondary. Agape has been expounded on by many christian writers in a specifically christian context. Agape is a greek term meaning a purely spiritual love of a person. Formica wrote soulmate love and authentic, egoless relationship. The ancient greeks and modern psychology both identified 4 kinds of love. Agape, and its verb form agapao, is one of the several greek words for love.
This article examines the nature of love and some of the ethical and political ramifications. Whats the difference between it and the other kinds of love. Bodenmann, department of psychology, university of. Eros is sexual or passionate love, and is the type most akin to our modern construct of romantic love. If you would like more information or documentation for. Go into any bookstore and you will see shelves of selfhelp books, many of which promote a form of pop psychology. For many people, the concept of selflove might conjure images of treehugging hippies or cheesy selfhelp books. Philosophy of love internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Uhgahpay is the highest of the four types of love in the bible. Instead, more realistically, romantic love is a struggle between agape love and our egobased love. Finally, i am hopeful that as current and future researchers catch the vision of. Agape and eros was written in the 1930s, just as philosophers were beginning to realise that language doesnt fit transparently over reality, but alters the way reality is conceived. Agape will also lead to sanctity and obedience, for if we love god we will want to obey him. God is love and has demonstrated that love in everything that he does.
437 185 76 1450 715 1263 1556 801 1370 330 44 457 1087 872 708 1278 1553 631 1152 23 499 525 499 200 728 1347 370 971 556 739 1120 914 1097 581 1095 162 729 1211 37