Love: an Eternal Gift from God to Humanity
Arzu 1
Maria Arzu
Dr. John Salesses
Seeking Wisdom 110
February 6, 2012
Love:
An Eternal Gift from God to Humanity What is love? A question all humans will examine during their lifetime; a question human beings including scientists, psychologists, artists, etc. will never come to an agreement on its definition. Whether love is a human need for caring and comfort, or a human strive for beautiful sensations, or a wish for giving and sharing goodness with others, love regulates and modifies human lives, defining all kinds of relationships between human beings. After reading and discussing Plato’s Symposium, Apology and Crito, my opinion and knowledge about love has broaden and strengthen because of a complementary understanding about how love is innate in humans, how beauty, goodness and love are all interrelated, and how God’s gift of the sexual aspect of love is much more than procreation. Arzu 2 Human beings are born with a natural or innate necessity for being and feeling loved, and to give and share love with others just like their Creator: God. God is self-existent, eternal, He has existed forever, He is the essence of life and time. Also, God is completely in Itself love. Among other reasons, God created men to perpetuate His love, and to share His immense and infinite capacity to love with His creatures. Additionally, God created men in its own image and likeliness (Gen. 1:26-27). Therefore, humans share God’s ability to love by being created in its own image. Furthermore, God’s transcendence of His love to men implies to love Him back above all things with all heart, all soul, and all mind (Deuteronomy 6:5), to love their fellow brothers as themselves (Leviticus 19:18), and finally, to love in God’s language denotes a desire for the absolute good for all. Plato suggests god and goddesses’ love is present in humans because in Socrate’s speech from the Symposium, Plato seems to give love a spiritual dimension. Plato suggests love is
Maria Arzu
Dr. John Salesses
Seeking Wisdom 110
February 6, 2012
Love:
An Eternal Gift from God to Humanity What is love? A question all humans will examine during their lifetime; a question human beings including scientists, psychologists, artists, etc. will never come to an agreement on its definition. Whether love is a human need for caring and comfort, or a human strive for beautiful sensations, or a wish for giving and sharing goodness with others, love regulates and modifies human lives, defining all kinds of relationships between human beings. After reading and discussing Plato’s Symposium, Apology and Crito, my opinion and knowledge about love has broaden and strengthen because of a complementary understanding about how love is innate in humans, how beauty, goodness and love are all interrelated, and how God’s gift of the sexual aspect of love is much more than procreation. Arzu 2 Human beings are born with a natural or innate necessity for being and feeling loved, and to give and share love with others just like their Creator: God. God is self-existent, eternal, He has existed forever, He is the essence of life and time. Also, God is completely in Itself love. Among other reasons, God created men to perpetuate His love, and to share His immense and infinite capacity to love with His creatures. Additionally, God created men in its own image and likeliness (Gen. 1:26-27). Therefore, humans share God’s ability to love by being created in its own image. Furthermore, God’s transcendence of His love to men implies to love Him back above all things with all heart, all soul, and all mind (Deuteronomy 6:5), to love their fellow brothers as themselves (Leviticus 19:18), and finally, to love in God’s language denotes a desire for the absolute good for all. Plato suggests god and goddesses’ love is present in humans because in Socrate’s speech from the Symposium, Plato seems to give love a spiritual dimension. Plato suggests love is