God's love.

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dio9
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God's love.

Post #1

Post by dio9 »

Because God loves us , we love others; or do we love others so God will love us. What's the difference? What do you think? It's a responsibility question really. Which is a more wholesome way to go about this thing we call love. Do we love people so they will love us back?
This is essentially the difference between old testament love and new testament love . wait a minute here , Have we lost divine motivation here? In the old testament people loved people so God would love them. In the New Testament we get loved anyhow God loves us whether or not we love others . It says God loved us first , Unconditionally. Which do you think is a better practice, or way to love, so God will love us or because God loves us?
Have you heard of Karma? What do you comes back to bless or haunt you. Is the Christian belief irresponsible , just a little bit maybe?

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Post #2

Post by puddleglum »

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
(1 John 4:10-12 ESV)
His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.
Romans 1:20 ESV

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Post #3

Post by Elijah John »

puddleglum wrote: In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
(1 John 4:10-12 ESV)
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My theological positions:

-God created us in His image, not the other way around.
-The Bible is redeemed by it's good parts.
-Pure monotheism, simple repentance.
-YHVH is LORD
-The real Jesus is not God, the real YHVH is not a monster.
-Eternal life is a gift from the Living God.
-Keep the Commandments, keep your salvation.
-I have accepted YHVH as my Heavenly Father, LORD and Savior.

I am inspired by Jesus to worship none but YHVH, and to serve only Him.

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bluethread
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Re: God's love.

Post #4

Post by bluethread »

dio9 wrote: In the old testament people loved people so God would love them.
On what do you base this generalization? Why did Avram side with the five kings to rescue Lot? Also, why did Avram argue for the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah?

dio9
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Re: God's love.

Post #5

Post by dio9 »

[Replying to post 4 by bluethread]

Would Jesus' teaching be a good basis? Everything rests on loving God and our neighbors. These are commandments. Does God want to be loved by us? You bet . God loved us first and wants humans to love him in return. God loves so he will be loved.

Scripture tells us God is even a jealous lover. We had better love or else. Not only because we have been loved first but like God love so we will be loved.

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JehovahsWitness
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Re: God's love.

Post #6

Post by JehovahsWitness »

dio9 wrote: Because God loves us , we love others; or do we love others so God will love us. What's the difference? What do you think?
Both.

Primarily we love God because, as Paul put it, He (God) loved us FIRST. But to keep that love he requests we are obedient, not least to the second greatest command, to love our neighbours.
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

dio9
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Post #7

Post by dio9 »

Is Christian love only an act of obedience?

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JehovahsWitness
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Post #8

Post by JehovahsWitness »

[Replying to post 7 by dio9]

No I don't believe so. One can love pedophilia or Satan or any other thing entitiy or imagined entity.
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

Closingaccountreadgmailna
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Re: God's love.

Post #9

Post by Closingaccountreadgmailna »

dio9 wrote: Because God loves us , we love others; or do we love others so God will love us. What's the difference? What do you think? It's a responsibility question really. Which is a more wholesome way to go about this thing we call love. Do we love people so they will love us back?
This is essentially the difference between old testament love and new testament love . wait a minute here , Have we lost divine motivation here? In the old testament people loved people so God would love them. In the New Testament we get loved anyhow God loves us whether or not we love others . It says God loved us first , Unconditionally. Which do you think is a better practice, or way to love, so God will love us or because God loves us?
Have you heard of Karma? What do you comes back to bless or haunt you. Is the Christian belief irresponsible , just a little bit maybe?
Interesting question. God love us.

Do I love others because:

They love me?
Because I love God?

Jesus says be perfect as He is perfect. Love your enemies. He speak about love that is caritas, not one we often speak of, for example:

I love pineapple, I love my pet, I love my wife, I love my grandparents. Or I love you, can you do this and that for me.

To love someone is to accept his flaws and bring that good he has.

For example lets say I am married.

Me and my wife are not as perfect as Jesus is, but He teaches us to be like Him. So we have to wake up with caritas, that suffering love.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Cor 13, 4-7

This is love.

Patience, kindness, not envious, not boastful, not proud (in a sense of me first, then my wife), but her before me, I must be humble and listen, I ought to suffer for my wife until death do us part, in good health and in sickness. I ought to protect my family and provide for my family. If I do that and my wife does that and we pray together and we stay together, we have a house build on rock and not sand. That's something to pass on to our children and just imagine if every family had this treasure.

This is love.

To love your enemies means not to hate, not to wish them ill, but pray for them as Jesus says. Bless them when they curse you. Do we do that?

It doesn't mean if someone is cussing you out you hug them.
It doesn't mean you have to force them listening to your kind words when they want to punch you.

Sometimes to love your enemy means to let them be angry, but you don't get angry at them.

Love others, but not the sin.

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catnip
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Re: God's love.

Post #10

Post by catnip »

JehovahsWitness wrote:
dio9 wrote: Because God loves us , we love others; or do we love others so God will love us. What's the difference? What do you think?
Both.

Primarily we love God because, as Paul put it, He (God) loved us FIRST. But to keep that love he requests we are obedient, not least to the second greatest command, to love our neighbours.
Where specifically does it say that he ever stops loving us because we are disobedient?

I wonder--do we turn his unconditional love into conditional love once we turn to him?

The scenario I see above is: We try, we fail, we're lost. I would suggest that this type of theology is attempting to make black and white something that is really progressive--we try, we make mistakes and we should try again realizing that we are forgiven--already forgiven--because to be truly in the light of God is a precious and amazing thing! In other words, we begin a pilgrimage into faith that grows stronger.

God's love is not conditional. If we know that, we know that all things are possible.

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