quiet gal

This is Valentine Month for USA, but I am not sure about other countries. They are all welcome to pitch in and discuss this topic.
So much negative in this post and I want to add positive to this.

There is no right or wrong! Each person have different opinion or perspective with the meaning of "Love".

So describe what does"Love" means to you!

Deafness

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Liebling:-)))

Yes, it´s same with British and Germany.... Valentine Day.

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*sniffing you*

Codger

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feaSt. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's and now the date is very commercialised. The town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14. The spirit of good continues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school.


There you have it!

The Heretic

Love is little more than the hyphen between sadism and masochism.

__________________
Self-esteem is cleverer than the cleverest person in the world.

Codger

I certainly agree that it would appear to be so to a cynic standing on the outside looking in.

The Heretic

Not necessarily! It was a provocative statement, so there is no need to be presumptuous.

On the other hand a cynic is always a failed idealist, or someone who has realized that the truth is often unpleasant. Love is certainly the triumph of the imagination over the intellect.

"To be in love is merely to be in a state of perceptual anesthesia -- to mistake an ordinary young man for a Greek god or an ordinary young woman for a goddess."

__________________
Self-esteem is cleverer than the cleverest person in the world.

Reba

How sad.

Reba

Love is not just a "feeling". Love is an act of the will. We don't just "feel" love, we show it by putting the needs of the other person first. We should show love for other people the way God showed His love for us. He loved us even though we were not "lovable".

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him."
I John 4:9

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous."
I John 5:3

"And this is love, that we walk after His commandments."
II John 6

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
John 15:13

Y

Love is probably the most misunderstanding word of all.

Some People assumed that Love means
they feel so "inspired" by someone else, but
Love may have little or nothing to do with inspirations.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,
it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude,
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 Corinthians 13:5-7

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Reba

DavLaurel

For God so loved the world, he decided it wasn't enough for mankind to follow a few do's and don't's, as demanded of the Israelites, but believe in the divinity of a particular person. Or suffer eternal torment, no matter how commendable one was otherwise.

Does love say, "Love me--or burn in Hell"? I think not.

Reba

God does not want anyone to suffer in Hell. That is why He sacrificed His own Son to provide a way to save us from that condemnation.

Codger

Here is the easiest way I know of to explain God's presenting Christ's (a part of God) sacrifice to us. Man was given laws to follow. They included laws for dealing with God, and laws for dealing with other men. There were also health laws given.

It became apparent that man, with his free will and sinful nature could never achieve perfection of a sinless existance. The ritual of sin atonement was ignored or abused either by the people or by the priests appointed to present the offerings (sacrifices) to God on the behalf of the people.

God prepared a more perfect sacrifice for us in the person of Jesus. Remember he also gave a sacrificial animal to Abraham? This sacrifice was more pure and enduring.

It was a gift. We can choose to accept the gift or not. He did not take away our free will, but gave us a gift. And with this gift he offered his grace and forgiveness to all persons of all cultures, not just to the people of King David (different from today's Jewish Nation IMHO).

PrincessTabu

Love is our natural state of being. It doesn't come from outside, but rather from within. It's our beauty, our life, the energy that others feel. The more we feel love, the less we need to control other people. The more inspired we are to care, be of service, find the good in other people. But the most important thing is to open ourselves to the love within.

DavLaurel

If God didn't want anyone to suffer in Hell, he could simply arrange for its non-existence. Hell exists--if it does--because God wants it to exist.

If God really loved humanity, I'd think he'd end disease, restore sight to those blinded and hearing to those deafened, and so on. But he hasn't.

DavLaurel

Codger: "It became apparent that man, with his free will and sinful nature could never achieve perfection of a sinless existance."

Adam, who was made sinless, couldn't achieve that, either. And neither did Lucifer, who was also originally sinless. (why did God suppose things would be any different with Adam?)

If man is born hard-wired to sin, can a just God condemn him?

The Heretic

True, but this is where the Christian will introduce the Argument from Unknown Purposes. We cannot discern God's choices, because of our finite nature, our finite knowledge, and our finite morality. God's choices stem from his infinitely perfect nature, which is essentially incomprehensible.
The Christian will also claim that God values human free will above and beyond everything. Therefore, even a perfect universe is inferior to the one containing creatures with free will, the ability to choose between good and evil actions.

__________________
Self-esteem is cleverer than the cleverest person in the world.