Johnny Smith Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 If the only form of love you have ever experienced is conditional, and yet it is said to be unconditional, then the battle for your mind has begun. The preacher says, “God loves you unconditionally,†but his doctrine says, “God loves you, but if you do not love God, you love the world, and are a friend of the world.†Oh yes, preacher of the gospel, this is what your book says. James 4:4, “… know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.†What happens to the enemies of God? Revelation 20:15 states: “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake fire.†Revelation 21:8 states: “But the cowardly, unbelieving…shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.†How does this reconcile with the statement in 1 John 4:16? – “God is love.†Sadly, the Judeo-Christian God’s love is conditional. This God’s love cannot possibly extend to the whole of humanity. The Christian has been taught to believe that humanity is unconditionally loved by God and yet, His love will only manifest in eternity to those who have made a choice to accept His son as their “personal Lord and Savior.†The concept of unconditional love has been distorted. Unconditional love has no limits or borders. It has no judgments or penalties. It requires no prayers, nor prescribes the necessity of salvation. Unconditional love is content in the present, not regretting the past or fearing the future. Unconditional love does not stand at the door of eternity, requiring a ticket of entrance to bliss. Unconditional love is found in the state of being. It is heard in the early mornings by a singing sparrow. It is observed in the flicker of a flame or the ripple of a stream. It is felt in the gentle breeze of a spring day, or the assuring embrace of a lover. Unconditional love is not God, and cannot be attained or contained. Johnny Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitchu Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Well, my view on unconditional love among humans is that it's a cudgel used by people behaving like assholes to beat into guilty submission those who expect rational mutually understood and adhered-to terms within a loving relationship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Norton II Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Well, my view on unconditional love among humans is that it's a cudgel used by people behaving like assholes to beat into guilty submission those who expect rational mutually understood and adhered-to terms within a loving relationship. No- I unconditionally love my family. Not because they're my family, but because they love me, and I know that they will always be there for me. If they're not, it's because something is wrong with them. I should reciprocate the love they show me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitchu Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 No- I unconditionally love my family. Not because they're my family, but because they love me, and I know that they will always be there for me. If they're not, it's because something is wrong with them. I should reciprocate the love they show me. If there ever should be something wrong with them that makes your life miserable, and they truly love you, they will get the thing wrong with them fixed. "Because we love each other unconditionally" is a rotten excuse for continuing to behave like an asshole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuaiDan Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 I don't believe in unconditional love. To do so would be begging for heartbreak in a cold world where people only love what they can use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godlessgrrl Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 I used to believe wholeheartedly in unconditional love. I don't anymore, except perhaps on the part of puppies and young children. Every person that I love or who loves me in this world, there is some condition under which I would no longer love them, or under which they would no longer love me. Granted, the people who love me more have fewer conditions, but even those closest to me are bound by such conditions as time or death. I no longer believe that unconditional love is really anything good to strive towards, either. I seriously can't imagine loving someone so much that literally nothing they could do would prevent it, even though there's a great deal that I could tolerate or forgive if I love someone. It's simply too unrealistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuaiDan Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Couldn't have said it better myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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