LOVE

LOVE. According to 1Jn 4:8, “God is love.” The love of God (q.v.) is at the heart of the inner life of the Trinity (q.v.) and of the actions taken on humanity’s behalf-hence God is entitled the philanthropos (lover of humanity). The Greek word used in the text from Joh n is agape, “charity.” The Church Fathers (q.v.) also employed another word, eros, which in classical Greek use primarily signified sexual longing. While bold, the Fathers’ use is hardly at variance with the New Testament as some circles (Protestant) have maintained. Eros is primarily used in connection with created existence to denote the longing for God implanted in every creature, especially in the human person. Indeed, eros is seen as constitutive of created being as such. The Fathers, beginning particularly with Gregory of Nyssa and continuing with Dionysius the Areopagite and Maximus the Confessor (qq.v.), did not hesitate to ascribe eros to God himself. The Creator “yearns” to share himself, hence he creates, preserves, saves, and ultimately will draw all he has made into communion with the love that is his being.