Agape

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Agape (Ancient Greek ἀγάπη, agápē) is a Greco-Christian term

referring to love, "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of
God for man and of man for God".[1] The word is not be confused with
philia, brotherly love, as it embraces a universal, unconditional love that
transcends and persists regardless of circumstance. The noun form first
occurs in the Septuagint, but the verb form goes as far back as Homer,
translated literally as affection, as in "greet with affection" and "show
affection for the dead".[2] Other ancient authors have used forms of the
word to denote love of a spouse or family, or affection for a particular
activity, in contrast to philia (an affection that could denote friendship,
brotherhood, or generally non-sexual affection) and eros (an affection
of a sexual nature).

Within Christianity, agape is considered to be the love originating from

God or Christ for mankind.[3] In the New Testament, it refers to the
covenant love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love
for God; the term necessarily extends to the love of one's fellow man.[4] The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Gianlorenzo
Some contemporary writers have sought to extend the use of agape into Bernini, 1652
non-religious contexts.[5] [6]

The concept of agape has been widely examined within its Christian context.[7] It has also been considered in
the contexts of other religions,[8] religious ethics,[9] and science.[10]

Contents
1 Early Uses
2 Christianity
2.1 Meal
3 See also
3.1 Judaism
3.2 Eastern religions
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links

Early Uses
There are few instances of the word agape in polytheistic Greek literature. Bauer's Lexicon mentions a
sepulchral inscription, most likely to honor a polytheistic army officer held in "high esteem" by his country.[11]

Christianity
A journalist in Time magazine describes John 3:16 as "one of the most famous and well-known Bible verses. It
has been called the 'Gospel in a nutshell' because it is considered a summary of the central doctrines of
Christianity."[12] The verb translated "loved" in this verse is ἠγάπησεν (ēgapēsen), past tense of "agapaō".
 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, KJV

The word agape received a broader usage under later Christian writers
as the word that specifically denoted Christian love or charity (1
Corinthians 13:1–8), or even God himself. The expression "God is Fresco of a female figure holding a
love" (ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν) occurs twice in the New Testament: 1 John chalice at an early ChristianAgape feast.
4:8,16. Agape was also used by the early Christians to refer to the self- Catacomb of Saints Marcellinus and
sacrificing love of God for humanity, which they were committed to Peter, Via Labicana, Rome
reciprocating and practicing towards God and among one another (see
kenosis).

Agape has been expounded on by many Christian writers in a specifically Christian context. C. S. Lewis uses
agape in The Four Loves to describe what he believes is the highest level of love known to humanity: a selfless
love that is passionately committed to the well-being of others.[13]

The Christian use of the term comes directly from the canonical Gospels' accounts of the teachings of Jesus.
When asked what was the great commandment, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second
is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40) In Judaism, the first "love the LORD thy God" is part of the Shema.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love

(agapēseis) your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
But I say to you, Love (agapāte) your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you, so that you
may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for
he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if
you love those who love you, what reward have
you?

— Matthew 5:43-46, RSV

Tertullian remarks in his 2nd century defense of Christians

that Christian love attracted pagan notice: "What marks us in
the eyes of our enemies is our loving kindness. 'Only look,'
The Sermon on the Mount, Carl Bloch, 1877
they say, 'look how they love one another' " (Apology 39).

Anglican theologian O.C. Quick writes that this agape within

human experience is "a very partial and rudimentary realization," and that "in its pure form it is essentially
divine."

If we could imagine the love of one who loves men purely for their own sake, and not because of
any need or desire of his own, purely desires their good, and yet loves them wholly, not for what at
this moment they are, but for what he knows he can make of them because he made them, then we
should have in our minds some true image of the love of the Father and Creator of mankind.[14]
In the New Testament, the word agape is often used to describe God's love. However, other forms of the word
are used in a negative context, such as the various forms of the verb agapaō. Examples include:

2 Timothy 4:10— "for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved [agapēsas] this present world...".
John 12:43— "For they loved [ēgapēsan] the praise of men more than the praise of God."
John 3:19— "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved [ēgapēsan]
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

Karl Barth distinguishes agape from eros on the basis of its origin and unconditional character. In agape,
humanity does not merely express its nature, but transcends it. Agape identifies with the interests of the
neighbor "in utter independence of the question of his attractiveness" and with no expectation of reciprocity.[15]

Meal

The word agape is used in its plural form (agapai) in the New Testament to describe a meal or feast eaten by
early Christians, as in Jude 1:12 and 2nd Peter 2:13.

See also
Agape feast Love styles
Agapism Loving-kindness
Brotherly love (philosophy) The Four Loves
Charity (virtue) (Latin: caritas) Theological virtues
Compassionate love
Greek words for love

Judaism

Jewish views on love

Chesed, Hebrew word, given the association of kindness and love
Sephirot of Kabbalah
Dveikut

Eastern religions

Mettā, Pali word (Sanskrit: Maitrī), "loving-kindness" or "friendliness"

Ishq, Arabic word, "Divine Love" or "lustless love"

References
1. H. G. Liddell; Robert Scott (October 2010). An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon: Founded Upon the
Seventh Edition of Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon. Benediction Classics. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-
84902-626-0.
2. Henry George Liddell; Robert Scott (1901). A Lexicon Abridged from Liddell and Scott's Greek-English
Lexicon. Oxford : Clarendon Press. p. 6.
3. Cf. Matt 3:17, Mark 10:21
4. "agape." (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/662884/agape) Encyclopædia Britannica.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 17 Sep. 2011.
5. Oord, Thomas Jay (December 2005). "The love racket: Defining love and agape for the love-and-science
research program" (http://www.calvin.edu/~jks4/city/Oord~Defining%20Love.pdf) (PDF). Zygon. 40 (4):
919–938. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.2005.00717.x (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-9744.2005.00717.x).
6. Oord, Thomas Jay (2010). Defining Love: A Philosophical, Scientific, and Theological Engagement.
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Brazos Press. ISBN 1-58743-257-9.
7. Nygren, Anders ([1938–39] 1953). Eros and Agape, Part I: A Study of the Christian Idea of Love; Part II
The History of the Christian Idea of Love, trans. P.S. Watson. Harper & Row.
 8. Templeton, John (1999). Agape Love: Tradition In Eight World Religions (https://books.google.com/book
s?hl=en&lr=lang_en&id=vQM8mKPjGgcC&oi=fnd&pg=PT5&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false), Templeton
Foundation Press. Description. (https://books.google.com/books?id=vQM8mKPjGgcC&source=gbs_nav
links_s)
9. Grant, Colin (1996). "For the Love of God: Agape". Journal of Religious Ethics. 4 (10): 3–21.
JSTOR 40016679 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/40016679).
10. From Post, Stephen G. et al.(2002). Altruism and Altruistic Love: Science, Philosophy, and Religion in
Dialogue, Oxford: Contents. (https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=lang_en&id=7Mw89BoMMKc
C&oi=fnd&pg=PR7#v=onepage&q&f=false):
• Post, Stephen G. "The Tradition of Agape," ch.4, pp. 51–68.
• Browning, Don S. "Science and Religion on the Nature of Love," pp. 335–45.
11. Danker, Frederick William (2001). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early
Christian Literature. University of Chicago Press.
12. John 3:16 in Pop Culture (http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1870689,00.html). Time.
Retrieved 22 May 2009.
13. Kreeft, Peter. "Love" (http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0019.html). Retrieved
May 22, 2009.
Lewis, C. S. (June 5, 2002) [1960]. The Four Loves. London: Fount. ISBN 0-00-628089-7.
14. Quick, O.C. Doctrines of the Creed, Scribners, 1938 p. 55.
15. Church Dogmatics, as translated by G. W Bromiley (1958), p. 745.

Further reading
Drummond, Henry (1884). "The Greatest Thing in the World". Address first delivered in Northfield,
England.
Hein, David. "Christianity and Honor." The Living Church, August 18, 2013, pp. 8–10.
Heinlein, Robert A. (1973). Time Enough for Love. New York: Ace Books. ISBN 0-7394-1944-7.
Kierkegaard, Søren (1998) [1847]. Works of Love. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-
691-05916-7.
Oord, Thomas Jay (2010). The Nature of Love: A Theology. St. Louis, Mo.: Chalice Press. ISBN 978-0-
8272-0828-5.
Outka, Gene H. (1972). Agape: An Ethical Analysis. Description & Contents. Yale University Press.
ISBN 0-300-02122-4

External links
"Agape" at Balashon—Hebrew Language Detective
Deus Caritas Est—Former Pope Benedict XVI's 2005 encyclical letter contrasts agape and eros.
Study Love - An exhaustive, non-denominational breakdown of the itemized Christian definition of
agape in 1 Cor. 13:4–7.

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This page was last edited on 14 August 2017, at 14:18.

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