Christian Love

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1. What is Christian love? And has this definition changed over time?

Love, Christian

Love is the central religious and moral ideal of Christianity.

As interpreted by Augustine (d. 430), love (Lat. caritas) is directed first toward God. Human beings are so structured as to find lasting happiness only in God, the highest Good. Human pursuit of happiness by loving what is less than God is futile; the chief purpose of love is to bring one's neighbor into communion with God. True self-love and love for God are coincident or coextensive. Augustine held that the substratum for ...