In 1960 C.S. Lewis published a book by this title. He wrote a very helpful analysis of the four Greek words that are used in the New Testament for the English word “Love.” The book turned out to be as popular as it was insightful. In addition to being an important theological thinker, especially in conservative Christian thinker, Lewis proofed to be a very creative writer with his “Narnia Chronicles” and other fictional stories.
Lewis was a generally known and admired as a thoughtful and widely read Christian lay-theologian. At the same time, most of his admirers do not know that he was as well a top-notch Professor of Literature at Cambridge University. Indeed, in many ways Lewis’ notoriety at the popular level was preceded by his well-founded scholarship in the field of English Literature. In addition, only late in life did he bring his scholarly mind to bear on issues that surrounded the nature and basis of religious belief. He wrote a number of books dealing with what is called “Apologetics”, i.e. the rationale for faith.
Now, back to the topic of this blog. In his book The Four Loves Lewis sets out to examine and explicate the meaning of the four terms used in the New Testament that are translated into the English term “Love.” The Greeks new, as we do, that love is a “many splendored thing” and thus it takes at least four different terms to express its full meaning. Fortunately, Lewis knew his Greek and how to explain the meanings of its often various diverse terms.
The first of the terms often translated “love” that Lewis discusses is storge. This term is used in Greek literature to designate a kind of empathetic feeling or understanding. Although it does not occur in the New Testament, it often plays a dominant role in various well-known Greek dramas. It is what is meant when we today say that members of a family love one another. The second Greek word Lewis discusses is philia. We are quite familiar with this word in English because it is usually translated as “brotherly love”, as in the name of the city “Philadelphia”.
This term is also often translated more broadly as “friendship love”, or as fraternal affection among close friends.
Then there is sexual love. We use the term in this way when we say that two people “made love”. This term does not strictly speaking occur in the New Testament, but the behavior associated with sexual love is sometimes described. Unfortunately, in the New Testament this sort of behavior is generally associated with pagan sexual behavior and evil treatment of both men and women. This sort of behavior is generally described in the New Testament, as in Chapter One of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, as “lichenivorous”. I should think that there must be a form of eros which does not involve such negative behavior.
Finally, Lewis discusses agape, the unconditional love of one person for another that may transcend any of the above mentioned forms of love even without negating them. Lewis defines this form of love, characteristic of God’s love for humanity, as essentially “unconditional.” As Paul puts it: “While we were yet sinners, God loved us.” This love goes beyond all boundaries and barriers. It ignores the usual categories of social and political judgement, even of previous directly evil behavior.
It was this “agapeistic” love that animated Jesus’ in his dealings with the people of his time and place. He sought to treat others in a way that had their best interest at heart. These qualities are all displayed in the so-called “Sermon on the Mount.” (Mathew 5-7). On the cross Jesus said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” The “agape” posture towards people embodied in Jesus’ life and teachings goes beyond but is not really contrary to the other forms of love. It transcends them without negating them. It is of course possible to combine, or as our technology today often puts it, to “bundle”, these dimensions of love into one form of behavior, but “agape’ does not require the inclusion of the others in order to be valid.