Comments on: Learning to love yourself http://online.worldmag.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/ A forum for discussion of news that arises at the intersection of Christianity and culture. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:12:29 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Karen O http://online.worldmag.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/comment-page-1/#comment-332874 Karen O Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:01:29 +0000 http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/#comment-332874 Rio (#27) - I agree. That's what I was trying to say in #24. But we really don't have a "right" to love ourselves if we ignore loving others. Rio (#27) – I agree. That’s what I was trying to say in #24. But we really don’t have a “right” to love ourselves if we ignore loving others.

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]]> By: Jonny http://online.worldmag.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/comment-page-1/#comment-332734 Jonny Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:10:18 +0000 http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/#comment-332734 #19- Yes, Kimberly, you and I have discussed this issue before. You seem still to have failed to apprehend the Biblical meaning of the term "justice" and insist on reading into it a Romish slant. As to pretending that philosophical ideas are Christianity, a survey of the history of Christianity (and, here, I recommend Jaroslav Pelikan's amazing History of Christian Doctrine) will easily show that this is exactly what Anselm, Aquinas, and their progeny (including the Reformers) did with Greek philosophy. The West imposed an Aristotlean perspective onto its theology and forever imprinted "Christianity" with a view that made knowledge about God the only way to achieve knowledge of God. This equivalency then gave rise to the various speculations about God that formed the contractual/juridical conceptions of "Christianity" that are bandied about so readily and so often on WoW and other similar sites-- creating the sad "fallout" so well exemplified by Random Name. -- Jonny #19-
Yes, Kimberly, you and I have discussed this issue before. You seem still to have failed to apprehend the Biblical meaning of the term “justice” and insist on reading into it a Romish slant. As to pretending that philosophical ideas are Christianity, a survey of the history of Christianity (and, here, I recommend Jaroslav Pelikan’s amazing History of Christian Doctrine) will easily show that this is exactly what Anselm, Aquinas, and their progeny (including the Reformers) did with Greek philosophy. The West imposed an Aristotlean perspective onto its theology and forever imprinted “Christianity” with a view that made knowledge about God the only way to achieve knowledge of God. This equivalency then gave rise to the various speculations about God that formed the contractual/juridical conceptions of “Christianity” that are bandied about so readily and so often on WoW and other similar sites– creating the sad “fallout” so well exemplified by Random Name.
– Jonny

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]]> By: Rio http://online.worldmag.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/comment-page-1/#comment-332628 Rio Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:31:30 +0000 http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/#comment-332628 I believe that Christ was saying that every normal person loves themselves without having to be told to. Things like selfishness and self-preservation don't have to be taught. So if we love others and show them the same amount of care and kindness that we do for ourselves, we will be doing right. I believe that Christ was saying that every normal person loves themselves without having to be told to. Things like selfishness and self-preservation don’t have to be taught.
So if we love others and show them the same amount of care and kindness that we do for ourselves, we will be doing right.

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]]> By: Random Name http://online.worldmag.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/comment-page-1/#comment-332592 Random Name Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:37:54 +0000 http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/#comment-332592 #22 <i>Atheists try to explain these things away </i>. We are all imperfect beings and plenty of secular people realize this. The problem exists; the question is whether the solution proposed by your religious belief is real or a hopeful wish. That the belief is expressed over and over again with such intensity at times creates the opposite effect than intended. #22 Atheists try to explain these things away .

We are all imperfect beings and plenty of secular people realize this. The problem exists; the question is whether the solution proposed by your religious belief is real or a hopeful wish.

That the belief is expressed over and over again with such intensity at times creates the opposite effect than intended.

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]]> By: Karen O http://online.worldmag.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/comment-page-1/#comment-332591 Karen O Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:28:45 +0000 http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/#comment-332591 Ha! That's funny. What I wrote to Rio contradicted what I wrote in the first paragraph. So, I guess I was trying to say that we really shouldn't love ourselves unless we can love others. Ha! That’s funny. What I wrote to Rio contradicted what I wrote in the first paragraph.

So, I guess I was trying to say that we really shouldn’t love ourselves unless we can love others.

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]]> By: Karen O http://online.worldmag.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/comment-page-1/#comment-332590 Karen O Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:26:35 +0000 http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/#comment-332590 In saying that we should love our neighbors as ourselves, the Bible is assuming that we do naturally love ourselves. We make sure we eat when we're hungry, we put on something warm when we're cold, etc. We take care of ourselves as well as we can, & should be able to do that for others. Rio - I would turn that around & say you can't (or shouldn't) love yourself if you don't love someone else. In saying that we should love our neighbors as ourselves, the Bible is assuming that we do naturally love ourselves. We make sure we eat when we’re hungry, we put on something warm when we’re cold, etc. We take care of ourselves as well as we can, & should be able to do that for others.

Rio – I would turn that around & say you can’t (or shouldn’t) love yourself if you don’t love someone else.

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]]> By: Rio http://online.worldmag.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/comment-page-1/#comment-332533 Rio Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:30:00 +0000 http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/#comment-332533 Actually the lyrics go like this: <i>"You can't love if you don't love yourself"</i> Actually the lyrics go like this:
“You can’t love if you don’t love yourself”

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]]> By: Dick Friedrich http://online.worldmag.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/comment-page-1/#comment-332526 Dick Friedrich Sun, 17 Aug 2008 10:28:00 +0000 http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/#comment-332526 Tony, I hate to burst your bubble but, by your definition of successful parents, I don't know any. Nor are there successful relationships except in relative terms (not a good measuring stick according to God's word). Atheists try to explain these things away or on the other hand buy into relativism or materialism. These are fables bigger, by far, than Christianity. Only Christianity recognizes selfishness in the world and at the same time recognizes that any antidote can only come from outside the person. Of course this is only the starting point for Christianity but other worldviews don't even get this far with truth. But to your main idea, the selfishness of men and women never produced anything good when it comes to relationships, let alone love. The fact that people behave any way except selfishly is only by God's tender mercy. I'm with Kimberly and Chalzz on this. Tony,
I hate to burst your bubble but, by your definition of successful parents, I don’t know any. Nor are there successful relationships except in relative terms (not a good measuring stick according to God’s word).

Atheists try to explain these things away or on the other hand buy into relativism or materialism. These are fables bigger, by far, than Christianity. Only Christianity recognizes selfishness in the world and at the same time recognizes that any antidote can only come from outside the person. Of course this is only the starting point for Christianity but other worldviews don’t even get this far with truth.

But to your main idea, the selfishness of men and women never produced anything good when it comes to relationships, let alone love. The fact that people behave any way except selfishly is only by God’s tender mercy. I’m with Kimberly and Chalzz on this.

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]]> By: chalzz http://online.worldmag.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/comment-page-1/#comment-332490 chalzz Sun, 17 Aug 2008 03:13:10 +0000 http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/#comment-332490 Trying to get back on track with the authors statements about our culture, I believe he is right in suggesting we live in a society dominated by self centeredness. I am a prime example of that. I wish I could blame it on the culture altering songs of the 60's, 70's, & 80's but that is not the case for me. I know it is me living for the temporal, for the here and now. When I am eternally focused, the self centeredness dissipates, but when I get too focused on a hurt or a want or a struggle I am dealing with in my life, I far too easily become temporal in my thinking and then it becomes all about me. If our culture is self centered, it is because people have no hope in anything beyond what they see before them and why should they. This world will drag us all down at different times. If you can't point to struggles in your own life, then just turn on the tv and watch the news. You will quickly be dragged down by any days gloom and doom news reports. When we become eternally minded, and take our focus off of the temporary trials laid before us, we will then begin to drift from selfishness to selflessness. Trying to get back on track with the authors statements about our culture, I believe he is right in suggesting we live in a society dominated by self centeredness. I am a prime example of that.

I wish I could blame it on the culture altering songs of the 60’s, 70’s, & 80’s but that is not the case for me. I know it is me living for the temporal, for the here and now. When I am eternally focused, the self centeredness dissipates, but when I get too focused on a hurt or a want or a struggle I am dealing with in my life, I far too easily become temporal in my thinking and then it becomes all about me.

If our culture is self centered, it is because people have no hope in anything beyond what they see before them and why should they. This world will drag us all down at different times. If you can’t point to struggles in your own life, then just turn on the tv and watch the news. You will quickly be dragged down by any days gloom and doom news reports.

When we become eternally minded, and take our focus off of the temporary trials laid before us, we will then begin to drift from selfishness to selflessness.

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]]> By: Rio http://online.worldmag.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/comment-page-1/#comment-332443 Rio Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:38:54 +0000 http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/08/15/learning-to-love-yourself/#comment-332443 Somewhat on the same topic, Has anyone figured what Natalie Grant meant in her song <i>In Better Hands</i> where the lyrics go like this: "<i>'Cause you can't love unless you love yourself</i>?" Somewhat on the same topic,
Has anyone figured what Natalie Grant meant in her song In Better Hands where the lyrics go like this: “‘Cause you can’t love unless you love yourself?”

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