... Christ's teaching should not be considered as
entirely new, standing out distinctly from former beliefs, it is only the clearer and more precise expression of the principle that previous religions divined and taught instinctively. Thus it is that instead of love being merely one of the virtues, as it was for
them, Christianity has made it a supreme law, giving man an absolute rule of conduct. The Christian doctrine explains why this law is the highest, and indicates as well the acts that man36 The Law of Love
should or should not commit after having acknowl edged the truth of this teaching. It follows, with
great clearness and precision, that the observance of the supreme law, and because it is
supreme,
should not admit of any exception as the previous doctrines admitted and that love is love, when it is given in the same degree to other nations, other religions, and even to the enemies who hate us and do us harm. That is
the progress made by the Christian doc
trines, and there lies its principal virtue.
The explanation of why this
commandment is the supreme law of life is given with special clear
ness in the Epistles of John: "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God;
and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and
knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
No man hath beheld God at any time: if we
love one another God abideth in us, and his love is per fected in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love
abideth in God, and God abideth in him. "We know that we have passed out of death into life,
because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death." (The First Epistle of John, iv, 7, 8, 12, 16; Hi, 14.)
.... It is just this signification of Christianity that
was hidden from men by false Christianity, because the latter acknowledges love not as a higher law, but, with the example of previous doctrines, only as one of the rules of conduct, useful for observance when circumstances do not prevent.
entirely new, standing out distinctly from former beliefs, it is only the clearer and more precise expression of the principle that previous religions divined and taught instinctively. Thus it is that instead of love being merely one of the virtues, as it was for
them, Christianity has made it a supreme law, giving man an absolute rule of conduct. The Christian doctrine explains why this law is the highest, and indicates as well the acts that man36 The Law of Love
should or should not commit after having acknowl edged the truth of this teaching. It follows, with
great clearness and precision, that the observance of the supreme law, and because it is
supreme,
should not admit of any exception as the previous doctrines admitted and that love is love, when it is given in the same degree to other nations, other religions, and even to the enemies who hate us and do us harm. That is
the progress made by the Christian doc
trines, and there lies its principal virtue.
The explanation of why this
commandment is the supreme law of life is given with special clear
ness in the Epistles of John: "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God;
and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and
knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
No man hath beheld God at any time: if we
love one another God abideth in us, and his love is per fected in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love
abideth in God, and God abideth in him. "We know that we have passed out of death into life,
because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death." (The First Epistle of John, iv, 7, 8, 12, 16; Hi, 14.)
.... It is just this signification of Christianity that
was hidden from men by false Christianity, because the latter acknowledges love not as a higher law, but, with the example of previous doctrines, only as one of the rules of conduct, useful for observance when circumstances do not prevent.
No comments:
Post a Comment