A platitude: god is love

[an anarchist]

Platitude
a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful.

The statement “God is love”... is it a platitude?

A couple years ago, as a earnest theist, I made a thread on the topic of God is love. It very much was not a platitude for me at the time.

God is (Is God) Love. (?)

A reply I saw earlier raised some good points. I'm very sensitive to cognitivity: there are some theistic claims that I'm just not sure are even saying anything at all, like "God is love." I understand what "God is loving" would mean, because it's saying God has a property. But "God is love" is...

www.religiousforums.com

I wonder now if the phrase “God is love” is a platitude. My previous explanation of the idea of God being love still makes sense to me I guess. But, I have seen it said often “God is love”, even on this site.

”God is love”. Has that phrase lost its meaning? Did it have any meaning in the first place? Does God even deserve a monopoly on the idea of love? I certainly can’t say “humans are love” because humans are utter barbarians.

Is the statement just something we say because it sounds nice?

Oh, and what other religious platitudes are there?

 

[Eddi]

I'd say it's just a platitude

It's not so much a statement about God, it is more a feel good thing, and as a statement I don't think it stands up to scrutiny if you are talking about the God of the bible

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

Is the statement just something we say because it sounds nice?

Yes. The phrase means nothing specific if not taken literally, making it poetry or metaphor. And taken literally, it's wrong. Love is love and a god is a god. They are distinct concepts, not synonyms. What would we even be claiming is the case with those words? Nothing is true about the world if God is love that's not true if it isn't. What would the opposite claim that God is not love mean? The same nothing.

 

[idea]

During family gatherings, to avoid upsetting religious folks, if asked to pray, I pray to Beloved God, or Loving God, or God of Love ( not "heavenly sexist father etc.) "Loving" god Seems to work for everyone.

 

[Quintessence]

Not for me. It's not something that's said often if at all in Pagan circles. When we talk about a god being love, we name specific gods of love like Eros or something.

 

[Quintessence]

To add, as a polytheist maybe I find it particularly benign because the gods are more or less all aspects and phenomena. Love is a god, Fear is a god, Moon is a god, Decay is a god, and so on and so on. So it'd be weird to say "god is love" because everything else is also a god or divine/sacred phenomena? Just equating it to love is leaving out the vast majority of the gods/universe. It's weird.

 

[soulsurvivor]

Platitude
a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful.

The statement “God is love”... is it a platitude?

A couple years ago, as a earnest theist, I made a thread on the topic of God is love. It very much was not a platitude for me at the time.

God is (Is God) Love. (?)

A reply I saw earlier raised some good points. I'm very sensitive to cognitivity: there are some theistic claims that I'm just not sure are even saying anything at all, like "God is love." I understand what "God is loving" would mean, because it's saying God has a property. But "God is love" is...

www.religiousforums.com

I wonder now if the phrase “God is love” is a platitude. My previous explanation of the idea of God being love still makes sense to me I guess. But, I have seen it said often “God is love”, even on this site.

”God is love”. Has that phrase lost its meaning? Did it have any meaning in the first place? Does God even deserve a monopoly on the idea of love? I certainly can’t say “humans are love” because humans are utter barbarians.

Is the statement just something we say because it sounds nice?

Oh, and what other religious platitudes are there?

It really depends on which God you mean.

There are three attributes of divinity:
Power and will - associated with the Father
Love and wisdom - associated with the Son
Creative intelligence - associated with the Holy Spirit

All Gods are loving, but each God has one of the attributes as the dominant one.

Our Earth God's dominant attribute is Intelligence.
The Earth God is subordinate to the Solar God whose dominant attribute is Love (in this case, this Solar God is indeed Love)
The Solar God is subordinate to God of Sirius whose dominant attribute is Wisdom
The God of Sirius is subordinate to the Galactic God of our Milky way - his dominant attribute is not known, but I suspect it is Power

In any case all Gods express literally infinite Love otherwise they would not be willing to take responsibility for billions of creatures under their care - in the case of the Earth God all creatures on Earth. in case of the Solar God all creatures in our Solar System, in case of the God of Sirius all creatures in multiple Solar Systems and in case of the Galactic God all the creatures in the entire galaxy.

There is of course the One Universal God who takes care of the whole Universe, but he is an impersonal God who is unknowable and to whom we cannot ascribe any attributes at all not even Love.

 

[sun rise]

For some "God is love" is a platitude. For others a living reality. For some: a hope. For others: experience. For me: God's love is manifest and the more I set aside my lower motivations, the more I experience that love.

 

[chinu]

The statement “God is love”... is it a platitude?

It is as you "Love" to think about it..

 

[Heyo]

Platitude
a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful.

The statement “God is love”... is it a platitude?

If that's not a platitude than "There's no hate like Christian love." isn't either.

 

[vijeno]

The statement “God is love”... is it a platitude?

Of course it is. But that's a very shallow analysis. It can be a sincere, if illogical statement. It was once a beautiful artistic expression, before it turned into a platitude by centuries long overuse.

It is illogical, because love is a set of actions, attitudes and character traits, while god is a person. A set of actions cannot be a person. Therefore god is not love. QED.

It can be a tad annoying, because it sometimes seems like christians turn god into everything whene'er things get a bit challenging. *God cannot be above reason, nor below reason - oh snap, god IS reason. God cannot be created, but the question lingers in the background - hey, I know, god IS existence. If god created justice, justice is arbitrary, but if god didn't, he's not omnipotent - lookey here, god IS justice.* It can be an honest expression of devotion, and I'm sure that those Thomas Aquinases were deeply sincere in their pursuits - but quite often it appears as an excuse.

 

[joelr]

Platitude
a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful.

The statement “God is love”... is it a platitude?

A couple years ago, as a earnest theist, I made a thread on the topic of God is love. It very much was not a platitude for me at the time.

God is (Is God) Love. (?)

A reply I saw earlier raised some good points. I'm very sensitive to cognitivity: there are some theistic claims that I'm just not sure are even saying anything at all, like "God is love." I understand what "God is loving" would mean, because it's saying God has a property. But "God is love" is...

www.religiousforums.com

I wonder now if the phrase “God is love” is a platitude. My previous explanation of the idea of God being love still makes sense to me I guess. But, I have seen it said often “God is love”, even on this site.

”God is love”. Has that phrase lost its meaning? Did it have any meaning in the first place? Does God even deserve a monopoly on the idea of love? I certainly can’t say “humans are love” because humans are utter barbarians.

Is the statement just something we say because it sounds nice?

Oh, and what other religious platitudes are there?

Yahweh? He created evil according to Isaiah. He is jealous, he says this. Is love jealous?
If you read the OT, God is not love.

I don't see where one would get this idea? How can God just be reimagined like that?

 

[Trailblazer]

Is the statement just something we say because it sounds nice?

Maybe so, but people say it because they really believe it, and they believe it because the Bible or some other scriptures say so.
There certainly is no evidence that indicates God is love, quite the contrary.

 

[1213]

Is the statement just something we say because it sounds nice?

I say it because that is what the Bible tells and I think it is good to notice, when people are speaking of what is God.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

Maybe so, but people say it because they really believe it, and they believe it because the Bible or some other scriptures say so.

The post immediately underneath yours and above mine is consistent with that.

There certainly is no evidence that indicates God is love, quite the contrary.

I just left this on another thread:

He: "Christ had the most to say about hell than anyone as He lovingly warned about it."

Me: "This gets us back to the Christian concept of love. Here, love is building a torture pit, stocking it full of demons and fire, and tossing people into it after "lovingly" instructing them to comply with assorted commandments or else. "Why did you force me to hurt you?" asks the abusive boyfriend and this god. I'm also shocked at what passes for love in, "Love the sinner, hate the sin," which manifests as hating the sinner. Also, depicting a blood sacrifice as an act of love is pretty off-putting as well."

That's not your theology as I understand it. Your understanding of love seems to comport more with mine than the Christian version. Can you expand on why you say what you said above? Are you saying that God is unloving or that a loving god is not the same as love. After all, we can love people and animals, but we don't equate ourselves with love. We can also hate and be indifferent, just like the god of Abraham, who is said to hate sin and who once allegedly hardened Pharaoh's heart.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Platitude
a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful.

The statement “God is love”... is it a platitude?

A couple years ago, as a earnest theist, I made a thread on the topic of God is love. It very much was not a platitude for me at the time.

God is (Is God) Love. (?)

A reply I saw earlier raised some good points. I'm very sensitive to cognitivity: there are some theistic claims that I'm just not sure are even saying anything at all, like "God is love." I understand what "God is loving" would mean, because it's saying God has a property. But "God is love" is...

www.religiousforums.com

I wonder now if the phrase “God is love” is a platitude. My previous explanation of the idea of God being love still makes sense to me I guess. But, I have seen it said often “God is love”, even on this site.

”God is love”. Has that phrase lost its meaning? Did it have any meaning in the first place? Does God even deserve a monopoly on the idea of love? I certainly can’t say “humans are love” because humans are utter barbarians.

Is the statement just something we say because it sounds nice?

Oh, and what other religious platitudes are there?

It's not a platitude when you've experienced God and felt that love.

 

[Audie]

During family gatherings, to avoid upsetting religious folks, if asked to pray, I pray to Beloved God, or Loving God, or God of Love ( not "heavenly sexist father etc.) "Loving" god Seems to work for everyone.

I sort of assumed that being Chinese would
be a tip that i'm not likely to be Chridtian.

But to avoid awkwardness I memorized a
saying if asked to say grace.

I did need it once.

" Sanctify, oh Lord, this to our use and us to thy
purpose. Amen"

 

[Heyo]

It's not a platitude when you've experienced God and felt that love.

Then it may not be a platitude but a major in error in grammar.
What you want to express is "god is loving" - which is the correct form for "A has property B".
Saying "A = B" is wrong on more than one level.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Then it may not be a platitude but a major in error in grammar.
What you want to express is "god is loving" - which is the correct form for "A has property B".
Saying "A = B" is wrong on more than one level.

It's from the Bible:
"7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-8

Bible Gateway passage: 1 John 4 - English Standard Version

Test the Spirits - Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every...

www.biblegateway.com

It's a way of saying that the ultimate reality and action of God is of love, and by acts of love, we participate in that reality. I'm not a theologian and others can explain that better.

 

[Heyo]

It's from the Bible:
"7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-8

Bible Gateway passage: 1 John 4 - English Standard Version

Test the Spirits - Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every...

www.biblegateway.com

It's a way of saying that the ultimate reality and action of God is of love, and by acts of love, we participate in that reality. I'm not a theologian and others can explain that better.

Maybe they meant to say something else? I need a translator Christian -> English.