How can people "love" someone they can't completely know/interact with?

[ecman51`]

Religious people will sometimes say that they love God or love Jesus or love the Lord. Really? Exactly who or what are they loving? Can you truly love a spirit? And what does that word love mean exactly? How far do you take it? With humanly love, a person could say that if they really love their spouse, they take it to the level of more enjoyed sex, doing things together, enjoying each others company and conversation, etc. But with a love for a deity, you cannot actually see or actually talk to it, in any kind of back and forth mannor. Sure, one can say you love God out of the fact that he created us. Naturally. But there is no real deep substance to just making that statement. But isn't it still rather hollow not to see or talk to (and be talked back to) the one you claim to be loving?

 

[TurkeyOnRye]

I suppose this all depends on an individual's idea of God. Why would a person try to interact with God on the same level they do with humans? I think many people would argue that "love" is a doorway to God. Maybe not.

 

[Sunstone]

The notion you can love god, or even have a personal relationship with him, is an interesting notion. I wonder when it first came about?

 

[Penumbra]

Love is one of those words that means so many things, it can lose value as a component of language. It can be used to describe the feelings toward a lover, a parent, a child, a friend, or even a favorite food or basically any other appreciated thing.

Some people love historic figures or living leaders that they've never met. So loving an intangible spirit wouldn't be too different I suppose.

 

[Katzpur]

Religious people will sometimes say that they love God or love Jesus or love the Lord. Really? Exactly who or what are they loving? Can you truly love a spirit? And what does that word love mean exactly? How far do you take it? With humanly love, a person could say that if they really love their spouse, they take it to the level of more enjoyed sex, doing things together, enjoying each others company and conversation, etc. But with a love for a deity, you cannot actually see or actually talk to it, in any kind of back and forth mannor. Sure, one can say you love God out of the fact that he created us. Naturally. But there is no real deep substance to just making that statement. But isn't it still rather hollow not to see or talk to (and be talked back to) the one you claim to be loving?

That's a kind of an odd question coming from a Christian. Let's look at it from the human love that a person feels for his or her spouse. What is it a person loves about his spouse -- before they actually "take it to the level of more enjoyed sex"?

 

[arun]

First we have to define true love.loving in-order to get something is not love at all.love for the sake of love.there is no trading in love.

God is love itself.He is omnipresent.Suppose that one person is so religious and he had visions of God or saw God and he began to love God.Hindu belief is that the ultimate aim is to become one with God.So this person loved God and eventually he begins to posses psychic powers.That's he got some powers of God or the Godliness is manifesting in Him.

Next consider an atheist who have not seen God.He knows nothing about religion.But he is a good person and loves a girl sincerely,ie love for the sake of love.Love itself is God.So if we Love the love,it's loving God .So unknowingly he loves God and as a result he will get some psychic powers..And eventually he will have some visions and become religious.So in both the cases the end result is the same, Man becoming perfect,becoming one with God/Brahma.

So God can be viewed as an entity or abstract ideas like Love,Kindness etc..
The Love between mother and child,between wife and husband ,between Guru and disciple are different forms of love.So God can be reached in many ways.
But it is difficult to have such intense,true love.

And it is not just theory ,see what Swami Vivekananda says in chapter Divine Love,Complete works of Swami Vivekananda:

" Man rails in love with woman, and woman goes to die for man. The chances are that in five minutes John kicks Jane, and Jane kicks John. This is a materialism and no love at all. If John could really love Jane, he would be perfect that moment. His true nature is love; he is perfect in himself.John will get all the powers of Yoga simply by loving Jane, although he may not know a word about religion, psychology, or theology. I believe that if a man and woman can really love, they can acquire all the powers the Yogis claim to have, for love itself is God. That God is omnipresent, and therefore you have that love, whether you know it or not.

I saw a boy waiting for a girl the other evening. . . . I thought it a good experiment to study this boy. He developed clairvoyance and clairaudience through the intensity of his love. Sixty or seventy times he never made a mistake, and the girl was two hundred miles away. He would say, "She is dressed this way." Or, "There she goes." I have seen that with my own eyes.

This is the question: Is not your husband God, your child God? If you can love your wife, you have all the religion in the world. You have the whole secret of religion and Yoga in you. But can you love? That is the question. You say, "I love . . . Oh Mary, I die for you! ". But if you see Mary kissing another man, you want to cut his throat. If Mary sees John talking to another girl, she cannot sleep at night, and she makes life hell for John. This is not love. This is barter and sale in sex. It is blasphemy to talk of it as love. The world talks day and night of God and religion — so of love. Making a sham of everything, that is what you are doing! Everybody talks of love, yet in the columns in the newspapers we read of divorces every day. When you love John, do you love John for his sake or for your sake? If you love him for your sake, you expect something from John. If you love him for his sake, you do not want anything from John. He can do anything he likes, and you will love him just the same."
_________________________________
“IT is good to love God for hope of reward, but it is better to love God for love’s sake; and the prayer goes: O Lord, I do not want wealth nor children nor learning. If it be Thy will, I shall go from birth to birth. But grant me this, that I may love thee without the hope of reward - ’love’ unselfishly for love’s sake.”
-Swami Vivekananda

 

[Beta]

Religious people will sometimes say that they love God or love Jesus or love the Lord. Really? Exactly who or what are they loving? Can you truly love a spirit? And what does that word love mean exactly? How far do you take it? With humanly love, a person could say that if they really love their spouse, they take it to the level of more enjoyed sex, doing things together, enjoying each others company and conversation, etc. But with a love for a deity, you cannot actually see or actually talk to it, in any kind of back and forth mannor. Sure, one can say you love God out of the fact that he created us. Naturally. But there is no real deep substance to just making that statement. But isn't it still rather hollow not to see or talk to (and be talked back to) the one you claim to be loving?

But there CAN be interaction with God , better still with Jesus who is MEDIATOR between man and God. We all have to get to God the Father THROUGH Jesus (chapters of John make that abundantly clear) yet most ignore that fact. Obedience to God/Jesus is not much preached in traditional churches so we have the absence of interaction leaving people confused and disappointed. Going back into the OT there was much emphasis on obedience but now people speak of grace as if that allowed them to do as they please. See Heb.5v8 and v9 to tell us obedience to 'the Word of God' is very much required still - for God and Christ speak to us through it.
God's Word instructs us in a way of life that harms no one and is beneficial to EVERY person who obeys it.
That way is surely worth LOVING and therefore LOVING God ! :yes:

 

[idea]

But with a love for a deity, you cannot actually see or actually talk to it, in any kind of back and forth mannor.

You can talk with my God in a back and forth manner :yes:.

 

[Renji]

Love is subjective and we have our own definitions/views about it. If someone could ever define love perfectly and is applicable to every 'types' (agape, eros, etc) and all people would agree on it, that would be the end of this discussion. But the case is, it cannot be 'perfectly' defined.

 

[PolyHedral]

It's possible they love the abrahamic God in the same way that people love Big Brother.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Love can obviously be one way. Such as love for a musician, actor or an idealistic hero figure.

 

[mohammed_beiruti]

Religious people will sometimes say that they love God or love Jesus or love the Lord. Really? Exactly who or what are they loving? Can you truly love a spirit? And what does that word love mean exactly? How far do you take it? With humanly love, a person could say that if they really love their spouse, they take it to the level of more enjoyed sex, doing things together, enjoying each others company and conversation, etc. But with a love for a deity, you cannot actually see or actually talk to it, in any kind of back and forth mannor. Sure, one can say you love God out of the fact that he created us. Naturally. But there is no real deep substance to just making that statement. But isn't it still rather hollow not to see or talk to (and be talked back to) the one you claim to be loving?

if your beloved asked you to do something you can do, would you disobey ?

 

[Wombat]

And what does that word love mean exactly?

The Christian Psychologist, author and Community Builder- Dr M Scot Peck defined ‘love’ as- The preparedness to >do< for others.
This takes the emphasis right off love as an emotional state (which he does not deny) and opens up the possibility of love in the absence of any positive motivational emotion or even in spite of discouraging negative emotion.
Thus “Love thine enemy” may not be a call to change emotional state (or even the nature of the relationship) but to stand prepared to act in the interest of a recognized enemy...to do on their behalf.
The same principle may also apply to the ‘love of God’...there may be no emotional bond or link...there may just be a preparedness to do as required by God....even if you hate the idea and/or what is required. i.e...decline perfect opportunity to steal, be unfaithful, utter false witness etc...

 

[lilmama1991]

its easy for people to love someone they dont personally know or cant completely interact with. i love jehovah and i know he's a honest god, and he has always been there for his people. i dont have to interact with someone to know they're real

 

[ellenjanuary]

It's possible they love the abrahamic God in the same way that people love Big Brother.

Dontcha mean Josef Stalin?

 

[ellenjanuary]

I don't know how "they" do it, but I'm Special Ed... I got my Gwynnies on my wall.

Which is to say, scale up from something real.

 

[Ortho]

Love of God does not come from us, we are not able to love God if He does not grant this to us. What we can do is to ask HIm to teach us and to give us love. I do not think it is easy to achive and Holy Fathers teach that love of God is an ultimate virtue.

 

[PolyHedral]

Dontcha mean Josef Stalin?

Stalin wasn't as... enthusiastic as Big Brother/God.