DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE |
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Make love your aim. The ultimate aim is to reach the Holy God of Love whom we now understand as the Triune God. It may be added that St. Paul speaks of the fruit of Holy Spirit as love in singular and then adds its ingredients and results like joy |
INTRODUCTION:
Soren Kierkegaard taught that subjectivity is truth. This is a cardinal truth of Existentialist Philosophy of atheistic Existentialist, like Jeane Paul Sartre and Theological Founder of Modern Existentialism viz. Danish Kierkegaard, Martin Luther wanted to become a lawyer and having escaped death, became a friar of the Augustinian Monastery. Having passed through the doctrine of salvation by work taught by the Inquisition School; and Augustinian salvation by grace alone (Grace to those who were pre-destined for salvation) finally he was deeply touched by Rom. 1:17 (i.e., Righteousness of God is revealed through Faith for Faith as it is written, "He who through faith is righteous shall live".) The discovery of salvation or justification through faith alone (sola fidei) was a turning point in the life of Martin Luther. "He felt that he was born again and entered paradise." The doctrine of Justification by faith alone was reestablished by Karal Bath for Protestant theology and by Hans King for modern Roman Catholic theology. Something like this has happened to this writer, being touched by the stupendous statement "God is Love" found only in 1 Jn. 4.8 and 16. It is found nowhere else in the Holy Bible. Faith and hope are existential and love is ontological. We do not see anywhere in the Bible that God is faith or hope. Traditional teaching from the time of Augustine that the three theological virtues are faith, hope and love, not realizing that the difference is not in degree, but in kind. St. Paul's "phrase," the greatest of these is love" 1 Cor.13: 13 is a continuation of 1 Cor.12;29-31. The best hymn on love has a preface, that unlike Charismata, love is the best way. It is the revelation that God is love. The person of Christ and the work of Christ are one as St. Athanasius shows in his famous small Book, The Incarnation of the Word. The Holy Trinity is the Canon within the Canon for the interpretation of the Holy Bible, especially for the Orthodox Churches. The basis that the sola scriptura that, fundamentalist sects and Christians hold as the basis is a phrase, not found in the Holy Bible. The authority of the eternal revealed spiritual truths of the Scriptures are not on the Basis of 'It is written'. Even the devil quoted the Bible to tempt Jesus Christ, Our Lord.. According to John 16;12f., it is the Holy Spirit that guides us to the whole truth. Yet, the following arguments are based on the Bible, tradition and reason:
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The Adwaitha of Sankaracharya does not mean Monism, but the Ontological love in which the two are one as the three are one in the Holy Triune God. The Greek word 'Koinonia' must be reinterpreted as is the sanathana, sharing God including the plurality and unity of Divine Love (amor or agape). Islam, which has misunderstood Trinity as three Gods, must realize, that the church Fathers have written scholarly books that Triunity is not three Gods. Holy Quran begins each sura in the name of the compassionate ALLAH. It is another way of saying that God is not a monad, but compassionate God. Compassion is sharing of love in Himself in all eternity, as God is changeless. If God is eternal Father, He must have an eternal Son. Arian heresy that the Father must be older than the son was the projection of human limitation to the God head. Earthly family is a pale reflection, of the co-equal, co-eternal, co-essential compassionate ALLAAH of GOD in eternal koinonia of ontological love of God. The main point here is that, Holy Tri-une GOD is Ontological love unlike the theological virtues of faith and hope. The mystery of Holy Triune God is not a mystery to those who believe that God is Love. Logic demands that love of God cannot be a monad. It is more than duity, as the married couple without a child is not having the joy as giving, receiving and sharing love. God's perfection is in his eternal koinonia. Eternal love unites plurality and singularity.
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Karl Barth and many Orthodox theologians believe that the love of God will finally empty hell. There is only purgatory and no eternal hell. Barth's theology is that one is rejected (Jesus Christ) and all are elected. My own faith is that as God is ontological love. He is at least like a good human father who wants all his children to be saved (Mt. 7:11).
The story that Mother Theresa was very happy when Christ permitted her to help the suffering people in the Hades rather than enjoy Paradise for herself while some were suffering on the other side of the Gulf, crossing the bridge that Jesus Christ built by His first Descent to Hades. The Heavenly Father is ontological love, which can conquer the recalcitrant Prodigals, by bringing them to themselves by the work of, the Holy Spirit and those departed with the same love. How can I enjoy the joy of Paradise, if my mother is in Hades?
CONCLUSION:
I am writing this brief article to introduce the readers to my latest book One Religion of Love (Sola amor instead of Sola Fiedi published by CSS Thiruvalla, Kerala, India. 689 101. Price: Rs. 90. Dec. 2000)
The Third Millennium needs an al-in-clusive theology of love, centered on the Triune God who is also Satchidananda (sat- (Essence) God the father, Chit (Intellegence) - Christ the son and Anandbliss the Holy Spirit). He is also Compassionate Allah, revealed by the Ontological Love of the Incarnate God-Man, Jesus Christ. This is a call to all religions with the aim of arriving at One Religion of Love in the place of contemporary trend of selfishness and war "United we stand; divided we fall".
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