What sustains a contemporary Christian marriage? In Part 1, I explored C. S. Lewis’s four kinds of human love, arguing that each flourishes when received as a finite good, shaped by mutuality and respect, and transformed by divine love into generous, courageous and non-possessive relationships. In Part 2, I proposed that compatibility, commitment, companionship and character …
The Art of Faithful Love (Part 3)
The ideals of contemporary Christian marriage In the past decade, in Australia and elsewhere, what used to be understood as Christian marriage has been subject to criticism and in some cases ridicule. We have emerged from that cultural moment with a broader definition of marriage, a better understanding of the complexity of modern social practices, …
The Art of Faithful Love (Part 2)
What qualities enable love to flourish? In Part 1, I outlined C. S. Lewis’s idea of four kinds of human love, drawing on the wisdom of classical antiquity. I suggested that each one becomes genuinely life-giving as it is received as a finite good, ethically formed by mutuality and respect, and transformed by divine love …
The Art of Faithful Love (Part 1)
What forms does human love take? C. S. Lewis and The Four Loves Love. It’s almost certainly the most frequently invoked human emotion. It’s the subject of thousands of stories and songs. At the same time, it’s among the least precisely differentiated concepts in ordinary discourse. The same term is used for spouses, children, friends, communities, …
There can be no “holy war”
A Christian call for peace with justice His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The Ecumenical Patriarch’s recent witness to peace raises profound theological and ethical questions for Christians everywhere. His rejection of the language of “holy war” is a welcome reaffirmation of a central conviction of the Christian faith. In an age marked by renewed militarisation, …
