I’m starting this blog to reach out to other explorers of spiritual ideas. Are you asking similar questions about the spiritual development of First-Century Christian writings? Do you wonder what they meant by Agapé? Do you really think they meant what we mean by “love,” or do you wonder if they meant something else?
The more I look into the use of “agape” in the 1st Century, the farther I seem to get from answers to questions, such as:
(1) Was “agape” originally one of the normal Greek words for “love?”
(2) Why did the translators of the King James Version of the Bible use the word “charity” in 1 Corinthians 13 instead of using “love?” Did they do that because they suspected that “love” was not the right word?
(3) If it did not mean “love,” then what did agape refer to?
The theologian Paul Tillich tried to express the greater significance by observing that
"in agape ultimate reality manifests itself and transforms life and love."(Love, Justice, and Power; pg. 33)
I’ve been trying to find out HOW the first Greek-speaking Christians started making ‘agape’ the main identifying word used in their faith communities? What was the development involved in taking that unusual, obscure, arcane word and transforming it into an important expression of spiritual power that helped both the community and the individual?
How did it come about that a word that was hardly ever used became the term for something that not only served as the centralizing, cohesive power holding their fellowship together but also served as each person’s access to the Presence of God. HOW did the use of this word develop to the point where St. Paul could write that of “faith, hope, and agape; the greatest of these is agape?” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
But even more than that, what does agape mean to spiritual development for us in the 21st Century? I welcome comments from anyone who can help with this search.
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