tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post1927362626929482544..comments2024-03-28T17:44:11.289+00:00Comments on Bruce Charlton's Notions: Passive/ static/ abstract love versus active/ dynamic/ personal love (from William Arkle)Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-61786769266852558642019-09-07T08:57:24.397+01:002019-09-07T08:57:24.397+01:00Thanks for this article. The idea of moving to be ...<br />Thanks for this article. The idea of moving to be a "friend" of God is certaninly my experience and is initiated by God. It's not a goal we achieve in our own power and intention, although we can align ourselves with God in such a way as to make ourselve ready.<br /><br />I have recently learned a powerful reason to worship however. If worship is an acknowdgement of a power greater than ourseves, it reminds the ego to relax, let go, and more union with God as Love becomes possible. When this happens, one can enter into a union with God not possible before. (Of course there are other ways to keep the ego from being Master of the house.) I'm using "ego" as defined in depth psychology as the center of consciousness. The more union with God in love, the more we experience our true self freed to be who we were born to be.Nancy Pfaffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-12433737063295968352019-09-04T19:23:14.001+01:002019-09-04T19:23:14.001+01:00@Lucinda - That's wonderful to hear. Arkle has...@Lucinda - That's wonderful to hear. Arkle has been such a help to me, and now to some others. <br /><br />I shall soon, I hope, be letting readers know that some of his work is going to be newly re-published for the first time. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-41593676915057801982019-09-04T19:14:53.367+01:002019-09-04T19:14:53.367+01:00I really like the message about responsiveness. I’...I really like the message about responsiveness. I’ve made a lot of progress as a parent as I’ve thought on this philosophy. I’m much better able to delight in my family relationships, with all the difficulties of daily living. I’m less frustrated with necessities. I’m less impatient for some future deliverance, though I still look forward to things, like kids advancing in capability. <br /><br />I’m a more responsive mom and I delight in their particular responses. It’s really great because this goodness used to be more elusive and I tried to force it, but my problem was in trying to effect the more abstract kind of love, which ends up being more showy and vain rather than really loving. <br /><br />Anyway, so I’ve really appreciated this distinction. Lucindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01834799557675879450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-11769422165026430792019-09-04T12:56:05.277+01:002019-09-04T12:56:05.277+01:00Great post. I agree with William's comment. Ma...Great post. I agree with William's comment. Maybe another way of framing it could be through the lens of quality /quantity? <br /><br />Active love seems to be primarily about quality. Depending on a person's capacity to love, this active love could expand over time to include much, but this increase in quantity could never be at the expense of quality.<br /><br />Conversely, passive love seems to value quantity over quality. It is a mass-produced, faux-altruistic, and mostly abstract notion of love. The more it spreads itself out, the more its quality decreases until it becomes nothing more than a word/signal, assuming it was anything more to begin with. Francis Bergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11063224017320651978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-3251657944453854932019-09-04T10:58:21.266+01:002019-09-04T10:58:21.266+01:00@William - I agree that passive love is not what j...@William - I agree that passive love is not what jesus intended, and is not truly Christian; although many Christians, esepcially monks and intellectuals, have hade a passive/ static view of love - often related to their philosophical Platonism and general abstraction. <br /><br />But such Christians, and people of other religions who insist that 'love' is an important element in their faith - are referring to this kind of abstract love. I agree that it should not really be regarded as the same kind-of-thing as Christian love; perhaps it is more of a kind of 'benign' (rather than truly loving) feeling; that God/ the universe is not hostile - but wants us to be comfortable, free of suffering, enjoying existence, perhaps even blissful. <br /><br />I also think that Arke is correct when he says (elsewhere) that God will 'do his best to' accomodate people who want this from life; want to be alone, unselfconscious - in a kind of static comfortable sleep, or maybe bliss... Why not? It is not what God wants us to choose - but if we do choose it, and God can provide it, I think he would do so. <br /><br />But that is different from trying to persuade other people Not to aspire to a personal/ active/ dynamic love of God (and fellow men). So those who teach against the Christian, who mock it, subvert it, try to silence it etc. That would be (and is) a sin - and evil (although sin can be repented) - because it works against God, the Good and creation. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-12966730415922704512019-09-04T10:19:39.854+01:002019-09-04T10:19:39.854+01:00I actually think the difference between what you a...I actually think the difference between what you are calling here active and passive love is between love and not love!William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.com