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Thousands of years ago, a herder from Mesopotamia came to a land called Canaan where the “god of the high mountain,” a jealous God who demanded exclusivity, announced Himself. Abraham and his descendants experienced a singular relationship with a forgiving, loving Father who cared for His prodigal sons and daughters as they confessed, pleaded, and surrendered in love over and again. Thus, the Old Testament, the story of the Hebrews and their God, is a love story.
Our first article in this series on the History of Love was on the Greeks, who were all too familiar with the narcissistic kind of love that Adam and Eve sought. The Roman poet Ovid tells the story of the beautiful Narcissus who was so in love with himself that he could not move from the spot in which he beheld his lover, himself, and was metamorphosed into a flower. Greek literature is filled with this kind of love, the love of Eros, which Pope Benedict XVI in his encyclical Deus Caritas est called “ascending love,” as opposed to “descending love,” agape.
The story of the Hebrews and God is a love story just as complicated as that of Eros and Psyche, Jason and Medea, Aeneas and Dido. It involves a people struggling to love and obey a parent, constantly regressing in their duty and affection for their maker and deliverer. At least the Hebrews had the wisdom to realize, in the words of the Wisdom of Solomon:
Continued below.
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ASCENDING VS. DESCENDING LOVE
Tradition holds that the first five books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch, were written by Moses, who on Mt. Horeb had a vision of Yahweh (YHWH), the creator of all things. In Genesis, God proclaimed His creation of all things, including humans, good. Then comes the story of the Fall from the Garden of Eden, a place of freedom. Freedom came up against a boundary, the choice of the other. There must be a boundary to keep humans from absolute freedom, which is complete love of self, or narcissism. Yahweh calls humans to a freedom that includes self-knowledge yet is not completely inner-focused, one that extends beyond the self into relationship with God.Our first article in this series on the History of Love was on the Greeks, who were all too familiar with the narcissistic kind of love that Adam and Eve sought. The Roman poet Ovid tells the story of the beautiful Narcissus who was so in love with himself that he could not move from the spot in which he beheld his lover, himself, and was metamorphosed into a flower. Greek literature is filled with this kind of love, the love of Eros, which Pope Benedict XVI in his encyclical Deus Caritas est called “ascending love,” as opposed to “descending love,” agape.
The story of the Hebrews and God is a love story just as complicated as that of Eros and Psyche, Jason and Medea, Aeneas and Dido. It involves a people struggling to love and obey a parent, constantly regressing in their duty and affection for their maker and deliverer. At least the Hebrews had the wisdom to realize, in the words of the Wisdom of Solomon:
Continued below.
A History of God's Love in the Old Testament - Catholic Exchange
What is the difference between ascending love and descending love? The stories of Job, David, and the Psalms hold the answer.
catholicexchange.com
