The reading for Thursday, 22 March I found very pleasing to read. It comes from a notable post-modern theologian and philosopher, John Caputo, and his book On Religion. The excerpt is titled “Religion is for Lovers.”

There’s not much really for me to review or critique in this excerpt. Just a few nice quotes I’ll share with you. The aim of the chapter is to call into question the depth of the meaning of the expression, “love of God,” and to answer the question Augustine first posed in his Confessions, “what do I love when I love God,” or “what do I love when I love You, my God?”

 

Feel free to engage with any of these quotes, whether you like them, or not, whether you get them or have questions.

 

“The opposite of a religious person is a loveless person. ‘Whoever does not love does not know God (1 John 4:8).'”

 

“A lot of supposedly secular people love something madly, while a lot of supposedly religious people love nothing more than getting their own way and bending others to their own will (“in the name of God”).”

 

“Some people can be deeply and abidingly “religious” with or without theology, with or without the religions.”

 

“The love of God is my north star, but it only provides me with a starting point, not a finish, a first word, not a last. Everything depends on the follow through…’what do I love when I love my God?”

 

“Love is the measure. Every historical and social structure, everything created, generated, made, formed, or forged in time should be measured against the love of God. Even religion – especially religion – insofar as religion takes historical and institutional form, must be tested to see how loyal it is to itself, which is the love of God. But the love of God itself, if we ever could find such a beautiful and precious jewel, is beyond criticism. Of the love of God itself I will hear no criticism; I will cup my ears.”

 

“For if love is the measure, the only measure of love is love without measure (taken from Augustine).”

 

“Physicians counsel us to eat and exercise in measured moderation and not to overdo either. But there is no merit in loving moderately.”

 

“Love is not a bargain, but unconditional giving; it is not an investment, but a commitment come what may.”

 

 

So my question to you, based off these quotes, can you answer the question, “What do I love when I love God?”