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Mar. 31st, 2004 11:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sigersonIs unconditional love really a good thing?
I know the answer in one situation. Unconditional love from a God, should God exist, is absolutely good. I can't see how this one could turn bad.
But for a flawed human (as we all are) to give love unconditionally? Is that really a virtue? To love someone and treat them the same even if they're hurting you, hurting others, hurting themselves? Does agape become enabling? Or worse, does loving someone unconditionally make the love so general as to be disconnected?
"I love her even though she cheated--and continues to cheat--on me." "I love him even though he hits me." "I love her even though she writes hate mail to her enemies." "I love him even though he tortures the cat."
Shouldn't love contain some kind of boundaries? Some point where you don't _stop_ loving the person, but _because_ you love them so, you can't stand to see them continue to act this way, so you leave, or you yell, or you turn them in. Or is that an act of ultimate disregard for the person and for the love?
Feh. Maybe I'm completely misreading the notion of agape. Or maybe it's too damned late for me to even begin thinking about this.
BTW, I am not involved in any such situation as those listed above...this is an 11:30pm thought experiment, prompted by the paper assignment for tomorrow. Which still isn't ready.
I know the answer in one situation. Unconditional love from a God, should God exist, is absolutely good. I can't see how this one could turn bad.
But for a flawed human (as we all are) to give love unconditionally? Is that really a virtue? To love someone and treat them the same even if they're hurting you, hurting others, hurting themselves? Does agape become enabling? Or worse, does loving someone unconditionally make the love so general as to be disconnected?
"I love her even though she cheated--and continues to cheat--on me." "I love him even though he hits me." "I love her even though she writes hate mail to her enemies." "I love him even though he tortures the cat."
Shouldn't love contain some kind of boundaries? Some point where you don't _stop_ loving the person, but _because_ you love them so, you can't stand to see them continue to act this way, so you leave, or you yell, or you turn them in. Or is that an act of ultimate disregard for the person and for the love?
Feh. Maybe I'm completely misreading the notion of agape. Or maybe it's too damned late for me to even begin thinking about this.
BTW, I am not involved in any such situation as those listed above...this is an 11:30pm thought experiment, prompted by the paper assignment for tomorrow. Which still isn't ready.
