Tag Archives: love

Love and do what thou wilt

“Love, and do what thou wilt.” It is a saying that I am familiar with from Aleister Crowley, the famous occultist. But it turns out the saying has a much more ancient and surprising origin. It comes from Saint Augustine in fact, from his Seventh Homily on the Letter of John. Here is the context:ContinueContinue reading “Love and do what thou wilt”

Christian ethics isn’t complicated

Christian ethics is as simple as this: love God, love others. Everything else is commentary. Love Others Physical abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, verbal and mental abuse, these are all spoken against by Jesus and the prophets as they violate the command to love others. This command is pretty open ended too, extending even toContinueContinue reading “Christian ethics isn’t complicated”

The Divine Image by William Blake

Songs of Innocence: The Divine Image To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love All pray in their distress; And to these virtues of delight Return their thankfulness. For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love Is God, our father dear, And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love Is Man, his child and care. For Mercy has a human heart,ContinueContinue reading “The Divine Image by William Blake”

When everything falls dark and lifeless

From the words received by John, the seer, in a vision: “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.” (Revelation 2:5) When I find my heart hardening and my energyContinueContinue reading “When everything falls dark and lifeless”

Can we experience love without loss?

Yesterday I was reading a Crucible article, “Is God as Good as We Think?”, which examined C. S. Lewis’ reflections on grief and God. I was struck by this passage in particular: …emotional pain and suffering, such as grief or loneliness, can be debilitating though those feelings reflect the attachments we make. One way toContinueContinue reading “Can we experience love without loss?”