80 | The Centrality of Love

At the center of Christian theology is the claim that God is love (see 1 John 4:8). Love is at the heart of the ethics of Jesus (see Mark 12:30-31) and St. Paul (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-13), as well as being at the center of St. Augustine’s approach to interpreting scripture. “Love,” writes Erich Fromm, “is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.” Viktor Frankl echoes this idea: “Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire.” But what, precisely, is love? It is a surprisingly difficult question to answer, and yet it is absolutely vital that we answer it properly. Reclaiming the meaning of love may also hold the key to answering another question: what is the meaning of life?

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