Three Loves Become One

Three times in the gospels the question is put as to the greatest commandment in Jewish law. The answer cites Deuteronomy and Leviticus and features three loves - for God, oneself and one's neighbor. What does it means to love God with all one's heart and all one's being and all one's might? What does it mean to love one's fellow human as oneself? To whom in their history and scripture would the Jews in the audience look for guidance on this? Do the followers of Jesus take a novel approach to love? This work addresses twenty-four figures from the Bible to find out, including, Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Mary of Nazareth, Martha, Mary of Bethany, Peter, Paul, and James. In the case of Jesus, who breaks down the boundaries between God, himself and his fellow humans, do these three loves become one?

Three times in the gospels the question is put as to the greatest commandment in Jewish law. The answer cites Deuteronomy and Leviticus and features three loves - for God, oneself and one's neighbor. What does it means to love God with all one's heart and all one's being and all one's might? What does it mean to love one's fellow human as oneself? To whom in their history and scripture would the Jews in the audience look for guidance on this? Do the followers of Jesus take a novel approach to love? This work addresses twenty-four figures from the Bible to find out, including, Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Mary of Nazareth, Martha, Mary of Bethany, Peter, Paul, and James. In the case of Jesus, who breaks down the boundaries between God, himself and his fellow humans, do these three loves become one?

Colm McKeogh was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, and studied at Trinity College, Dublin, and the University of Aberystwyth, Wales. He is a member of his local meeting in Hamilton, New Zealand and has authored works on Christian attitudes to politics and violence.