A reflection on love at Easter:
"…Is true love possible without belief in God, as Nietzsche thinks, or does it require God’s existence, as Augustine believes?
"Such a love must differ from so much of what passes by that name among us. We are no creator God: we are weak and needy creatures. Our love usually stems from this neediness. We feel a lack, and experience a passionate longing for whatever we believe will fill it. But sometimes, at our best, we seem capable of more: we could absorb disappointments and failures, misunderstandings and sufferings, betrayals and lies, and still forgive, only if our love were giving rather than taking, a covenant rather than a contract, an expression of strength rather than the desperation of weakness.
Think of the loves in your life. Think of how you have loved, as well as how you have been loved. What were the mixtures of these elements? No human could rightfully claim to have given unfailingly and unconditionally from the superabundance of a strong spirit. But could we do so ever? What I am arguing is that we are capable of doing so only if we believe two things: first, that we have a beloved who will not disappoint us; second, that our love is never unrequited. In other words, our perfect beloved must also be our perfect lover. No human could play that role. These conditions are met only by an omnipotent, benevolent, and eternal God…
… I have not argued that God exists, only that He must, if we are to perfect the fledgling love of our needy hearts. In the end, I must confess, I agree with Camus: 'There is God or time, that cross or this sword.'"
The Dish 