Agape

Agape (Ancient Greek , agápē) is "love: the highest form of love, charity; the love of God for man and of man for God." Not to be confused with philia – brotherly love – agape embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends, that serves regardless of circumstances. The noun form first occurs in the Septuagint, but the verb form goes as far back as Homer, translated literally as affection, as in "greet with affection" and "show affection for the dead." Other ancient authors have used forms of the word to denote love of a spouse or family, or affection for a particular activity, in contrast to philia (an affection that could denote friendship, brotherhood or generally non-sexual affection) and eros, an affection of a sexual nature.

In Christianity agape is considered to be the love originating from God or Christ for humankind. Cf. Matt 3:17, Mark 10:21. In the New Testament, it refers to the covenant love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term necessarily extends to the love of one's fellow man. Although the word did not have a specific religious connotation, it has been used by a variety of contemporary and ancient sources, including biblical authors and Christian authors.

The notion of agape has been examined as to traditions, whether Judeo-Christian or other world religions,religious ethics, and science.

A journalist of Time magazine has described John 3:16 as "one of the most famous and well-known Bible verses. It has been called the 'Gospel in a nutshell' because it is considered a summary of the central doctrines of Christianity." The verb translated "loved" in this verse is ἠγάπησεν (ēgapēsen), past tense of "agapaō".

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