lovethyneighbor-notes.txt

How do you go about loving your enemies?

1. In order to love your enemies, you must begin by analyzing self. 
2. A second thing that an individual must do in seeking to love his enemy is to discover the element of good in his enemy, and every time you begin to hate that person and think of hating that person, realize that there is some good there and look at those good points which will over-balance the bad points.
3. When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time which you must not do it. 


Greek language has 3 powerful words for love

1. Eros is a sort of, aesthetic love. when you find some individual that is attractive to you and that you pour out all of your like and your love on that individual.
2. philia, it’s a sort of reciprocal love. 
3. agape. And agape is more than eros; agape is more than philia; agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return.


Why we should love our enemies

1. Hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe. If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back and you hit me back and go on, you see, that goes on ad infinitum. [tapping on pulpit] It just never ends. Somewhere somebody must have a little sense, and that’s the strong person. The strong person is the person who can cut off the chain of hate, the chain of evil. 
2. Hate distorts the personality of the hater. 
3.  That love has within it a redemptive power.- And by the power of your love they will break down under the load.