2007-12-20 09:47:04 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Something is either unconditional or it isn't, there can not be more or less unconditional. There can be more or fewer conditions, but that isn't what you asked.
Love isn't an emotion, it isn't affection, it is an act of the will, a choice. It is a choice to desire and do what is best for the sake of the other and only for that other.
Love is not an economic decision, that is it is not a decision where the benefits and costs to the choice maker are weighed.
In order to love therefore one would have to know what is best for another. Would an atheist presume to know what is better for another?
A Christian, holding certain things to be universal absolutes, like God and Heaven and Hell, should, with those beliefs, presume to know what is in the best interest of any person, their eternal salvation and that is why they are commanded to love their neighbor.
Jesus didn't say shower people with affection or platitudes, even an atheist could do that.
2007-12-20 10:00:45 · answer #1 · answered by Scott S 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Depends on how you look at it. Simply put, what love would have more built in conditions before it was provided?
There is really no such thing as unconditional love. All love is conditional when you are talking about humans. The concept of unconditional love isn't something humans can really grasp I think. At least, not the VAST majority.
EDIT
I had to make an addition to clarify and also comment. Even people who say that they love each other unconditionally will end up divorced if there is an affair. That's my point. We don't understand unconditional love. But love doesn't have to be unconditional. There are conditions on all love. Even God's love has a condition...there is an unforgivable sin. Even God's love and compassion can't get beyond that.
As for those who say an atheist can't really love...they must assume that atheist mothers are somehow different than others. I've seen how mothers look at their children when they are born, and from that moment on, there is little that mother won't do for that child. That's love that is automatic. Not affection. It's love, pure and simple. And it doesn't matter if you are Christian or atheist.
2007-12-20 17:56:26 · answer #2 · answered by Night Owl 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, it definitely depends on the person. Personally, my family comes before God, waaaaaay before God. On the other hand, a lot of Christians I know say that God always comes first. So their love for God may be more unconditional than mine; but if their love for everyone else comes second, how can they claim that love to be unconditional? God is always the condition.
Mike H.
2007-12-20 17:54:34 · answer #3 · answered by Mike H 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Christians are told to love while atheists have no such command given to them. Obviously atheist love is more unconditional.
2007-12-20 17:49:26 · answer #4 · answered by Dharma Nature 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Why pick on two minorities? The vast majority of people in the world are neither Christian nor atheist and they all seem to love as well as anyone else. We are all humans capable of all human emotions. Religion has bugger-all to do with it - except that some religions restrict the expression of love.
2007-12-20 17:55:34 · answer #5 · answered by tentofield 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Christians, to all appearances, only love you if you share their faith. Atheists love you if you deserve it.
No love is truly unconditional; that's a preposterous fabulation.
2007-12-20 17:58:33 · answer #6 · answered by dukefenton 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You're generalizing, stop it, humans in general are capable of unconditional love, not just atheists or christians.
2007-12-20 17:49:33 · answer #7 · answered by The Frontrunner 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋
I am an atheist and I think that love is a personal thing, it does not depend on religion or no religion.
2007-12-20 17:50:56 · answer #8 · answered by NaturalBornKieler 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't think that there's any real difference between the two. Humans have a phenomenal capacity to love regardless of religious or spiritual beliefs (or lack thereof).
2007-12-20 17:50:00 · answer #9 · answered by N 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Atheist love.
Christians love God more than they love their partners.
2007-12-20 17:51:15 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋