Comments on The Beautiful Heresy- Christian Universalism: Self-Love

wow...bro good word...this is really good stuff......

2011-07-28T14:29:26.923-04:00

wow...bro good word...this is really good stuff....write more please

@brian- There's still a little piece of me tha...

2011-05-21T08:04:09.958-04:00

@brian- There's still a little piece of me that thinks "What if my Sunday school teachers were right?" too. The fact that my biological father left before I was born didn't help either. How could I expect God to love me when my own parent wanted nothing to do with me? And, if God didn't love me, I was obviously worthless, so how could I ever love myself? There might not be

It's good to hear from you, Don. How are you ...

2011-05-12T09:47:38.430-04:00

It's good to hear from you, Don. How are you doing?

Your honesty, as always, is so appreciated. It hel...

2011-05-12T09:45:41.618-04:00

Your honesty, as always, is so appreciated. It helps me to see better your POV. We have been "blogging friends" for quite a while now. Yet, each post helps me to better know you. That is a good thing. People are drawn closer by shared suffering and shared joy. Thanks for being a friend and educating me on many occasions.

I know exactly what you mean, Sammy. When I was i...

2011-05-10T09:16:11.162-04:00

I know exactly what you mean, Sammy. When I was in counseling, my counselor talked to me about giving myself a break. I never really felt loved and I always dismissed the fact that I needed to feel that. She gave me permission to work through those emotions. I knew in my head that I was supposed to be loved. But, I didn't feel it in my heart.

It's still a struggle and I

Like you, I grew up in a church environment where ...

2011-05-10T08:56:57.653-04:00

Like you, I grew up in a church environment where self-love was considered selfish. For that reason, self-love is still something I struggle with greatly. Even though I've considered myself a universalist for almost 3 years now, focusing on a God who is unconditional love and acceptance, there are days were it is still challenging to believe that God could ever love me. Self-love still often

Absolutely one of your best posts Brian. Thanks so...

2011-05-06T10:51:54.933-04:00

Absolutely one of your best posts Brian. Thanks so much for sharing these parts of your journey. I feel that I know you a bit better. And I so resonate with your self-love perspective.

I think we mostly agree, Ulf. I don't know ab...

2011-05-06T07:58:50.287-04:00

I think we mostly agree, Ulf. I don't know about this distorted self-love though. I agree that love for everyone starts with knowing I have inherent worth and am worthy of love. If anything I think humanity suffers from not understanding that. Selfishness is not the same thing as self love. The problem with the way I was taught is that it can easily be interpreted that any compassion for

Maybe I'm just splitting hairs here, Brian, bu...

2011-05-06T05:18:43.171-04:00

Maybe I'm just splitting hairs here, Brian, but for me it starts with the knowledge that I'm loved/worth being loved. If that's the type of love of self you're talking about, I agree with you.

I see a big difference there, because to me the sickness that humanity suffers from is a distorted self-love, that says: "I'm the center of the universe." Even

@Brian: The way I used to rationalize it, was that...

2011-05-05T09:06:06.645-04:00

@Brian: The way I used to rationalize it, was that God loved me, so it was ok to love myself, plus I was raised in a non-fundie household, so I was taught to love myself.

I didn't get into the more fundiesque aspects of Christianity until I was around 19.

I agree, Ulf. I think Jesus actually taught a hol...

2011-05-05T07:53:29.620-04:00

I agree, Ulf. I think Jesus actually taught a holistic type of faith that started with, and maybe even assumed one already had, love for self.

@Mike- in my experience, Christians are so busy trying to kill the ego and eliminate any pride that the teaching of love for the world actually beginning with love for self is lost.

I hear what you're saying. Loving oneself is v...

2011-05-05T00:20:56.686-04:00

I hear what you're saying.
Loving oneself is very important... but isn't the real problem the fact that we compartmentalize love for God, others and self, causing a seperation that wasn't meant to be there? What is helping me to love others, myself and God is recognising that I'm one with others, myself and God. There's a union, instead of a seperation; rest instead of

I wish more Bible teachers would figure out that i...

2011-05-04T20:02:32.710-04:00

I wish more Bible teachers would figure out that in order to love your neighbor as yourself, you first have to love yourself.

Great post, Brian. Thank you for sharing.