Agape is the ancient Greek word for "unconditional love."
So what part of Agape do you not understand? Is it the "unconditional" part or the "love" part? I am always stunned that the Saviors most ardent advocates attach so many conditions on their love for their gay children or for their enemies that Jesus said we are to love. I'm pretty sure when Jesus said to love your enemies he meant, at the least, don't kill them.
In English we have one word for love. So translating what Jesus said about love doesn't work when the ancient Greek which the scriptures were written in. That is because there is more nuance than English offers; Ancient Greek has 6 words for love. In order to find out if the Love God and Jesus have for us is conditional, as church leaders say. or unconditional as many others feel it is we must first understand the different types of love understood by the Ancient Greeks.
These definitions are from an article which can be found here.
1. Eros, or sexual passion
The first kind of love was eros, named after the Greek god of fertility, and it represented the idea of sexual passion and desire. But the Greeks didn't always think of it as something positive, as we tend to do today. In fact, eros was viewed as a dangerous, fiery, and irrational form of love that could take hold of you and possess you—an attitude shared by many later spiritual thinkers, such as the Christian writer C.S. Lewis.Eros involved a loss of control that frightened the Greeks. Which is odd, because losing control is precisely what many people now seek in a relationship. Don't we all hope to fall "madly" in love?
2. Philia, or deep friendship
The second variety of love was philia or friendship, which the Greeks valued far more than the base sexuality of eros. Philia concerned the deep comradely friendship that developed between brothers in arms who had fought side by side on the battlefield. It was about showing loyalty to your friends, sacrificing for them, as well as sharing your emotions with them. (Another kind of philia, sometimes called storge, embodied the love between parents and their children.)We can all ask ourselves how much of this comradely philia we have in our lives. It's an important question in an age when we attempt to amass "friends" on Facebook or "followers" on Twitter—achievements that would have hardly impressed the Greeks.
3. Ludus, or playful love
This was the Greeks' idea of playful love, which referred to the affection between children or young lovers. We've all had a taste of it in the flirting and teasing in the early stages of a relationship. But we also live out our ludus when we sit around in a bar bantering and laughing with friends, or when we go out dancing.Dancing with strangers may be the ultimate ludic activity, almost a playful substitute for sex itself. Social norms may frown on this kind of adult frivolity, but a little more ludus might be just what we need to spice up our love lives.
4. Agape, or love for everyone
The fourth love, and perhaps the most radical, was agape or selfless love. This was a love that you extended to all people, whether family members or distant strangers. Agape was later translated into Latin as caritas, which is the origin of our word "charity."New Testament scholars refer to this as unconditiona spiritual love of all, self, and God.
C.S. Lewis called "gift love," and said it was the highest form of Christian love. But it also appears in every religious tradition, in Theravada Buddhism it appears as the idea of mettā or "universal loving kindness."
5. Pragma, or longstanding love
Another Greek love was the mature love known as pragma. This was the deep understanding that developed between long and happily married couples.6. Philautia, or love of the self
The Greek's sixth variety of love was philautia or self-love. In Buddhism it is "Self-Compassion" it enhances your ability to love others rather than what narcissism offers which is an addiction to self.Aristotle put it this way; "All friendly feelings for others are an extension of a man's feelings for himself."
To give an example of why understanding the Greek nuance of different types of love changes the meaning of scripture let's look at when Jesus asked Peter 3x if he loved loved Him.
Jesus asked Peter if he loves Him but Jesus uses the word agape which means "unconditional spiritual love." Peter responds that he does but uses the word philia meaning friendship. Jesus repeats His question using agape but Peter respond with philia. Jesus finally asks again but this time he uses the word philia thereby accepting Peters limitations and also allowing Peter to know he has been redeemed for denying Jesus 3 times.
Jesus comes down to meet Peter where he is in this scene. Jesus said "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." (Matthew 5:41)
Jesus meets Peter where he is not where he should be and Jesus allows Peter to know he is redeemed. Jesus goes that extra mile for Peter as He does for us all because that is the embodiment of unconditional love, that is the unconditional love that is best displayed by His suffering the Atonement for us all.
King James Version
13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
13:35 By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Alexandrian Text of John 13:34
entolhn kainhn didwmi umin ina agapate allhlouV kaqwV hgaphsa umaV ina kai umeiV agapate allhlouV
Alexandrian Text John 13:35
en toutw gnwsontai panteV oti emoi maqhtai este ean agaphn echte en allhloiV
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Agape (disambiguation).Agape (/ˈæɡəpiː/[1] or /əˈɡɑːpeɪ/; Classical Greek: ἀγάπη, agápē; Modern Greek: αγάπη IPA: [aˈɣapi]), often translated "unconditional love", is one of the Koine Greek words translated into English as love, one which became particularly appropriated in Christian theology as the love of God or Christ for humankind. 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.[2] Although the word does not have specific religious connotation, the word has been used by a variety of contemporary and ancient sources, including biblical authors and Christian authors. Greek philosophers at the time of Plato and 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. Thomas Jay Oord has defined agape as "an intentional response to promote well-being when responding to that which has generated ill-being."[3])
Agapate and agaphn are different conjugations of agape. Jesus is saying we should have the same unconditional love for each other that He has for us and that He commands us to have for God. So while Russell M. Nelson said this in a General Conference talk:
"While divine love can be called perfect, infinite, enduring, and universal, it cannot correctly be characterized as unconditional. The word does not appear in the scriptures. On the other hand, many verses affirm that the higher levels of love the Father and the Son feel for each of us—and certain divine blessings stemming from that love—are conditional. Before citing examples, it is well to recognize various forms of conditional expression in the scriptures."
Jesus says His love IS unconditional and I'd place more importance on what Christ said than I would Elder Nelson.
He incorrectly characterizes God's love as conditional because he is a business man and clearly has no clue on the definitions of the Greek words used. Anyone can spend 5 minutes on google and find the wikipedia info with links to thus inform the ill-informed....like Elder Nelson.
However, if you'll notice "uncnditional love" is a phrase that has been removed from all current Church publications, God's love being conditional is the new stance of the Church.
I prefer the unconditional love of which Jesus speaks.
As a side note there is a Christian denomination of evangelicals called Agape Christian Church. So Agape meaning unconditional love is something understood quite well outside LDS circles.
