For Those Who Love Latin

[JenDeMaria]

[quote name='Raphael' timestamp='1292269845' post='2192579']
If we take "for the love of God" to mean, "for the sake of the love of God," then it's [i]ex caritatis Dei causa[/i].

If we take "for the love of God" to mean, "on account of the love of God," then it's [i]ob caritatem Dei[/i].

[i]Pro caritate Dei[/i] would be a good literal translation, but doesn't take into account the context or meaning of the phrase. We say, "for the love of God," when we are talking about doing something for the sake of His love ("do/don't do this, if you want to keep God's love") or if we're talking about doing something because of His love ("do/don't do this because God has given you this example through His love").

[i]Pro caritate Dei[/i] implies that we are doing something in exchange for God's love or doing something for it as an indirect object. It doesn't fit the intended meaning.
[/quote]


Thank you for all the responses! This is perfect. I will say, though, that I think the ambiguity is part of the beauty of the phrase -- because all love is of God. Therefore, the love we have for God is also the love we receive from God; and the love we give to others, for the sake of our love of God, is this same love we have been given as a gift. If the love of God is my goal, I want it to be both on account of the love of God and for the sake of the love of God -- and through the love of God.

And while it may sound funny to imagine giving charity to God, I specifically wanted to use 'caritas' because 'Deus Caritas est'

Thanks again to everyone for the responses!