Love-charity

[Debra Little]

I have used the words  love and charity used interchangeable but it seems to me that they are really

2 different facets of the same thing.   Love is more like an attitude or disposition (God's love).

Charity is the practical outworking of His love.  Any thoughts?

[Era Might]

Just to point out that you hit on one of "politics" of biblical translation in the King James days (i.e., faith vs. works). The different "shading" of each word affected how Protestant and Catholic versions were translated.

Edited January 12, 2013 by Era Might

[Debra Little]

Just to point out that you hit on one of "politics" of biblical translation in the King James days (i.e., faith vs. works). The different "shading" of each word affected how Protestant and Catholic versions were translated.

 

I have Bibles in my Kindle,  the Amplified Bible and the Douay Rheims Bible.  Amplified BIble says love, and Douay Rheims says

charity.  Oh btw,  this is 1 Cor 13.  So which is it anyway? 

[Nihil Obstat]

The Latin word typically used in the Vulgate is caritas, which translates to both love and charity. We tend to use caritas to imply a perfect form of love. Probably the basis for understanding it should be God's own love.

 

From Deus Caritas Est:

 

1. “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16). These words from the First Letter of John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny. In the same verse, Saint John also offers a kind of summary of the Christian life: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us”.

 

If you are interested in this subject, I would highly recommend reading the rest of the encyclical.

[Debra Little]

The Latin word typically used in the Vulgate is caritas, which translates to both love and charity. We tend to use caritas to imply a perfect form of love. Probably the basis for understanding it should be God's own love.

 

From Deus Caritas Est:

 

1. “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16). These words from the First Letter of John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny. In the same verse, Saint John also offers a kind of summary of the Christian life: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us”.

 

If you are interested in this subject, I would highly recommend reading the rest of the encyclical.

 

thank you for the link,  will read it.  and thanks for the explanation.