At the memorial service for Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump said: “In that private moment on his dying day, we find everything we need to know about who Charlie Kirk truly was. He was a missionary with a noble spirit and a great, great purpose. He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry. I am sorry, Erika. But now Erika can talk to me and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that’s not right, but I can’t stand my opponents.”
God is … Agape
Allow me to suggest an answer that would not only fit Erika Kirk but also, and more importantly so, her murdered husband. It’s an answer that was given by Jesus Christ when He showed the difference between conscious “love” and emotional “love” in His last encounter with his disciple Simon Peter. Understanding this difference is only possible when, first of all, one realizes that in the original Greek text of the New Testament two distinctive words are used to describe “Love”. In his Gospel, St. John assures us in verses 1-4:8 and 1-4:16 that God is Love. Here, John uses the word agapē [ἀγάπη] to describe God as Love. He doesn’t use the word philia [Φιλία] which means love in the sense of friendship, affection or fondness. Agapē means conscious love, which is the unselfish, unconditional, benevolent love that values and esteems. The verb phileó means to have affection for, to be a friend, as a matter of loyalty, sentiment or feeling. Agapē is completely selfless, unconditional, not contingent on feelings, judgment or considerations. Agapē is infinite and everlasting.
Agape and philia
In the English and most other translations of the authentic Greek text of the Gospel agapē and philia are indiscriminatively translated as “love”, suggesting that both words have the same meaning and may be used interchangeably. This makes most translations of the relevant verses of the New Testament imprecise, confusing and counterproductive. To be clear, genuine feelings of friendship and affinity (philia) cannot exist between persons who regard each other as enemies. What does exist between enemies is antagonism and, often, hatred. In fact, when a friend becomes an enemy, love rapidly turns into hatred. This is what makes “philia” and hatred contingent on the feelings and circumstances that determine human relationships.
Agapate your enemies
Does this mean that conscious love (agape) shall not or cannot exist between enemies? The question is raised in verse 1:53 of the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus says “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love [Agapēseis / Ἀγαπήσεις] your neighbor’ [friend] and ‘Hate [misēseis / μισήσεις] your enemy’.” This saying implies that “agape” is only possible between friends who share philia and defintely not between enemies who share hatred (μῖσος / mîsos). Jesus then says: “But I say unto you, Love [agapate” / ἀγαπᾶτε] your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” Here, Christ stipulates that we shall not withhold true and unconditional love (agape) from our enemies. What He didn’t say, though, is that we must treat or regard them as our friends. Other than this, His words confirm that He didn’t doubt that Man is capable of generating Divine Love. After all, if we would lack this capacity, we wouldn’t be able to heed His advice.
Do you love me ?
Admittedly, it’s not easy to distinguish between “agape” and “philia´. This difficulty is brought to light by John in the verses 21-15:17, where he relates how Christ, after His resurrection, when he was together with His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, singled out His disciple Simon Peter to see if he was capable of distinguishing agapē from philia. When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love [agapas / ἀγαπᾷς] Me more than these?” Whereupon Simon Peter answered: “Yes, Lord, You know I love [philō / φιλῶ] You.” Jesus then replied, “Feed My lambs”, and asked Simon Peter the same question for a second time. “Simon son of John, do you love [agapas / ἀγαπᾷς] Me?” Again, Simon Peter repeated his first answer: “Yes, Lord, You know I love [philō / φιλῶ] You.” Jesus then told him, “Shepherd My sheep”, and asked for a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love [agapas / ἀγαπᾷς] Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love [agapas / ἀγαπᾷς] Me?” and answered “Lord, You know all things”, he replied. “You know I love [philō / φιλῶ] You.” Jesus then ended the conversation, saying, “Feed My sheep.”
We’ll never know
The Apostle Simon Peter was the disciple who was to become the rock (from Petros / Πέτρος in Greek and Petra in Latin for “rock or stone”) on which the Christian Congregation (ekklēsia / ἐκκλησία) would be built. Even though Christ used the word “agapas” when He asked “do you love me”, Peter answered “don’t you know I am your friend.” When agape and philia are both translated as “love”, the conversation between Christ and Peter becomes a riddle that we’ll never be able to solve. This erroneous and mystifying translation blocks access to the actual words spoken by Christ and, as a consequence, prohibits understanding what they mean and how they can help us in dealing with our enemies. And so, we end up with President Trump stating that Charlie Kirk “didn’t hate his opponents” and “wanted the best for them”, implying that the latter considered his opponents to be his friends. By all means, Charlie Kirk’s opponents were his unrelenting enemies. They really hated him. In spite of that, he never returned hatred with hatred. Does this mean that he truly loved his enemies … ? Or, did he make the deadly mistake of offering them his friendship …
We’ll never know …
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