ok so in one how can you not love the world if its Gods creation??

rita

So I been thinking about this question and I wanted to know what you think about this

so in one of baba shenoudas lecture he says friendship with the world is enmity with God and 1 john 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. if anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. why did God create this world if he didn't want us to love it ? how can a human being not love Gods creation?
in another baba shenoudas lecture he says about st anthony that st anthony saw no value,no meaning and the nothingness of this world. So isnt that saying Gods creation is nothing and everything on it ?

Joshuaa

  Hello rita
                  It's because God gave permission for satan to be here. When satan was with emnity with God, before the world began, he took a few angels with him, who became devils. So there was a war before the world was here. So the war is still happening but this time it is with us and one day there will be no world and God will decide which were with Him and who weren't.

rita

Thank you. I understand alittle more now.

Theophilus 1

Hi Rita,

I think I heard this form a sermon by Fr. Anthony Massey (or another priest). There are two words in Greek for ‘world’: cosmos & mundo (not sure if these are the words in Greek, mundo might be Latin). The point is, one of the words means the physical creation of God that we refer to as the world & the other is the lustful desire of the world.

That’s why Jesus said “...the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world...” John 17:14-15

Wouldn’t it make sense to take us out of the world if we are not of the world? But Jesus is praying that we continue to live in the physical world (I do not pray that You should take them out of the world) but the evil in the world will hate us because we have nothing in common with evil (hopefully we have nothing in common).


I am a bit fuzzy on the specifics but that was the jest of the sermon I heard. If anyone remembers this sermon I would love to hear it again!!!

In Christ
Theophilus.

ReturnOrthodoxy

Today, I wrote a blog entry that may explain how to love:

Check this out. It may shed light on what it means for a christian to love, and how this love is not outside Christ, but is rather through him.

RO

rita

Thank you josuaa, theophilus 1, return orthodoxy
God bless all of you it is easier for me to understand now the answers to those questions.
And theophilus I didn't hear any lectures about it from Abouna Anthony messeh. But I did hear this lecture before and it was great from Abouna Anthony
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mJKiRhMGWzs

mabsoota

the more you love God, the more you love all the people in the world, and take care of all the creation.
when the Bible says 'do not love the world' (in 1 john), it is talking about the 'desires of the world', like lust, addiction, greed, desire for power etc, so as theophilus was saying, it's about reading the passage in context. (mundo is latin. i don't know much about greek).

for example, if i say 'i love john', it's not the same as 'i love my husband' or 'i love ice cream'.
also if i work for a company, i could love the people in my company while not agreeing with all the ethics of my company. so i 'love it' (the people and the good stuff) while hating the bad stuff.

i suppose you may have understood this already from all the links.
i hope u are not more confused now!

rita

No I understand thank you. I think the point that I needed to understand is not love the desires and lusts of the world.

Remnkemi

[quote author=Theophilus 1 link=topic=14158.msg162704#msg162704 date=1358274892]
Hi Rita,

I think I heard this form a sermon by Fr. Anthony Massey (or another priest). There are two words in Greek for ‘world’: cosmos & mundo (not sure if these are the words in Greek, mundo might be Latin). The point is, one of the words means the physical creation of God that we refer to as the world & the other is the lustful desire of the world.

Originally, kosmos in Greek had a different meaning. Linguistically, kosmos means "order" which also took on meanings of "good order", "form or fashion" (more like orderly form), and "states" or governmental order. It also means "ornament or decoration" and "rule, regulator". But because of Plato and Pythagoreus, the most common meaning is "world-order" or universe. Later kosmos became a synonym of "oikoumeny". "Oikoumeny" means the "known world" or the "inhabited world."

So there are two Greek words for world: Kosmos and oikomeny. But it has nothing to do with lustful desire. Rather, sin has disrupted the natural world order and what was good and orderly at one point is now defined as disorderly and chaotic because of sin. This, God did not create. God created order and the Greeks used a word that describes order. But sin has infused the world so much that only chaos exists in the world. Now we are given cautionary advice to separate ourselves from disorderly chaos and lust because it is no longer God's kosmos, but a kosmos of sin.

binC

Lists of Worldly acts include...

1. Spending excess time on Facebook and other vain social gatherings, TV, Browsing the internet, chatting, drinking coffee than spiritual matters.

2. Living lavisiously interms of cars, houses and foods.

3. Lusts of the eye like looking at women and pornography.

4. Craving for status in this world like educational, politics and any power.

5. Living according to the words of God not according to the fashions of this world in everything the way we think, dress , talk and walk.(Especially ladies)

6. Eating is worldly but Fastingis heavenly, greed and money is wordly but Alms givingis Heavenly,pride is worldly but humility is Havenly, talking is wordly but silence is heavenly, sex is worldly but abstinence is heavenly, music and dancing is worldly but Praising God in Songs is Heavenly.........

7. Living as if this world is perfect shows we love this world.

rita

When I meant by loving the world I meant the stars, the moon, trees, fishes.... All the creatures and natures Beauty that we always mention in the tasbeha. I know that we can't love the desires of the world such as money, wealth.... But I meant the beauty of the world.

mabsoota

it's good to love the beauty of the world, u are right.
and the tasbeha (midnight praises) is a good way to learn about God's love for His world.
:)