I T ’ S
G R E E K
T O
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by Dr. Neil Christians (neilc@lordoflife.org)
In the middle of writing the July Summer Stretch curriculum, I was listening to music on Spotify. The curriculum’s theme is “loving” and the song: What’s Love Got to Do with It? by Tina Turner randomly came on. It got me thinking—what does love have to do with it? This is actually a really good question.
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Eros (pronounced AIR-ohs) is used for romantic love. Eros was the name of the Greek god of love. You may be more familiar with his Roman counterpart, Cupid. When thinking of this kind of love, imagine all of the commercials and displays around Valentine’s Day. While eros does not appear in the New Testament, this kind of love is found in the Old Testament, especially in the book Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon.
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Storge (pronounced STOR-jay) is love among family members. Again, this isn’t found in the New Testament, but this kind of love is apparent in Genesis 22, when it talks about Abraham’s love for his son, Isaac.
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Philia (pronounced FILL-ee-uh) is warm affection or love between friends. In fact, the Greek word for a beloved friend is “philoi.” You can see the connection between these two words, as well as Philadelphia, “the city of brotherly love.”
Bible 101
There are many kinds of love. The love I have for my family is different than the love I have for chocolate; but we only have one word for love. In Greek (the language the New Testament was written in), however, there are distinct words for various kinds of love. Let’s learn about them!
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