[B-Greek] Greek for Laymen
Lira
rosangelalira at terra.com.br
Tue Mar 9 13:04:07 EST 2004
As some have already pointed out, the advantage of possessing even elementary notions of Greek (which is my case) is that one can at least evaluate what is being discussed by others and express his/her doubts.
Now, having said that, forgive me for going back once again to a subject that was discussed while I was on vacation. The subject was the interchangeable use of AGAPAW and PHILEW.
It was repeatedly pointed out in the discussion that both verbs can, almost always, be used synonymously.
One instance in which I believe they can't is when the Bible speaks about love for an enemy. Since PHILEW pressuposes friendship, I understand one can't PHILEW an enemy. Would it be safe to conclude this?
In this case, the only option left to express love for an enemy in Greek would be AGAPAW. Now, since love for enemies pressuposes a higher kind of love than for friends, wouldn't this fact be the origin of the concept that AGAPAW/AGAPH refer to a higher kind of love than PHILEW/PHILIA?
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