I must admit to a totally non-religious attitude to Easter - which is instead populated by "Love" for chocolate.

And good childhood memeries of egg and bunny hunts.

More seriously most in OLO might BLAME the Femo-Nazification of society for all this Love-Hate conceptualising.

And Jesus and his diciples "The Beatles" have much to answer for:

- The Sermon on the Mount http://youtu.be/YP2KDUiBI-E

AND

- http://youtu.be/WWP80rXP4cM

Philospher Pete

PS to Graham.

Does one need to experience Hate to Love?

Is it safer to love no-one but a disembodied institution or a star?

Alas! I hate nothing and am too jaundiced in past female relationships to trust another.

So love is for My Family (older and younger).

Love is also for my Royal Family, with the portrait of the Queen and my wall and Dear Duchess Kate Middleton (my screen saver).

Here http://www.hellomagazine.com/imagenes/homes/20210127105544/kate-middleton-laptop-stand-zoom-calls/0-508-683/kate-middleton-laptop-stand-z.jpg
________________________

Of EASTER.

Isn't that about Cruxifiction http://youtu.be/zPi76KvQF1g

Death

Miraculous Rebirth (distrusted in these non-miraculous Scientific times)

AND

LOVING Thy Neighbours in THIS context http://youtu.be/tRJlo2WRDbw?t=6m30s

I guess we all have our biases and prejudices no
matter what they may be. But I doubt if most of us
would really seriously act on them as we see on
the news be it in the "Canberra Bubble"or in countries
like America where race seems to still be a serious problem.

Of course my experiences have been rather narrow - growing
up in Sydney and then living in Melbourne. I'm an urbanite
and know little about what our Indigenous People have to put up
with on a daily basis. Or for that matter - single mothers, or
women who experience domestic violence, or even people
taking drugs, and so on.

My family worked hard, saved, and as a result had/have a
good life. They didn't ask anything from anybody. They
instilled in us the values that they thought important.
And it has stood us in good stead - thus far.

Hate, was not part of my family's agenda. They took people
as they found them. And none of us are perfect. But staying
positive was important.

Is it this modern form of love that sees the young thug, thief or car stealing hoon let off with a pat on the head, & an admonishment to "be a good boy, & don't do it again".

Is it love to train them to be bad, or is it an unwillingness to invest in prisons.

From the growth of antisocial behavior it appears something a little more firm than love is deeded to encourage respect of others in those sinners offered all this love.

Do-gooders are a major cause of Love falling to bits !

Dear GrahamY,

Good to get something with some meat. Touchstone issues with a few interesting touches.

There is a strong element of course of the right's rewriting of the basic tenements of the Christian faith, but that has been going on since Constantine so nothing new. It allowed the slave owners of the US Republic to write "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” without blinking an eye. More recently of course it allowed the American Evangelicals to side with Trump in the very high percentages that they did.

It takes empathy for the monied classes to be prepared to bring in a universal health care system for instance. Something actively worked against by Republicans and their base.

What you are putting has been well explored by Nietzsche. He derided the Christian 'morality of compassion' calling it 'moralic acid'. This was all set out in his book The Anti-Christ.

You miss other targets as well when you write; “I'd put the moment the cancer developed somewhere in the 60s, in the Age of Aquarius. The Beatle's "All You Need Is Love" is one of the anthems, written by John Lennon, who wrote the equally silly "Imagine".”

Hardly. The Second Vatican Council and the Liberation Theology movement of the early 60's fit your time line and were far more consequential for your faith. The Beatles may well have declared themselves larger than Christ but the reality was the monolithic Catholic Church had far more reach.

As an aside when you write this: “So the Christian version of love doesn't involve acceptance, meaning "I affirm you as you are", it means acceptance as in "I'll be your friend, whatever your behaviours, but I hope that you will change, and I will try to demonstrate how you might".”

I can't help but think of how many of our young were talked into gay conversion therapy with the above justification.

Hopefully it drives a good discussion.