Love

3,000 years of ideas about the nature of love in Western culture are brought together in this concise history. By blending the works of many scholars and examining the significant lives, works, and movements associated with love, Love: A Brief History Through Western Christianity traces the evolution and impact of this timeless topic.

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• Takes the reader on a lightning but enlightening journey through 3,000 years of the idea of love
  
• Examines the influential movements, people, and work that have helped shape our notion of love in Western culture, written by a key figure in religious history
  
• Tackles the historical and religious concept in Western society, and our efforts to apply ideas of love to social concerns
  
• Explores diverse periods and examples – from the theological and philosophical texts of figures such as Augustine, Luther, and Feuerbach to intellectual movements like Romanticism and tragic historic figures such as Abelard and Heloise
  
• Contributes valuable insights into one of history’s most inexhaustible and timeless topics, spanning biblical views of love including monasticism and pietism, romantic notions of love, through to today’s liberal religion and concept of love as self-fulfillment.

Preface ix

1 The Language of Love 1

2 Biblical Views of Love 19

3 A World Without Love? The Greco-Roman World and Early Christianity 36

4 Caritas: The Augustinian Synthesis of Biblical Agape and Hellenistic Eros 51

5 Love and the Individual: Abelard and Bernard 66

6 Mystics and Troubadours 84

7 Faith Formed by Love: Scholasticism 103

8 Faith Active in Love: Reformation 118

9 Love as Service: Pietism and the Diaconal Movements 133

10 Love in the Modern World 146

Conclusion: Concluding Unscientific Postscript 168

Bibliography 172

Index 191

“Lindberg’s readable and enjoyable history is framed by an account of eros and agape.” (International Journal of Systematic Theology, 19 June 2015)

"Overall, Lindberg offers a significant work, one which will be helpful for pastors, seminarians, graduate students, and interested lay people." (Lutheran Quaterly, 2011)

"Lindberg has written an excellent book that deserves a wide readership. Its vastness of scope is breathtaking and its selection of topics comprehensive.." (Reviews in Religion & Theology, 2010)

“Any scholar or general reader who wishes to grapple with the nature of love may find this book and its bibliography a fine place to start.” (The Catholic Historical Review, January 2009)

"A wonderful overview of the ways in which the theme of love has been presented and reflected upon from biblical times to the late 20th century." (Church Times, November 2008)

Carter Lindberg is Professor Emeritus of Church History at Boston University School of Theology. He is the author of numerous books, including A Brief History of Christianity (2005), The Pietist Theologians (2004), The Reformation Theologians (2001), and The European Reformations (1995), all published by Wiley-Blackwell. Love in all its guises has been debated since the beginning of recorded history. Its fascinating evolution in Western culture is traced here in this concise history; one which spans the depth and complexity of this elusive topic.

By examining the significant lives, works, and movements associated with love, this enlightening little book contributes valuable insights into one of history’s most inexhaustible and timeless topics. From the theological and philosophical texts of figures such as Augustine, Luther, and Feuerbach to intellectual movements like Romanticism and tragic historic figures like Abelard and Heloise, Love: A Brief History Through Western Christianity propels the reader across 3,000 years of the idea of love.

"This book is doubly impressive, both for covering so much material so expertly in such a short space and also for doing it with such elegant prose."
–Paul Rorem, Princeton Theological Seminary

"I didn’t think there was anything new to say about ‘love’, but Professor Lindberg’s history of love is wonderfully refreshing. He draws judiciously on a vast and varied treasure of fact and theory – including erotic, neighbourly and religious love – to portray a dynamic, multi-dimensional phenomenon; ever changing and reaching out for new connections in all kinds of ways."
–Trond Skard Dokka, University of Norway