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The Path of Perfect Love
Book by Allen, Diogenes
Paperback
First published March 1, 1992
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May 19, 2023
Allen tries really hard to develop a conception of perfect love that is doomed from the start. This is not to say that this book lacks thought-provoking content and challenging ideas. It is full of bold ideas, and theologically sound concepts. Its core message, however, lacks necessary development.
Allen defines perfect love as a fully "seeing" or "recognizing" another being or thing as wholly independent from oneself and focusing on that reality so deeply so as to completely forget about your own reality. I hope you can begin to see the serious problems that arise here. This sounds rather like the classic story of boy meets girl. You've seen it in the movies. A lady drops something, man goes to pick it up for her. Perhaps there is a hair fling. Then, BOOM, they lock eyes and the world slows to a grinding halt as he forgets everything he's doing because, "my goodness she's beautiful." Is this love, or is this infatuation? I have a really hard time likening this to Christian love.
The example that Allen provides is of a man stuck in a bog with no hope of survival. For all he knows these are his final moments on planet earth. This is the first time he has ever stopped to consider life apart from himself because all else, himself and his egocentric cares, are stripped away. He is left with an utterly beautiful world. But this is not love. This is once again just infatuation with a world he can never have.
What Allen fails to grasp is love's active nature. Love is not a passive "seeing" but rather an active "giving". In his chapter titled "God's Perfect Love" he approaches this with his concept of the Trinity who fully share of one another. However, Allen takes this concept nowhere. His perfect love remains static and unmoving. There is almost a stoic nature to it. God's most loving act is not to create, commune with, or save creation, but rather, to stand back and declare it good.
Although I have written no treatise on the matter, I feel rather certain that true perfect love is, by nature, procreative and active. Perfect love naturally forms greater, richer, and deeper realities. The love of a man and woman literally makes new life. The love of a craftsman for his craft makes beautiful furniture. The love of God for his creation led to the Incarnation.
I find the latter two chapters to be oddly disconnected from the rest of the body of work and the overall structure rather confusing.
Positives include:
1. A well written defense of the Christian perspective on death (mostly).
2. An attempt to free Christians from the necessity of Historical defenses for the resurrection (but also, why is this here?).
3. Some really good (or interesting) quotes from other famous people like Chesterton, Lewis, Weil (I recommend reading their works instead).
1.5 stars (rounding up to 2 because I hate giving bad reviews).
Allen defines perfect love as a fully "seeing" or "recognizing" another being or thing as wholly independent from oneself and focusing on that reality so deeply so as to completely forget about your own reality. I hope you can begin to see the serious problems that arise here. This sounds rather like the classic story of boy meets girl. You've seen it in the movies. A lady drops something, man goes to pick it up for her. Perhaps there is a hair fling. Then, BOOM, they lock eyes and the world slows to a grinding halt as he forgets everything he's doing because, "my goodness she's beautiful." Is this love, or is this infatuation? I have a really hard time likening this to Christian love.
The example that Allen provides is of a man stuck in a bog with no hope of survival. For all he knows these are his final moments on planet earth. This is the first time he has ever stopped to consider life apart from himself because all else, himself and his egocentric cares, are stripped away. He is left with an utterly beautiful world. But this is not love. This is once again just infatuation with a world he can never have.
What Allen fails to grasp is love's active nature. Love is not a passive "seeing" but rather an active "giving". In his chapter titled "God's Perfect Love" he approaches this with his concept of the Trinity who fully share of one another. However, Allen takes this concept nowhere. His perfect love remains static and unmoving. There is almost a stoic nature to it. God's most loving act is not to create, commune with, or save creation, but rather, to stand back and declare it good.
Although I have written no treatise on the matter, I feel rather certain that true perfect love is, by nature, procreative and active. Perfect love naturally forms greater, richer, and deeper realities. The love of a man and woman literally makes new life. The love of a craftsman for his craft makes beautiful furniture. The love of God for his creation led to the Incarnation.
I find the latter two chapters to be oddly disconnected from the rest of the body of work and the overall structure rather confusing.
Positives include:
1. A well written defense of the Christian perspective on death (mostly).
2. An attempt to free Christians from the necessity of Historical defenses for the resurrection (but also, why is this here?).
3. Some really good (or interesting) quotes from other famous people like Chesterton, Lewis, Weil (I recommend reading their works instead).
1.5 stars (rounding up to 2 because I hate giving bad reviews).
Displaying 1 of 1 review