Does God demand that we love Him?

[Falla39]

Originally Posted by Timmy

You didn't say it, I did. You said religion makes demands, and I replied that Jesus (also) demands. He said it was one of the two greatest commandments. It seemed you were implying that it's a bad thing to make demands. Just sayin'.

35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

I fail to see where Jesus DEMANDED. He COMMANDED but I do not see the
two words as the same. Jesus commanded and said IF we love HIM we will
keep his Commandments, and His commandments are not grievous.
To say that Jesus DEMANDS doesn't sound right. Sin demands. Man condemns, but Jesus commands and convicts with mercy.

My thoughts anyway!

Falla39

[Falla39]

I googled and asked what the difference was between the two words, command and
demand. One site that I thought interesting:

http://www.cafemom.com/journals/read...d_and_a_demand

[Timmy]

Originally Posted by Falla39

35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

I fail to see where Jesus DEMANDED. He COMMANDED but I do not see the
two words as the same. Jesus commanded and said IF we love HIM we will
keep his Commandments, and His commandments are not grievous.
To say that Jesus DEMANDS doesn't sound right. Sin demands. Man condemns, but Jesus commands and convicts with mercy.

My thoughts anyway!

Falla39

They are synonyms, but yes, they have different shades of meaning. From dictionary.com:


de·mand
   /dɪˈmænd, -ˈmɑnd/ Show Spelled[dih-mand, -mahnd] Show IPA
–verb (used with object)

1. to ask for with proper authority; claim as a right: He demanded payment of the debt.
2. to ask for peremptorily or urgently: He demanded sanctuary. She demanded that we let her in.
3. to call for or require as just, proper, or necessary: This task demands patience. Justice demands objectivity.
4. Law.

a. to lay formal legal claim to.
b. to summon, as to court.

com·mand
   /kəˈmænd, -ˈmɑnd/ Show Spelled[kuh-mand, -mahnd] Show IPA
–verb (used with object)

1. to direct with specific authority or prerogative; order: The captain commanded his men to attack.
2. to require authoritatively; demand: She commanded silence.
3. to have or exercise authority or control over; be master of; have at one's bidding or disposal: The Pharaoh commanded 10,000 slaves.
4. to deserve and receive (respect, sympathy, attention, etc.): He commands much respect for his attitude.
5. to dominate by reason of location; overlook: The hill commands the sea.
6. to have authority over and responsibility for (a military or naval unit or installation); be in charge of.

[jfrog]

Timmy God doesn't demand that you love him. He just promises you that you will go to hell if you don't

[Timmy]

Originally Posted by jfrog

Timmy God doesn't demand that you love him. He just promises you that you will go to hell if you don't

[Timmy]

Note: The question did not say anything about whether it's easy or hard to love God. It didn't say whether the demand was justified or not. It doesn't address the consequences (if any) for not obeying (if the answer is Yes). It just asks one simple thing: Does God demand that we love Him? Now, some have answered No or Other based on their understanding of the word "demand", and they apparently don't think that word fits. It's not a demand, it's a command, they say. OK, that's fine. Someone else thought I was asking if we would be forced to love God. Not sure how they got that, but OK. But if the question had been "Does God command that we love Him?", I suppose they would have voted Yes.

Bottom line: most AFFers believe that loving God is required. It may be easy, it may even be automatic in some sense, once you have obeyed in other ways (like the Acts 2:38 way). That's great. It doesn't change the fact that what you folks (most of you) believe is this:

You must love God.

Anyone disagree?