Richard Smoley is one of the world's most respected authorities on the mystical and esoteric teachings of Western civilization. Educated at Harvard and Oxford, he has written six books and was editor for eight years of Gnosis, the award-winning journal of the Western spiritual traditions. Smoley is the current editor of Quest Books and a consulting editor and frequent contributor to Parabola: The Journal of Myth and Tradition.
In this ambitious work, the author examines love, a topic that eludes easy analysis or summary. He notes that one of his favorite definitions comes from Charles Bukowski: "the common sense to care very much for something very good." Love is important in all of the world's religions but in Christianity, to love God and to love our neighbors is the core teaching. Smoley is quick to point out that Christianity is also the religion of the sublimation of love; sexual love is trumped by piety.
Throughout the book, a distinction is made between agape, which is unconditional love, and transactional love, where an exchange is made that involves a cost. With great élan, Smoley explores the meaning of love in sex and romance; family ties; friendship; love for one's neighbor; and the unconditional love described in the New Testament. There is a wide range of illustrative material here from the writings of Soren Kierkegaard to the ploys of pickup artists to the conjugal love of Swedenborg to the kind of relationship described in the Orthodox Church ritual called adelphopoiesis. The author has some very interesting observations on The Course in Miracles and the value of forgiveness.
