DB> On 04-15-98 Frank Masingill wrote to Day Brown...
 FM> That is the saddest aspect of the reality of the closed-minded
 FM> literalist in the realm of ANY "sacred" scripture or "word."  You may
 FM> have noticed the similarity in basics of Paul's "Hymn to Love" (13th
 FM> Chap. of I Cor.) and Plato's Symposium as a hymn to love.  Although Paul
 FM> is emphasizing agape love and Plato was speaking of erotic love the
 FM> central identity as far as noesis is concerned is rather plain.
 DB> I dunno Frank; so far as I can tell, Plato and most Greeks took a
 DB> Dionysian view of love, in which the term includes *both* erotic and
 DB> agape.  Bear in mind, that they didn't, in his time, have any venereal
 DB> diseases, so all of the taboos which we are used to were not a part of
 DB> that culture.  So, Plato was not extolling the love of sex; he did not
 DB> know there was a difference.
   That is quite true and the Agape love spoken of by Paul and the writers of
the Christian gospels were sometimes used interchangeably with Philia
(brotherly love) and quite frankly, while I am reasonably sure it was present
in the Symposium hymn to love of Plato-Socrates I never have found anybody 
ho
knew it's orgin.  I suspect it is the love associated with a mother-goddess 
s
I've heard that speculated.  That is why it could become a "disinterested"
love for all as a part of the Christian sermons.
Sincerely, 
                                     Frank
                                                                              
                                                       
--- PPoint 2.05
---------------