My Thoughts: The Four Loves

The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis is an eye-opening book to say the least. If what Lewis is saying about Love is true, then it shows just how skewed our perception of Love really is. Lewis demonstrates that there are four different kinds of loves: Affection, Friendship, Eros, and Charity. I thought that some of Lewis’ best insights came in the chapter on Charity. He says that these first three loves all grow out of Charity. Charity is the love that God, and only God, can give us. It is the only kind of love that will satisfy our deepest desires. The reason for this is because the first three kinds of love fade, but God’s charity for His creation lasts forever. “All human beings pass away. Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose” (Lewis 120).

Another argument that he makes in the chapter on Charity is this. To love anything at all is to be vulnerable. If we do not want to be vulnerable, then we cannot love. If we put our hearts away in a closet because we do not want it to be broken, then it will only become “unbreakable, impenetrable, and irredeemable”. “To love at all is to be vulnerable….The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell” (Lewis 121). This quote captures the point that he is trying to get across.

I would have to say that this may have been the most enjoyable and deep book that I have read all summer. I will for sure have to read it again just because of how much depth there is and how much content went completely over my head. The things that did not go over my head I thought were brilliant. All in all, I will give this book 4.75 stars out of 5.


Next Book: Captivating
(No, this book was not on my original reading list.)