Where did this idea come from, that God is love?

[TamaraSavannah]

Probably from Christ.

I once heard that the Old Testament is about a God of vengeance but the New Testament talks of a loving God.

[tofur]

Both NDE experiencers and yogis/mystics describe it as the very fabric of the universe, the fabric of awareness itself. You are it and it is All.

[jerbear30]

The first time I heard this equation was in reading Johnny Cash's first autobiography, Man in Black. I really liked the bio and the phrase "god is love" stuck with me. I interpret it to be a modification of god more than of love, since for me god is a bit tougher to imagine. Ultimately the phrase reminds me that love, like god, is something bigger than we can imagine or really even do justice to. We fail love like we fail god, and our best moments are when we are doing justice to live just as when we are doing justice to god.

[SuperSoul]

Originally Posted by LoveWisdom

This is actually the opposite of what I was trying to say. I was saying that God is love does not mean that God is loving. These are two different ideas. The concept that religious people label as "God is love" actually has to do with natural processes which govern our life and I was trying to see behind the scenes and observe how they do it.

I apologize if I missed it, but it seems you haven't defined love or God.

To (philosopher) Paul Tillich, one's personal god is "one's ultimate concern" - what one worships or prioritizes or loves/desires most (whether it's called god or not).
Others define God as intelligent design.

I define love as appreciating what is while striving for what is best, through trial & error (active faith).
Since the beginning of our earth's creation, of what is known, it seems that various life forms have been evolving - which means they break out of habitual laws, to try something new.
Hawking defined intelligence as the ability to adapt to change (like how I defined love), so there's overwhelming evidence that our universe was created by intelligent design - aka love.

[LoveWisdom]

Originally Posted by SuperSoul

I apologize if I missed it, but it seems you haven't defined love or God.

Now I see that I wrote it in a very confusing way and the title didn't mean in my mind what people assume it means. I wasn't talking about love of God, I was talking about "love" itself, what it is and what it does.

Not love OF God, but love as God, (as some people perceive it). But I was just talking about love itself, it doesn't need to be related to God, and the only reason I mentioned it in that context is because some people do relate it to God and I just wanted to draw a parallel.