Do You Know the Four Types of Love?

By Katherine T. Phan

These days, the word “love” can be used to mean just about anything. We know the word “love” carries different meanings according to its context but in the English language there is no distinguishing. There is no distinguishing between “I love you, Mom” and “I love eating french fries.”

However, in the Greek version of the Bible, different types of love are described using different words even if the English version of the Bible translates them as "love."

The four types of love and their meanings are:

1. Agpe – the love of God.

In Latin, it is c(h)aritas. As English has the verb "cherish" from this Latin noun, the correct noun in English would be cherishing.

2. Phila - the love between friends or known as brotherly love.

3. Storg - familial love, especially between parents and their children and also with close relatives.

4. Éros – sexual attraction. This word is not found in the Greek version of the New Testament.

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