Love, Infatuation, Friendship, Exploitation

Love, Infatuation, Friendship, Exploitation Relationships & Dating

LOVE • A relationship characterized by commitment, unconditional acceptance, deep respect, and trust, kindness, compassion, deep mutual respect, commitment, understanding, acceptance, forgiveness, sensitivity, consideration, patience, trust, self sacrifice, permanence

LOVE • 5 kinds of love: - Desire – Attraction (epithumia) - Longing – Romance (eros) - Belonging – Affection (storge) - Cherishing – Friendship (phile) - Selfless Giving – Christian Love (agape)

LOVE • Erotic Love: (Eros – Greek Goddess of Love) - Desire of two people to have a union of body, minds and heart - We misuse the term so that it includes only physical sex - Meant to be exclusive

LOVE • Romantic Love: - Makes way for mature love • Pitfalls of romantic love: - Infatuation - Idolizing - Putting on a pedestal

INFATUATION • A romantic relationship involving sexual feelings and attraction • Also known as being ‘in love” or temporary love • Includes being interested, being in touch (holding hands, notes, phone calls), emotionally involved, in love and/or being sexually intimate • Challenge to love person who you are in love with

INFATUATION • Fall in love with love, not with each other • Like a roller coaster, thrilling but is over quickly • Absorbed with the thrill of love that they don’t get one another

FRIENDSHIP • A relationship between any two or more persons who trust each other and like to be together • Strong emotional bond can help the sexual desires move beyond self-centeredness of childhood to a mature and caring commitment

FRIENDSHIP • Four guidelines for friendships between men and women: - See each other as humans first and a member of the opposite sex second - Must see each other as equals - See beyond stereotypes of their respective sex - They need to refrain from sexual relations together

EXPLOITATION • The focus of the relationship is on sexual feelings and their physical expression, using another for emotional and sexual satisfaction • A relationship based on selfishness and lack of respect for the other person • Use of another for your own purposes

EXPLOITATION • TYPES: - Distorted Sexuality – when the power and energy of sexuality is not channeled and expressed through responsible and loving choices - Criminal exploitation - Non criminal

-Rape/Date Rape - Lust - Pornography - Selling through sex - Prostitution - Masturbation

SCRIPTURE • “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

SOURCES

• http://www.eldrbarry.net/marraige/clas/bm0 • http://www.stjohnsdhs.org/Faculty/Costa/sex