The Study of Godly Love

To what extent can emotionally powerful experiences of a "divine flame of love" move us beyond our ordinary self-interests and help us express unconditional, unlimited love for all others, especially when our human capacities seem to reach their limits?

The answer to this question requires an investigation of Godly Love, which is defined as the dynamic interaction between divine and human love that enlivens and expands benevolence. This perceived interaction provides the framework for a scholarly investigation of the Great Commandment: love God and love neighbor as self.

 

Recent Books from the Flame of Love Project


The Heart of Religion: Spiritual Empowerment, Benevolence, and the Experience of God’s Love
By Matthew T. Lee, Margaret M. Poloma, and Stephen G. Post

Click here to find out more about The Heart of Religion. A theologian and two sociologists offer an in-depth exploration of the connection between religion and benevolence in America.

 

The Assemblies of God: Godly Love and the Revitalization of American Pentecostalism
By Margaret M. Poloma and John C. Green

Click here to find out more about The Assemblies of God. On 12/6/10, this book was featured on the podcast “Research on Religion.” This hour-long interview with Margaret Poloma also included a discussion of the Flame of Love Project.

 

A Sociological Study of the Great Commandment in Pentecostalism:
The Practice of Godly Love as Benevolent Service
by Matthew T. Lee and Margaret M. Poloma

Click here to find out more about A Sociological Study of the Great Commandment in Pentecostalism.

 

Blood and Fire: Godly Love in a Pentecostal Emerging Church
by Margaret M. Poloma and Ralph W. Hood, Jr.

Special Offer! Purchase Blood and Fire through the Flame of Love Project
website and receive a 40% professional discount off the full retail price.

Click here to find out more about Blood and Fire.

 

The Flame of Love Project is a four-year collaborative effort by researchers at the University of Akron and The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, funded by the John Templeton Foundation, that will provide the scientific and theological foundation for a new interdisciplinary field of study: the science of Godly Love.