Christianity & Care for others (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Religious Studies): Revision Note

What is agape?

• Agape comes from the Greek language and means “unconditional love”

• The Greek language has several terms to define different types of love:

  • Eros is when someone is in love with someone else

  • Philia is the love felt towards close friends

  • Storge is family love and fondness

  • Agape is unconditional, unwavering love

• Jesus taught his followers to show agape love, or unconditional, selfless love

  • Agape is the type of love for someone in which you put them before yourself

• For Christians, agape is the highest type of love

• It is the love that Jesus has for humans

  • He showed this through his sacrificial death on the cross to achieve salvation for all

• The most famous teaching of Christ regarding agape is at the Last Supper, where Jesus gives his “new commandment” to his apostles to love one another

Jesus's teachings about care for others

• When asked which commandment was the greatest of all, Jesus responded as follows:

• This verse gives a clear indication that Jesus wanted his followers to have two priorities:

  • Love God

  • Love others

• By following the command to “love your neighbour as yourself”, Christians are also obeying the other command, showing love for God, because they would be living according to his wishes

• When he asked his followers to “love their neighbour”, the type of love Jesus required was agape 

• This means Christians are called to love and care for everyone, regardless of their race or background

  • The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) teaches that people should help and show kindness to others, even if they are from a different race or culture

    • In the story, Jesus shows that love and compassion should extend beyond racial or cultural boundaries

  • In the Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31–46), Jesus taught that God will judge people based on the choices they have made and whether they have shown love to their neighbour

• In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus teaches the Golden Rule: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12)

  • This rule teaches Christians to treat others with the same respect and care that they would want for themselves

The service of others

• Following Jesus’s teaching to “love your neighbour as yourself”, Christians are called to place their faith into action by serving others in practical ways as a direct expression of their faith and ethics

• This service can include the following:

  • Giving time by volunteering at food banks or shelters, or taking part in mentoring programmes

  • Sharing skills and doing work, such as offering relationship advice or helping run community projects

  • Donating money through charity offerings or providing direct financial support to those in need. In many churches, collections for charity are taken during services