\section{Erōs in Early Christianity}

\lettrine[lraise=0.15]{E}{arly} Christians also wrote about God having Erōs to create the world.

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite --- the 5th\slash 6th century Syrian mystic --- explicitly uses Erōs for divine love, and argues that God's Erōs is the creative impulse --- God longing outward into creation, and creation longing back toward God, a circular movement of divine longing.

Agapē is the usual word for ``love'' in the New Testament. Yet, Pseudo-Dionysius
is quite bold about preferring Erōs to Agapē in certain contexts, 
precisely because Erōs captures the dynamic, reaching, impelling quality that Agapē can soften into mere benevolence.

The early Church Father Origen (184--253 AD) also uses erotic language for the soul's relationship to God, particularly in his commentary on the \textit{Song of Songs} --- which is probably why the \textit{Song of Songs} became so central to the mystical tradition. He read it as cosmic Erōs between God and the soul.

Even within Christianity, before later centuries got nervous about the word Erōs, the creative act itself was understood as divine Longing expressing itself outward into form.

God's Erōs creates the world. The world's Erōs returns to God.

We linger here not to privilege one tradition, 
but because this is an unexpected place to find Erōs. 
The word we have debased into mere appetite 
--- or car commercials --- was once the name the Church Fathers 
gave to the creative impulse of God.

This is a surprising place to find Erōs. And the surprise is the point.
