- published: 12 Jul 2010
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Love of God (philotheia and philanthropia) are central notions in monotheistic and polytheistic religions, and are important in one's personal relationship with God (or the gods) and one's conception of God (or the gods).
Love of God can mean, in the philotheia sense, the love that someone has for God, or the gods, and is associated with concepts of piety, worship, and devotions towards God.
Love of God, in the sense of philanthropia, means the love God has for us, as in Psalm 52:1: "The steadfast love of God endures all the day"; Psalm 52:8: "I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever"; Romans 8:39: "Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God"; 2 Corinthians 13:14: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all"; 1 John 4:9: "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him"; etc.
Francis Chan (born 1967) is an American preacher. He is the former teaching pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, CA, a church he and his wife started in 1994. He is also the Founder and Chancellor of Eternity Bible College and author of the best-selling book, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, which came out in 2009. He released his second book Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit in August 2009. He also sits on the board of directors of Children’s Hunger Fund and World Impact.
Chan is known for speaking at major national and international events and conferences.
Chan and his wife founded Cornerstone in 1994 with only 30 people. Within two months, the church had grown to 100 people, and by 2000, Chan was leading a $1 million project to provide for the 1,600 member congregation. Cornerstone is now one of the largest churches in Ventura County, California.
In 2005, Francis was the featured speaker in a now international video called Stop And Think (JustStopAndThink.com) which virally travelled, landing in every state and 30+ countries.
Cornelia "Corrie" ten Boom (Amsterdam, The Netherlands April 15, 1892 – Orange, California, April 15, 1983) was a Dutch Christian, who with her father and other family members helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. Her family was arrested due to an informant in 1944, and her father died 10 days later at Scheveningen prison. A sister, brother and nephew were released, but Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie were sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp, where Betsie died. Ten Boom wrote many books and spoke frequently in the post-war years about her experiences. She also aided Holocaust survivors in her native Holland. Her autobiography, The Hiding Place (1971) was later adapted as a film of the same name in 1973 and starred Jeannette Clift as ten Boom.
In 1940, the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. Among their restrictions was banning a club which ten Boom had run for young girls. In 1942, ten Boom and her family had become very active in the Dutch underground, hiding refugees. They rescued many Jews from the Nazi SS. They had long been involved in charitable work, and ten Boom had worked with disabled children. They believed the Jews were God's chosen people. They provided kosher food for the Jewish refugees who stayed with them and honored the Jewish Sabbath.