This next section is long and weighty, deserving of more careful consideration than can be given in just one day's post. I will therefore introduce Scougal's general theme and then look at what he has to say in greater detail over the next several posts.
Just as the natural or "animal" life consists chiefly in the outworking of self-love, the divine life is "a universal and unbounded affection," i.e., not centered on the self but other-directed, and most importantly directed toward God. Scougal likens it to a tree: The root is faith and the branches are "love to God, charity to man, purity, and humility." Here he does not have in mind a generic faith, but a specific faith in Jesus Christ. We'll spend the next few days examining the branches more closely.
This concept of faith as other-directed love seems to me to be entirely biblical, for our Lord taught that the two great commandments entail love of God and love of neighbor. On the other hand, it may run afoul of Paul's famous summary at the end of 1 Corinthians 13 where he appears to exalt love over faith. Perhaps we shall see that "faith, hope, and charity" are not to be thought of as separate things but as discernable facets of the life of Christ in the heart of man.
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