Traditionally, religious belief has in the philosophy of religion been understood along more or
less epistemological lines. Love of a God of Love develops another understanding of belief, where the moral
concept of love is central. In this context, what is
distinctive about the concept of love is that it is both the "what" and the "how" of belief: for
the one who loves a God of love, the concept of love characterizes both the content side and
the act side of the belief. In that respect, this understanding of religious belief makes it
possible to avoid certain formalist difficulties, arising when the "what" and the "how" of
belief are sharply distinguished.