What Happened to Heart?

You often hear the comment, "It's all about faith." Perhaps that prompted James Fowler to write his book, "Stages of Faith". Fowler examines how faith is carried out in the lives of people, in religion and belief. He quotes from Smith, who reminds us that the word credo which is often translated into I believe really means I give my heart to or I hereby commit myself to. Perhaps the shift is subtle. But I do find it a huge difference. Fowler goes so far as to say these linguistic shifts...are causally and symptomatically related to a larger cultural shift...to see faith as belief or a belief system. What happened to the heart?

It's in our heart more than our head that we discern the presence of God. It's in our heart more than our head that we learn the meaning of belief systems. It's in our heart where we find love.

I think part of this shift comes from the scientific revolution that claims to have the ability to prove all truths. We want our faith to be more intellectual, more factual, more documented. Nothing wrong with that until we come to a crisis, when the facts either fail us or fail to lift us, we struggle with disillusionment, and we look for comfort more than answers. This is a time we will understand why it is important to also live by heart, to have that relationship with God, to know he is within.

Let's make our Credo an I give my heart to. Let's not let the present atmosphere of intelligence within the religious community rob us of our personal relationship with God.