Last week, I finished Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner. One of the sections that really spoke to my heart was about belief. In the chapter titled Credo, Lauren quotes from Diana Eck’s Encountering God:
The Latin credo means literally, I give my heart. The word believe is a problematic one today, in part because it has gradually changed its meaning from being the language of certainty so deep that I could give my heart to it, to the language of uncertainty so shallow that only the credulous would rely on it. Faith … is not about propositions, but about commitment. It does not mean that I intellectually subscribe to the following list of statements, but that I give my heart to this reality. Believe, indeed comes to us from the Old English belove, making clear that this too is meant to be heart language. To say, “I believe in Jesus Christ” is not to subscribe to an uncertain proposition. It is a confession of commitment, of love.
I love the idea that belief is heart language, that when you truly commit to a relationship with God, your faith is rooted in a love so strong that you give your heart to it.
