Credo

Do you believe in God?

I am guessing most people who read my articles would respond, "Yes, of course." But maybe a second question is in order. When you say that you believe in God, what do you mean? Are you saying, "Yes. I believe God exists" or even "The idea of God is something I think is probable"? Is it much different than saying you believe in democracy or that the world is round?

According to a scholar named Wilfred Cantwell Smith, the words "I believe" in modern times (since the 1800s) have lost something that was an essential meaning of their Latin parent:--the word "credo." Whereas our current understanding of "I believe" tends to limit the meaning of our baptismal promises to something like an affirmative "yep," credo's rich history meant something more akin to "I set my heart upon..."

In the book Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning, James Fowler discusses Smith's observations and explores how much our society lost when "believing" in something came to mean merely that you think it is true. Perhaps a more appropriate question, he posits, is to ask: what is the ultimate concern of my life? What is the most important value I hold? If I am to be honest with myself, would the answer be "God"?

In our work with the children in the atrium, we strive to give them authentic encounters with the teaching and person of Christ. The purpose is not merely to equip them to be able to answer questions on some arbitrary exam, but to help them find the core meaning around which their whole lives will be built. We strive to help them find answers to the deep questions every human being asks: "Who are you, God? Can I trust you?" The response must come from deep within them.

What could happen to our relationships with others if we were frame this question of faith not as a matter of argument over what we think is TRUE, but over how we all choose to respond to the ultimate and central concern of our lives? It is a shift, not in dogma, but in focus. As so many interactions between our Lord and the Pharisees warn us: just being right does not make one holy.

Do I just believe in God, or do I set my heart upon Him?

Credo.