#assent

Saint Augustine’s “proto-grammar of assent”:

7 Clear Functions of the Mind

'Is there any chance at all that you still feel—' 'I do.' 'So do I,' she said. They had understood each other perfectly. 'I love you.' 'So do I. I love you too.' 'Will you marry me?' 'Yes.'

After all there could be no such great difficulty for a young married couple to live on £800 a year, with a house and garden of their own. There would be no carriage and no man servant till,—till old Mr. Maule was dead. The suggestion as to the ultimate and desirable haven was wrapped up in ambiguous words. "The property must be yours some day," suggested Lady Chiltern. "If I outlive my father." "We take that for granted; and then, you know—" So Lady Chiltern went on, dilating upon a future state of squirearchal bliss and rural independence. Adelaide was enthusiastic; but Gerard Maule,—after he had assented to the abandonment of his hunting, much as a man assents to being hung when the antecedents of his life have put any option in the matter out of his power,—had sat silent and almost moody while the joys of his coming life were described to him.

Divine creation of the universe is not less rational than the other alternatives, but it does demand more of us. If it’s true, it’s not just an abstract theory asking for our intellectual assent; it’s a Person asking for our whole selves. It’s an invitation to relationship, and relationships require sacrifice, commitment, and trust.