My Mind not in My Heart

We think too much. At least I do. This is not an anti-intellectual rant. No, it an observation and confession about myself and perhaps others like me. I like many Orthodox today came into the Church via my head.

I stumbled upon a Church Father, an Orthodox book, an interesting website. This discovery felt like a mysterious treasure that had been hid from me, and I could not wait to open. I opened, and found a wealth of books, treatises, and arguments I never considered. I consumed it like a tasty treat or a rich meal.

Then one day it occurred that I should visit a real Orthodox church. For some this is a fulfillment of all the books read, and for others it is a bewildering assault to the senses that thrust them back to the books. It was enough for me to keep returning and eventually entered the Church through her sacraments.

Because of the method of entry, I assumed the way of the journey would be the same. Yes, it was not all in our minds, for I did adapt to some externals--bought a prayer rope, crossed myself, learn to prostrate, erected a prayer corner--but the mind was still in control.

The renewal of mind is a Gospel command. We are to encounter the ideas outside the Church and engage them. Heresy must be spotted and outed, orthodoxy must be defined in new areas of inquiry, and ides of anti-christ need identified and defeated. The command can not be defined solely by the intellectual quest. For not everyone has the same intellectual ability. Most Christians do not have the leisure required to contemplate the world of ideas.

Is there an alternative or antidote to this imbalance toward the mind?

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