Original scientific paper
Exploring the meaning of the heart in the Bible as the exclusive source of human energy: a new approach
Dubravko Turalija
orcid.org/0000-0002-8806-3967
; University of Sarajevo - Catholic Theological Faculty in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abstract
There is a dominant view among exegetes that the heart in the Bible is the seat
of intelligence and will. However, it seems that the heart is initially focused on human
senses, especially the ear and the eye. This scientific paper offers a new approach to
understanding the biblical word לֵבlēb ( לֵבָבlēbāb) “heart”. With a new etymological
concept, the word may refer directly to the senses of hearing, sight, and speech, which
would indirectly point to an extremely narrow connection between the heart and the
head. The heart necessarily depends on the receptors in the head. Their interdependence
is not only unquestionable; it is the key to human psycho-religious dynamics. The heart
transforms audible and visual information into logical and religious concepts. These
concepts of the heart can be twofold: positive and negative. Positive concepts of the
heart are thoughts, emotions, and conclusions in the relationship with the Lord. There
can be no other way in a comprehensive Biblical correspondence that the heart is
positive, active, and good unless it is affectionate, devoted, and subject to the rules
of God. God’s word, first and foremost, through the faculty of hearing, flows into the
human heart. Only such a heart can bring about sound judgment, can discern the
difference between good and evil, and govern the whole man. Therefore, in the light of
contemporary vocabulary, the biblical heart signifies human judgment, or judgment
that logically establishes the relationship between received information from the
human audiovisual process. In the human heart, cognitive information is converted
into judgments and conclusions. In the Old Testament, good judgments and conclusions
are coherent with God’s commandments, while in the New Testament they depend on
the Gospel.
Keywords
accumulator; battery; head; eyes; hart; lips; mouth; ears.
Hrčak ID:
260352
URI
Publication date:
15.1.2019.
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