Sentimentalism

There is a big difference between loving God and “falling in love” or “being in love” with God. It is not only junior high girls who struggle with this issue, however. Confusing romantic love with “chesed”—God’s rich, loyal, covenant-keeping love—is an ancient tradition.

Song of Solomon

The origin of confusing loyal love for God with romantic love may stem from a sincere attempt to apply the Song of Solomon to the Christian life. Up until the late 19^th century, the most common interpretation of this book was allegorical; it supposedly referred to the love Christ has for the church (and vice-versa).

Viewed in isolation, some passages of Scripture seem to convey that there is a special danger in the human intellect—danger that is greater than the hazards of, for example, “the heart.” Sadly, these passages are often viewed “in isolation” in churches strongly influenced by revivalism, romanticism (see also IEP), or both.

Used as slogans, passages like the following seem solidly anti-intellectual:

“Affectus per solam, the opposite of hyper-rationalism, ‘is an exaltation of strongly-felt feelings, a deprecation of reason, and the subsequent infantilization of Christian faith.’” - Acton

“The difference between godly emotion and sentiment is tricky, that is why I needed to write this post. Sentimentality takes the will captive to do her bidding. Whereas, healthy emotion and feeling are servants to the intellect and will.”

“Do formal commitments enhance or stifle the heart’s longings? Romanticism, as the 19th-century literary and philosophical movement was called, insists that formality represses truth and that the only honest lifestyle is to follow one’s heart.”

Sentimentalism

Loving God Is Not Romantic

Song of Solomon

Is the Bible Anti-Intellectual?

Sentimentalism in the Church: a modern epidemic

Beware of Mistress Sentimentality and Her Little Brother Hype

Romanticism vs. church membership in "Is Church Membership Biblical?"

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