07/23/2026
I’ve always heard in debates the term mental assent, but never really understood or thought much about it. But the term describes a person that agrees with a concept at an intellectual level but doesn’t allow it to affect their emotions, habits, or identity. As in religion, mental assent contrasts with true faith. Involving one’s intellectual acceptance of truth of God’s word or Scripture without allowing it to transform one’s life. A person may agree with God’s word but fails to act on it personally. And in a person’s life it can be seen as insufficient spiritual growth, as faith requires both internal conviction and an outward action. As James 2:17 emphasizes that “faith without works is dead”. So just agreeing or acknowledging is not enough. Faith must have action. Unfortunately I believe many Christian’s today could be characterized as having mental assent.
-Glorify God