the term 'fear' when applied to The Creator is not the fear we've come to know
Wisdom and Religion
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the term 'fear' when applied to The Creator is not the fear we've come to know
Ok! I only know ‘one’ type of fear and the only positive thing about it is that it can used as a warning sign. All other characteristics of the word are , otherwise, negative.
Without putting too many words here, I suggest studying the meaning of servile fear as opposed to filial fear
Ok. Thank you. I will.
Thank you.
I really don't wish to get into this, but, ya gotta know, we, of ourselves, cannot obey...much as we'd like to
Jesus, giving his life....some don't realize this....it was His eternal life...separation (for the first time) from The Father...that covers our 'filthy rags' of our supposed 'obedience'
Right about here, thinking about this, brings me down...not sad down, but self sufficiency down
It's a study in depth
Life changing depth
Camper6
Well-known Member
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From Thomas Gray's poem, Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College (1742): "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise."
Lara
Friend of the Arts
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Exactly Gary O'. Thank you. That's what I was trying to explain in my posts #39 and #40. But was unaware of the Catholic terminology for the different meanings of fear. I'm not Catholic so I missed Luther's descriptive terms: servile fear and filial fear. I certainly understand the difference and agree with this.
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"]Just as children need to fear their parents sometimes, so we, the children of our maker must fear him. A whole lot of evil that humans inflict on each other would decrease greatly if we had a healthy dose of fear instilled in us towards our creator."
Huh? Who says children need to fear their parents? A lot of the cruelty we see in this world stems from exactly this way of thinking.
Huh? Who says children need to fear their parents? A lot of the cruelty we see in this world stems from exactly this way of thinking.
Aunt Bea
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IMO the fear of God refers to the fearful anticipation/expectation of judgment.
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
"All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats."
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
"All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats."
But I don’t fear the judgement of God. I’ve died many times and been brought back to life so feel like I’ve already met my maker and there was no judgement. In fact, that’s what was so wonderful because it was an ‘all loving, unconditional love’ I felt each and every time without any judgement, so why should I fear God after that?
Does fearing God make me a better person?
Does it make me a bad person to not fear God?
I read both definitions and still feel the same way.
Does fearing God make me a better person?
Does it make me a bad person to not fear God?
I read both definitions and still feel the same way.
Aunt Bea
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I suppose that if you have never done anything wrong or anything to be ashamed of then you would have no reason to fear anyone's judgment including God's.
In my case, it may be a real nailbiter LOL!!!
I'm leaning heavily on the forgiveness clause
Aunt Bea
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If I get there first I'll put in a good word for you!!!
Oh heck no. I’ve done plenty wrong.
I just have the belief that my God is a forgiving one.
Everything I’ve read and experienced leads me to this belief.
In my experience in studying religion and spirituality, one of the main teachings have been about forgiveness.
How can we have an all loving God who doesn’t forgive us?
The very fact that God forgives us is what I found so comforting.
When I was growing up fear was used as a manipulating tool and it worked very successfully.
Fear breeds guilt and a guilty soul is a horrible thing to live with. It can do much harm to a person’s overall well being.
In all the times I’ve turned to religion or spiritual teachings it has been to relieve myself of guilt and since most of the teachings state that with God we are given a clean slate to start with each and everyday. That was MY salvation.
The portrayal of God as a vengeful tyrant is a primitive one, putting human characteristics into whatever is controlling the universe. Think about it; there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand
on all the beaches of the world. And we inhabit a tiny speck, revolving around one of those grains of sand. Can we really believe that there is someone sitting up there in judgement of all our follies and foibles?
Like he/she/it has nothing better to do than concentrate on us, because we are so important? This is the endless imagination of the human mind at work, nothing more.
Getting back to the "fear" factor, we raised our three children not with fear, but with love. The last thing I would have wanted would have been for them to fear me. They turned out absolutely fine; they are
kind, responsible people, who are excellent parents to their own children. Fear is not necessary; it is just the cruelty of one generation seeping down to another.
on all the beaches of the world. And we inhabit a tiny speck, revolving around one of those grains of sand. Can we really believe that there is someone sitting up there in judgement of all our follies and foibles?
Like he/she/it has nothing better to do than concentrate on us, because we are so important? This is the endless imagination of the human mind at work, nothing more.
Getting back to the "fear" factor, we raised our three children not with fear, but with love. The last thing I would have wanted would have been for them to fear me. They turned out absolutely fine; they are
kind, responsible people, who are excellent parents to their own children. Fear is not necessary; it is just the cruelty of one generation seeping down to another.
I used to think the same, for a very long time
Then got down to it, studying the prophecies, Daniel, and Revelation
Too precise
No way a conjured fable to keep folks in line
There's no argument here...if you wish to delve
hearlady
Basic Member
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- N Carolina
I would advise the 15 yr old to spend time with the older generation.
What regrets do they have, what would they do over?
What have they learned that made them wiser? What are they most proud of and why do they do things differently, think differently than they did at 15?
If I was one of the older and wiser than I would tell them to create their own regrets. Do things with the information they have at this very time.
Make mistakes and learn from them.
Fail and try again.
Learn all that they can, seek knowledge.
Live the life you were given and do the very best you can.
Only then can you become wiser.
What regrets do they have, what would they do over?
What have they learned that made them wiser? What are they most proud of and why do they do things differently, think differently than they did at 15?
If I was one of the older and wiser than I would tell them to create their own regrets. Do things with the information they have at this very time.
Make mistakes and learn from them.
Fail and try again.
Learn all that they can, seek knowledge.
Live the life you were given and do the very best you can.
Only then can you become wiser.
Exactly. Learn from your mistakes.
What was wrong at one time isn’t any more, like the black woman who sat at the front of a bus. Heaven forbid.
I think it’s very possible for humans to learn wisdom without the use of religion.
I so like this post
Warrigal
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Me too.
StarSong
Awkward is my Superpower
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- Los Angeles Suburbs
Good advice. Only problem is that 99.99% of adolescents are not particularly interested in older people's philosophies. Amusing life stories, yes. But what made us older and wiser and what that wisdom is? Nope. And they'd likely not be able to understand the advice anyway. We all travel our own paths and learn our lessons along the way. If it were otherwise every generation wouldn't continue to engage in wars.
It's impossible to put an old head on young shoulders.
For the record, I don't think God is nearly as judgmental or micro managing as most religions make Him out to be.
Lara
Friend of the Arts
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- Mid-Atlantic Coast
I agree with you StarSong. In fact, according to Christian belief, God's not at all micro managing. He created us with the ability to make our own choices as to our life path. We can choose to trust God and obey His words...OR...we can choose to do it all our own way and leave God and or Jesus out of the picture completely. It's totally up to the individual.
Regarding Judgement Day: The Bible gives a lot of details of what happens to us right after death and specific details about Judgement Day. There will be two separate judgements seats. The "Great White Throne" for non-believers, and the "judgement seat of Christ" for believers. Jesus will be the judge for both and the two seats will be judged with different standards, which are detailed below in the links if you're curious.
The second to the last paragraph in the link summarizes how the two judgement seats will be judged but I recommend you read from the beginning to get the full understanding of it. Once we're dead there is no second chance to change anything...
What will Judgement Day be like? https://www.gotquestions.org/final-judgment.html
What happens after we die (before Judgement Day)? I have a link for that too that I can post if anyone is interested, but I didn't want to get into too much in one post.
StarSong
Awkward is my Superpower
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- Los Angeles Suburbs
I agree.