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Edwyn
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facepalm Oh bother you haven’t noticed?! groan
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Do you fear God?
- Thread starter Tis_Bearself
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Greenfields
Guest
Holy Fear of the Lord: Necessary for Salvation
But I will shew you whom you shall fear: fear ye him, who after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear him (Luke 12:5; Matthew 10:28)). There is no theme more often r…
catholicism.org
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nunsense
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By all means, you should fear the Lord, I can see that. I will just love Him. 
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Limoncello4021
Guest
Jesus said, “Fear is useless; what is needed is trust.”
Tis_Bearself
Patron
I think the problem we have with the words “love” or “friendship” applied to God is that some people nowadays interpret that word as signalling a lack of respect for God’s authority and an “anything goes” mentality. Like, God knows I love him and we’re good friends, so it’s okay if I skip Mass on Sunday or commit this other sin, he’ll understand.
My mother was fond of saying that a parent to a child was a parent and not a friend or buddy to the child. The idea was that the parental relationship was both stronger and involved some elements of the parent wanting the best for the child, knowing what was best, and the child having to obey and follow the authority of the parent. It’s still a loving relationship, but different from being friends because of these elements. I think those who emphasize the holy fear of God are putting the relationship with God more in my mother’s parental category.
My mother was fond of saying that a parent to a child was a parent and not a friend or buddy to the child. The idea was that the parental relationship was both stronger and involved some elements of the parent wanting the best for the child, knowing what was best, and the child having to obey and follow the authority of the parent. It’s still a loving relationship, but different from being friends because of these elements. I think those who emphasize the holy fear of God are putting the relationship with God more in my mother’s parental category.
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nunsense
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I think that in English we lack enough words for ‘love’. The Greeks had six words for different kinds of love, including eros and philios and agape. We have one that means so many things to so many people. I think love can imply an awe or reverence (which some people seem to describe as fear) but then there are also different kinds of awe and different kinds of reverence as well. The awe we feel on seeing the Grand Canyon is going to be different than that we feel when in communion with God. Just as the love that we feel for a close friend or family is not the same love we feel for God.
The English language is wonderfully complex but in meaning rather than in varieties of words for similar ideas. It is a bit like Eskimos having more than one word for snow. When I lived in an area that had snow, I know we talked about ‘lake effect’ snow and snow flurries and wet snow and heavy snow etc because not all snow is the same.
Perhaps my own associations with the word ‘fear’ make it a word I hesitate to use in my relationship with God. The word ‘love’ means so much more to me in this instance, but of course it isn’t the same love that I feel for anyone else. Semantics is interesting but it’s also a personal experience I think. that’s why meanings in the dictionary often change over time… because meanings change.
The English language is wonderfully complex but in meaning rather than in varieties of words for similar ideas. It is a bit like Eskimos having more than one word for snow. When I lived in an area that had snow, I know we talked about ‘lake effect’ snow and snow flurries and wet snow and heavy snow etc because not all snow is the same.
Perhaps my own associations with the word ‘fear’ make it a word I hesitate to use in my relationship with God. The word ‘love’ means so much more to me in this instance, but of course it isn’t the same love that I feel for anyone else. Semantics is interesting but it’s also a personal experience I think. that’s why meanings in the dictionary often change over time… because meanings change.
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sudy
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Yes I do. It’s not a constant thing, sometimes I’m very neglectful. I am in great awe of God… I recognise how very unworthy I am, yet I know that He loves me and sacrificed Himself for me regardless of this. And I fear His justice, too, as I know that my life isn’t perfected… my thoughts and actions, or lack thereof, don’t always accord with His will. I also fear His justice for other people, and especially my family and friends.
For the most part I don’t think in terms of fear of His justice. I think of Him as my Heavenly Father, and I try to do His will because I love Him. And I pray for others in a variety of situations.
I do agree with this:
Although the teachings of Hell are important and shouldn’t be ignored or misinterpreted, I believe we should be teaching about His mercy first and foremost.
[James 2:13 and 1 Peter 4:8]
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Shasta-Rose
Guest
I guess that would be my response to the original question, too. So I’ll just say “ditto.”
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nunsense
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No.
Without fear, what I have for God is love, so this lack of fear allows me to love him without reservation.
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petra22
Guest
Do not fear that way. If you WANT to be with God that is all that matters. He will not keep you away from him. YOU are the only one who can do that. He loves you more than you love yourself… But, still he is an AWESOME GOD! and we are SO unworthy…
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adgloriam
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The word is ‘temor’. (semantically similar and synonymous to respect and fear, whilst not being exactly fear.)
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esieffe
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Big time… but mostly because I am such a knuckle head. That is a massive oversimplification, I love God more than I fear him.
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Sleepy2
Guest
No… I find it rather sad that so many people spend their lives dealing with fear instead of love.
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Tis_Bearself
Patron
Me too. I think maybe it’s a phase people go through to reach the point where they do good out of love of God rather than fear of him. Like when you’re little you behave because you fear your mother yelling at you and punishing you, but then as you get older you behave more because you just don’t want to see her hurt or upset and would rather see her happy.
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Greenfields
Guest
That’s a good article @Flopfoottalking with a priest on the weekend he said yes, we need holy fear of God.
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