How much does Fear play in religion????

[ellenjanuary]

All of it?



I ain't asking, I'm tellin. :tribal: Fear God!
Which can be entirely translated as Love God with the added bonus of - fear will keep you on your toes.

(I kan compress entirety of the "faith without works" debate + associated research, right into them two sentences... go, Paul.)

 

[EtuMalku]

Only a subset of religions use fear, and only a subset of members of those religions follow them because of fear.

I would tend to disagree, much of the Abrahamic Belief systems have their foundation in Guilt (not necessarily fear, as I have defined earlier).

 

[Vinayaka]

I would tend to disagree, much of the Abrahamic Belief systems have their foundation in Guilt (not necessarily fear, as I have defined earlier).

Guilt and fear are blood brothers in the lower realms of mind.

 

[Bird123]

Well, there should only be one fear; fear that we do not do the right thing in this lifetime... since God's desire and will for humanity is its unification, I think that not having that accountability for our actions can be disastrous.

So fear can be used in a good way if it means pressure to do good things, and to do the right thing. A little motivation can bring one to the right path...

However, utilising things like Hell and Satan are pretty barbaric and abusive to me in religion, or the punishment that derives from religious authority to the exclusion of the member... it makes religion more like a social club or a frat house, and less of something that actually changes the conditions of the heart.

Is unification really God's goal for this world???? It might happen in the end but it's not really God's goal. There is much more going on. Accountability??? Perhaps consequences. When what we do returns, we will understand what our actions mean. I can never agree that using fear is good in any way. There are much better ways than intimidation.

 

[Bird123]

The Carrot and the stick,the fear of going to Hell (stick) the Carrot,the hope of going to Heaven,ain't religion fun

Perhaps it is all sauce for the goose. Through it all, the lesson we will learn is to see things as they are. If everything was agreeable,there would be no need to question. To question is the start on the journey to discover the real truth. Religion is fun. So many need to look beyond the surface to discover what it's really all about.

 

[Bird123]

It's fear, absolutely. You made a valid point just from your own personal experience.

I do, however, feel that some participate in religion through indoctrination where fear is not the only reason; When I protested the Iraq war there were several Christians who were right there with me who probably became Christians because they felt like it gave them a purpose in this world. They also do a lot of charity work, etc.

Good point. we are taught the religion of our parents at a very young age. That can be very powerful. Of course, people should always strive to become more than the sum of their parent's teachings. Yes. it's good you mention that a lot of charity does come from religion and even though they search for converts, the good deeds can not be discounted. It just goes to show there is goodness in everything and everyone in some form.

 

[Bird123]

Fear plays NO role in the Baha'i Faith, which is eminently POSTIVE and doesn't contain all the negative nonsense found in some other religions!

Peace,

Bruce

Sounds like a much better religion than most, however should one really value faith of any kind so much?? Shouldn't we be out to discover the truth or facts rather than what we believe to be true? This works well with science. It works well with God as well. Beliefs merely point the direction by which we should search for discoveries.

 

[Bird123]

With certain religions, I believe fear plays a huge role. When you look into it, why would anyone follow that God, knowing what he has done and will do to people, if it wasn't for fear of the same happening to you?

Very Good. My point exactly. The God they speak of is a monster. This is not God. A Being capable of creating universes must have much more intelligence than that. We should as well, than to allow ourselves to be controlled through fear. Knowledge will solve it all. Of course, many even fear knowledge. There is a long way to go.

 

[ejay286]

I don't think it's a coincidence that the world's two largest religions are the two that promise eternal damnation for not subscribing to them. That's a surefire way to get converts, convince them that no matter how good of a person they are if they don't believe in your god they are surely damned forever.

 

[Bird123]

I think it depends a lot on the religion. It seems to me that generally Abrahamic religions are more based on fear than the dharmic or other ones as classified on this site. Of course there is also a huge variation in practitioners within all faiths.

I certainly don't have a lot of fear (at least I intellectualise that to myself) within SD.

Yes, there is a huge variation among people. Many like the idea of punishment. It allows them to see themselves better than others. I think they like the idea of punishing others that do not conform to their thinking. Righteous people aren't about fear. There are other things going on. Indeed, there are a million things to learn around religion. None of them about God.

 

[Bird123]

Certainly not all Belief Systems use scare tactics for their indoctrination.
For those that do, I see them using a form of 'guilt' more so than 'fear', although the Dante-esque images *(archetypal imagery) entrained in our minds do instill fear because of the painful and frightening circumstances that may arise from our 'Sins' (which are culturally subjective by the way).

Hmmm??? Guilt?? THat might just be a whole new discussion. I'm sure that comes into play when passing around the collection plate. Of course, they must find something wrong with you so they can provide the fix. Yes, I can see where guilt can be used.

 

[Bird123]

All of it?



I ain't asking, I'm tellin. :tribal: Fear God!
Which can be entirely translated as Love God with the added bonus of - fear will keep you on your toes.

(I kan compress entirety of the "faith without works" debate + associated research, right into them two sentences... go, Paul.)

God has never ever been one to be feared. Mankind, on the other hand, is a much different story. Fear might keep people on their toes, however it can never be considered love. There are better ways than creating fear in order to control someone's action. Fear might just be the easy way out.

 

[Bird123]

Guilt and fear are blood brothers in the lower realms of mind.

I must agree!!

 

[ellenjanuary]

God has never ever been one to be feared. Mankind, on the other hand, is a much different story. Fear might keep people on their toes, however it can never be considered love. There are better ways than creating fear in order to control someone's action. Fear might just be the easy way out.

FAIL

All of it?



I ain't asking, I'm tellin. :tribal: Fear God!
Which can be entirely translated as Love God with the added bonus of - fear will keep you on your toes.

(I kan compress entirety of the "faith without works" debate + associated research, right into them two sentences... go, Paul.)

Entirely translated means all of your love + fear will keep you on your toes.

No other conception of fear allowed 'cause I was telling it.

(and the statement "fear cannot ever be considered love" is you sticking yer neck in the noose, btw... Christians and their crosses... )

 

[That Dude]

This sounds like the thread Alceste should have started.

Do religions scare you into believing? I have a friend who doesn't really believe in what religion teaches. He stays with them just in case. He is covering himself from going to Hell. Is this really what God wants??

No, because you would be missing the purpose for being Christian in the first place.

A Being capable of creating universes must be very smart. Would such a Being need to use fear to control people or is it really mankind creating all that fear??? There is not much love and kindness in Fear. Couldn't possibly be God!!

Werd up!

 

[Katzpur]

Do religions scare you into believing? I have a friend who doesn't really believe in what religion teaches. He stays with them just in case. He is covering himself from going to Hell. Is this really what God wants??

Clearly, some people are religious out of fear, and some religions promote fear in their congregations. That is not the case with my Church. In my entire life, I can't ever recall having been threatened with some kind of horrible punishment if I didn't believe or behave in a particular way.

There are other kinds of fear. Do you fear you don't fit in when everyone starts talking about religion?? People can be judgmental. Do you fear some will be hateful or mean to you because of your views??

I generally fear more for the person who is mean to me because of my views.

 

[DavyCrocket2003]

I don't believe in fear. In my opinion, we should never do things out of fear. One of my all time favorite scriptures is "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

How many things do we never try, because we are afraid of failing? How many masterpieces are left unmade because of fear? How many Davids never sculpted? How many discoveries never made? How many people's lives not touched, changed and inspired? How many great books never written? How many companies never started? How many marriages never formed? How many children not born? Because of fear. Fear of the unknown and fear of trying.

 

[Bird123]

I don't think it's a coincidence that the world's two largest religions are the two that promise eternal damnation for not subscribing to them. That's a surefire way to get converts, convince them that no matter how good of a person they are if they don't believe in your god they are surely damned forever.

Fear does seem to be working, doesn't it? Perhaps God really values reason, and intelligence. Lots and lots more work needed. :thud:

 

[Bird123]

FAIL



Entirely translated means all of your love + fear will keep you on your toes.

No other conception of fear allowed 'cause I was telling it.

(and the statement "fear cannot ever be considered love" is you sticking yer neck in the noose, btw... Christians and their crosses... )

Sticking my head in a noose, huh?? If you knew God other than from holy books written by mankind, you would never make that statement. As with all knowledge, there is always more to discover. One must look beyond the simple surface. Fear only works with the absence of knowledge. I have no fear.

 

[Bird123]

I don't believe in fear. In my opinion, we should never do things out of fear. One of my all time favorite scriptures is "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

How many things do we never try, because we are afraid of failing? How many masterpieces are left unmade because of fear? How many Davids never sculpted? How many discoveries never made? How many people's lives not touched, changed and inspired? How many great books never written? How many companies never started? How many marriages never formed? How many children not born? Because of fear. Fear of the unknown and fear of trying.

People can create monsters in the mind. It's very bad when people try to help create those monsters for you.