The Role of Fear In Religion

[snakelegs]

i am always struck by the amount of fear (of the world to come) that is present in christians and muslims alike. i don't know whether the eastern religions, with their concept of karma, also have this fear or not.
how important is fear as a motivation for practice your religion?

 

[Woodrow]

i am always struck by the amount of fear (of the world to come) that is present in christians and muslims alike. i don't know whether the eastern religions, with their concept of karma, also have this fear or not.
how important is fear as a motivation for practice your religion?

The connontation of fear of Allah(swt) will most likely vary on an individual basis. To me the greatest fear of Allah(swt) is not the fear of his infinite might. It is the fear that I may turn my back on him and deny him. It is my fear that I cease to acknowledge his being.

Fear of reprisal is not the motivating factor. Fear of Hell-fire although there, is not a true reason to Love Allah(swt) and all he does. the true fear for me is that I may fail to do all I can and should do in this Deen.

I have no reason to fear the judgement of Allah(swt) I know he will judge with full fairness and compassion. Whatever he chooses for me will be that which my own deeds have caused. I accept full responsibility for my actions.

 

[NJUSA]

Fears are a normal part of life, it's what we are afraid of, why, and how we choose to handle that fear that makes it a healthy or unhealthy fear. I fear apathy towards my fellow human beings. I fear becoming desensitized to the horrors humans inflict on the earth and one another. I fear becoming alienated from God (been there, hated it, don't want to go back). How do I respond to these fears? I pray, and I seek out opportunities to reconnect with my siblings in humanity, and with God.

 

[nimrod]

Snake Legs, I can understand a person centering on the fear.

Let me ask a simple question; Does the amount of reward professed by religion surprise you?

If there is a carrot, then surely there is a stick.

Thanks
Nimrod

 

[Trumble]

i am always struck by the amount of fear (of the world to come) that is present in christians and muslims alike. i don't know whether the eastern religions, with their concept of karma, also have this fear or not.

I suppose there is "fear" associated with the aquisition of bad karma, although it needs pointing out that Hinduism and Buddhism would need to be considered seperately, 'karma' having rather different meanings. Mainstream Buddhism, at least, rejects the idea that a personal soul or ego that survives after death, so there is therefore no reason to worry about what will happen to it... you know that it, like everything, will cease to exist, so there is no paradise to wish for or eternal damnation to dread. All that continues is the endless chain of cause and effect.

 

[snakelegs]

maybe what looks like fear from the outside is really more complex and looks much different from the inside. but i see things like "fear god" and people worrying all the time that they will go to hell. they abstain from certain actions because of fear of punishment. as a member of no religion, i don't have these fears at all. since i neither believe or disbelieve in an after life, i also have no worry about that.


woodrow,
so you don't fear hell fire but you are afraid you will turn your back on god. why would you turn your back on him?

njusa,
excellent reply!

nimrod,
not sure what you meant - no, the reward (you mean heaven?) doesn't surprise me. it also sounds rather boring, though better than hell.

trumble,
thanks for info. karma is an interesting subject. maybe i'll start a thread on it one of these days.

 

[Ansar Al-'Adl]

Hi Snakelegs,
Don't all societies, secular or religious, use fear to motivate proper conduct? What else does it mean to use penal law as a 'deterrent' ? Doesn't fear of the punishment prevent a lot of criminal activity? I asked an atheist in another thread, whether he would steal a million dollars if there was absolutely no chance of getting caught, and he conceded that he probably would. And this is someone whom I consider to be of morally sound character. What this shows is that fear of the consequences if caught often prevents people from doing wrong deeds.

Fear continuously saves people from falling into danger. It prevents them from doing stupid things.

Let's face it, fear of the consequences of one's actions is a major motivating factor for all human being; we can't escape it because it is in our nature. In and of itself, it is not a bad thing and should be balanced with reward. Everyone from parents to school teachers to employers to the legal authorities, uses rewards and fear to motivate good conduct and discourage unruly or unjust conduct. If we accept that pleasure and pain are the natural motivating factors for human beings, why should we be surprised if religion confirms what we know is part of our nature? A person should be afraid of doing wrong deeds, they should be afraid of harming others and spreading corruption, and they should be afraid of disobeying their Creator. It is a serious issue.

From an Islamic perspective, the three motivating factors in one's worship and devotion to God are love, hope and fear. Love for God, hope in His Mercy and Reward and fear of disobeying Him and earning His Punishment. All three are found explcitly in the Qur'an.

Peace

 

[snakelegs]

Hi Snakelegs,
Don't all societies, secular or religious, use fear to motivate proper conduct? What else does it mean to use penal law as a 'deterrent' ? Doesn't fear of the punishment prevent a lot of criminal activity? I asked an atheist in another thread, whether he would steal a million dollars if there was absolutely no chance of getting caught, and he conceded that he probably would. And this is someone whom I consider to be of morally sound character. What this shows is that fear of the consequences if caught often prevents people from doing wrong deeds.

yes, fear is used in politics, religion and insurance companies.
as well as to deter crime.

Fear continuously saves people from falling into danger. It prevents them from doing stupid things.

Let's face it, fear of the consequences of one's actions is a major motivating factor for all human being; we can't escape it because it is in our nature. In and of itself, it is not a bad thing and should be balanced with reward. Everyone from parents to school teachers to employers to the legal authorities, uses rewards and fear to motivate good conduct and discourage unruly or unjust conduct. If we accept that pleasure and pain are the natural motivating factors for human beings, why should we be surprised if religion confirms what we know is part of our nature? A person should be afraid of doing wrong deeds, they should be afraid of harming others and spreading corruption, and they should be afraid of disobeying their Creator. It is a serious issue.

you have a point. but i wouldn't want to harm anyone for the simple reason that i wouldn't want anyone to harm me. i also wouldn't want to do wrong deeds because i wouldn't feel good about myself if i did.

From an Islamic perspective, the three motivating factors in one's worship and devotion to God are love, hope and fear. Love for God, hope in His Mercy and Reward and fear of disobeying Him and earning His Punishment. All three are found explcitly in the Qur'an.

Peace

maybe i over-estimate fear of the world to come as motivation for religious practice - but sometimes it looks that way, looking in from the outside.
peace

 

[cyberpi]

The sight of lightening brings hope... the sound of thunder brings fear.

If you have hope then you have fear and if you have fear then you have hope. It is the same thing with maybe a different bodily response.

For people there is an unknown in the actions of every soul, even when plainly seen and known. Hope is a simple comparison with what you love. Fear is a simple comparison with what you don't love. A comparison with what? With what you sense, see and hear.

In my view you can not make a person hope or fear for the simple fact that you can not control what they love or hate. For example if you hand a person a rose they may accept it as a token of your affection or smite it as an attempt by you to control. Either way there was hope and fear, but you can't really control with it. If you threaten someone with violence why must they fear you?

Cause / effect... or Carrot / stick... great for describing everything except a person's soul and God. If someone were a mindless machine then cause / effect or carrot / stick must be an appealing way of describing their actions.

 

[snakelegs]

The sight of lightening brings hope... the sound of thunder brings fear.

If you have hope then you have fear and if you have fear then you have hope. It is the same thing with maybe a different bodily response.

For people there is an unknown in the actions of every soul, even when plainly seen and known. Hope is a simple comparison with what you love. Fear is a simple comparison with what you don't love. A comparison with what? With what you sense, see and hear.

fear can also be related to attachment

In my view you can not make a person hope or fear for the simple fact that you can not control what they love or hate.

what if you were sound asleep and the police broke your door down and took you (or a member of your family) away in the night? wouldn't you be scared?

For example if you hand a person a rose they may accept it as a token of your affection or smite it as an attempt by you to control. Either way there was hope and fear, but you can't really control with it. If you threaten someone with violence why must they fear you?

Cause / effect... or Carrot / stick... great for describing everything except a person's soul and God. If someone were a mindless machine then cause / effect or carrot / stick must be an appealing way of describing their actions.

not sure what you're saying in your last paragraph. i sometimes get the distinct impression that religious muslims/christians are motivated mainly through reward and punishment. i wouldn't describe them as mindless machines.

 

[Sarmad]

Cause / effect... or Carrot / stick... great for describing everything except a person's soul and God. If someone were a mindless machine then cause / effect or carrot / stick must be an appealing way of describing their actions.

[/QUOTE]

I agree use punishment but never kill anyone as a part of that punishment because you have decided for their soul, no man has the right to punish by taking life away, religion should celebrate reform of wrong-doers, instead of using religion as a weapon of fear. Human life is more important than any sin that can be committed by man.

 

[Woodrow]

maybe what looks like fear from the outside is really more complex and looks much different from the inside. but i see things like "fear god" and people worrying all the time that they will go to hell. they abstain from certain actions because of fear of punishment. as a member of no religion, i don't have these fears at all. since i neither believe or disbelieve in an after life, i also have no worry about that.


woodrow,
so you don't fear hell fire but you are afraid you will turn your back on god. why would you turn your back on him?

njusa,
excellent reply!

nimrod,
not sure what you meant - no, the reward (you mean heaven?) doesn't surprise me. it also sounds rather boring, though better than hell.

trumble,
thanks for info. karma is an interesting subject. maybe i'll start a thread on it one of these days.

"woodrow,
so you don't fear hell fire but you are afraid you will turn your back on god. why would you turn your back on him?"

I believe that is a danger we all face. I do not believe in the concept of once saved-always saved. I believe all of our live is a struggle (jihad) to continuosly stay on the streight Path and never swerve. It is al too easy to become complacent and full under the beleif that because we love Allah(swt) we have little to be concerned about in regards to the hereafter. But, as long as we are breathing we will be faced with temptations, these temptations can take the form of anger, jealousey, arrogance, forbidden desires, laziness and a whole lot more. It is all to easy for a person to succumb (turn his back on God), all it would take is a moment of forgetting or ignoring His being.

 

[Vishnu]

Hindu's have no fear. We do not fear what is more powerful. We are not taught to live in fear.

 

[snakelegs]

"woodrow,
so you don't fear hell fire but you are afraid you will turn your back on god. why would you turn your back on him?"

I believe that is a danger we all face. I do not believe in the concept of once saved-always saved. I believe all of our live is a struggle (jihad) to continuosly stay on the streight Path and never swerve. It is al too easy to become complacent and full under the beleif that because we love Allah(swt) we have little to be concerned about in regards to the hereafter. But, as long as we are breathing we will be faced with temptations, these temptations can take the form of anger, jealousey, arrogance, forbidden desires, laziness and a whole lot more. It is all to easy for a person to succumb (turn his back on God), all it would take is a moment of forgetting or ignoring His being.

when i was thinking about the role of fear in religion, i was only thinking about the afterlife.
i believe in god, but not that god has a favourite religion. i hadn't even thought about the fear of temptation!
i don't believe that any outside force (such as shaytan) can tempt me or make me do things that are evil. when i do something wrong only i am to blame.

 

[Ansar Al-'Adl]

I intended to post this before, but I never got around to it, till I remembered later...
_____________

The Feeling of Fear​

​

​

Shaykh Salmân Al-'Awdah​

Fear is a natural instinct experienced by both human beings and animals. It is an emotion that is felt in the presence of severe difficulties or danger, like when confronted by an enemy who must be fought or fled from. This emotion exists to cause a person or animal to behave appropriately when faced with danger.

Fear is with a person from the time that he is born. It keeps him from falling off the bed at night or falling into deep water. It prevents him from burning himself in a fire and it causes him to flee from those who would mean him harm.

Allah mentions this natural fear in the Qur’ân when He talks about one of the greatest of His Prophets and Messengers - Moses (peace be upon him).

Allah, when relating to us the various stories of Moses (peace be upon him) in the Qur’ân, mentions how Moses (peace be upon him) felt fear on many occasions in his life. For instance, after he killed the Copt, Moses (peace be upon him) became fearful while in the city, looking about in a state of fear.

He then went to Madyan and remained there for a while, after which he traveled with his family. While traveling, he perceived a fire in the direction of the mountain. He heard a voice and saw the fire and turned back in retreat, not retracing his steps. Allah said to him: “O Moses! Draw close and do not fear.” [Sûrah al-Qasas: 31] Allah also said to him: “O Moses! Fear not. Truly in My presence those sent as Messengers do not fear.” [Sûrah al-Naml: 10]

Allah commanded Moses (peace be upon him) to go to Pharaoh with His Message. Moses said: “O my Lord! I fear that they will charge me with falsehood and my breast will become strained and my speech will fail me, so send unto Aaron.” [Sûrah al-Shu`arâ’: 12-13]

When he was together with Aaron (peace be upon him), they both said: “Our Lord! We fear lest he hastens with insolence against us or lest he transgresses all bounds.” [Sûrah TâHâ: 45]

Allah replied to them with: “Fear not. I am with you, hearing and seeing.” [Sûrah TâHâ: 46]

When Moses (peace be upon him) went to Pharaoh and conveyed to him the Message of his Lord, one of the things that he said to him was: “So I had fled from you when I feared you, so my Lord has since invested me with judgment and appointed me as one of His Messengers.” [Sûrah al-Shu`arâ’: 21]

The fear that Allah mentions to us as being experienced by Moses (peace be upon him) is the natural fear that all people experience. It is not something shameful or blameworthy. We can see how, after he had this feeling of fear, Allah brought about from it something good: “So I had fled from you when I feared you, so my Lord has since invested me with judgment and appointed me as one of His Messengers.” [Sûrah al-Shu`arâ’: 21]

Fear is a natural part of our human makeup. It is part of all of us. If it stays within proper limits, it is a good thing. Like our need for nourishment, sleep, and marriage, it is one of our natural human deficiencies that make us what we are. These things, though aspects of our deficiency in an absolute sense, are part of our human perfection that show our dependency for our Lord.

To understand this we can look at the example of sleep. Our need to sleep is a sign of our deficiency in an absolute sense. This is why Allah says about Himself: “Neither slumber overtakes Him nor sleep.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 225] Nevertheless, if we see a person who is incapable of sleeping, we will not consider his insomnia an aspect of his perfection. Indeed, he will be going to a doctor for treatment to remedy the problem. It is true that a person who is completely unable to sleep will die on account of it.

Fear, like sleep, is a deficiency in the absolute sense, because it is a result of one of two human frailties. The first of these is ignorance. A person fears what he does not know. Consider a farmer who is used to a certain way of farming and only knows this one way of cultivating his land and is only familiar with the tools that he has used all his life. If we introduce to him a completely new and improved way of farming his land that is more economical and that produces higher yields, he will find it difficult to accept it. The reason is that the new methods and the new tools are completely unknown to him.

The same can be said for a merchant who knows of only one manner of engaging in commercial activity and is only used to dealing with a certain type of commodity. Even if what he is selling does not earn him enough to meet his overhead, he may find it difficult to branch out into something else more lucrative that is new and unknown to him.

Likewise, people who have not encountered the light of true guidance from their Lord often fear what surrounds them. This has sometimes led people to turn in worship to things like the Sun, the Moon, the stars, or fire. These were things that they feared as a result of their ignorance, so they turned to these things in worship because they did not have Allah’s guidance to avail them.

The other aspect of human frailty that induces fear is inability. People fear what they are incapable of coping with or confronting.

The human being was created weak, ignorant, and in need. He is completely dependent on his Lord and cannot exist on his own for a moment. Therefore, fear is praiseworthy with respect to the human being as long as it is kept within its proper limits. It incites people to action and calls them to attain a higher level of completeness. Allah has made fear like a whip that drives people onward to greater perfection. They are motivated in this way to seek knowledge or to act upon the knowledge that they possess.

Allah says, speaking about Himself: “So their Lord, on account of their crime, obliterated their traces and made them equal (in destruction). And for Him is no fear of the consequences.” [Sûrah al-Shams: 14-15]

What does this verse mean? Though there are three views on this matter, the most correct interpretation is that Allah does not fear the consequences of His actions or any reprisals from His Creation. Everything is Allah’s Creation. He destroyed that oppressive nation and feared no consequences as a result of doing so. This is the interpretation of these verses given by Ibn `Abbâs and al-Hasan al-Basrî and it is the interpretation favored by Ibn Kathîr in his commentary on the Qur’ân.

Likewise, Allah mentions that the inhabitants of Paradise will feel no fear. Fear for them has come to an end. They only experience hope and love. This is proof that fear is a natural deficiency of man. Since the causes of fear will have ended for the people of Paradise, they will never again have occasion to fear. Allah shall say to them: “Enter Paradise. No fear shall be on you nor shall you grieve.” [Sûrah al-A`râf: 49]

Fear and sorrow will be at an end for them. They will still hope for an increase of Allah’s grace upon them, and this grace and the love of Allah for them will never come to an end.

Part II

There are three grades of fear. This observation was made by al-Ghazâlî in his book Ihyâ’ `Ulûm al-Dîn, wherein he devotes an entire chapter exclusively to the topic of fear. Ibn al-Qayyim makes reference to al-Ghazâlî’s work in Ma`ârij al-Sâlikîn.

The first grade of fear is the grade that inspires productive activity and the acquisition of knowledge. It motivates people to hasten to goodness and to help one another in solving problems and in surmounting obstacles. It makes it possible for people to rise up to meet the challenges that they must face.

The second grade of fear is excessive fear that leads people to inaction and to despair of Allah’s mercy. This grade of fear is reprehensible. Likewise is the fear that makes people sick and weak.

It is surprising that al-Ghazâlî mentions fear in the context of illness, since most of the people of his day did not think of fear in such a way. Psychologists today agree that fear can exist in such a context. Al-Ghazâlî clearly recognizes this fact when he writes: “Fear that brings about illness and weakness and the fear that leads to confusion, befuddlement, and the loss of reason… is reprehensible.”

The third grade of fear is so weak that manifests itself as no more than a passing sense of disquiet or as a small tug on a person’s conscience. This type of fear has no effect whatsoever on a person’s knowledge, actions, and conduct. If a person experiences this feeling when he is just about to commit a sin, it does not prevent him from doing so, and if he experiences it just before performing a good deed, it does not inspire him to perform it better or more sincerely.

In truth, this feeling cannot be considered true fear at all, even though the person who feels it still has the essential quality of fear latent within him. We can safely say that every believer possesses some degree of fear, since Allah says: “Do not fear them but fear Me if you are believers.” [Sûrah Âl `Imrân: 175]

Some scholars have observed that though every believer possesses some degree of fear, the level of this fear increases and decreases.

On the basis of what we mentioned above, we can break fear into three categories:
1. Fear that is appropriate and balanced.
2. Fear that is extreme and exaggerated.
3. Fear that is insufficient and weak.

Fear is one of the many feelings that contribute to a person’s emotional makeup and define his psychological condition. Balanced and appropriate fear is fear that is neither excessive nor deficient, as we have just finished stating. One characteristic of balanced fear is that it does not overpower a person’s other emotions. This is of critical importance, since fear is not the most important feeling that a person experiences. This is why Makhûl said: “Whoever worships Allah out of fear alone is from the Harûrî sect.”

What Makhûl meant was that such a person was like a member of one of the extreme Khârijî sects of Islam, since those sects emphasized fear over everything else and on that basis engaged in excessive and extreme displays of worship and acts of violence against other Muslims. They brought about the first and most dangerous state of crisis in the history of Islam.

This is why no other deviant sect of Islam received as stern a reproach from the Prophet (peace be upon him) as the Khârijîs received. There are authentic hadîth in Sahîh al-Bukhârî, Sahîh Muslim, and other sources where the Prophet (peace be upon him) foretells their existence and speaks out harshly against them.

Their deviance stems from their exaggerated emphasis on fear. However, that is not all that Makhûl said. He went on to say: “Whoever worships Allah out of fear alone is from the Harûrî sect and whoever worships Allah out of love alone is a heretic.”

Many of the Sufis have exaggerated their emphasis on love, going overboard in singing love songs about Allah while totally abandoning any consideration of the fear that is due to Allah and the hope in Him that a believer is supposed to have.

Makhûl continued: “And whoever worships Allah out of hope alone is from the Murji’î sect. And whoever worships Allah out of fear, love, and hope together is a true and monotheistic believer.”

Some scholars of spiritual matters have correctly observed: “The most complete state that a person can be in is a perfect balance between hope and fear.”

Ahmad b. Hanbal used to say: “A person’s hope and fear should be equal.”

Not only should a person’s hope and fear in Allah be precisely balanced, but his love for Allah should be greater than both. Love for Allah should be what carries the believer onward, hope should be what guides him on his way, and fear should be what keeps him on the right course.

Ibn al-Qayyim gives us a beautiful allegory of this concept in his book Madârij al-Sâlikîn when he says: “The heart is like a bird. Love is its head, and its two wings are hope and fear.”

If we ask ourselves which is more important, the head of a bird or its wings, we would have to answer that certainly its head is more important. The bird would die instantly without its head, but it would still be alive if it lost its wings, just completely helpless and defenseless. Love should come first; then hope and fear follow in perfect balance with each other.

This balance between hope and fear should be a general, overall balance. In some situations, hope should predominate over fear and in others fear should predominate over hope. However, love should always take precedence over both.

I must emphasize again that fear is not the most important emotion that a believer should have. It is wrong to let it overpower our other feelings or shape our personalities.

We can compare the development of our internal makeup to how we prepare a meal. If we wish to cook some rice, there is just so much water, so much salt, so much oil, and so much spice that we must use. If we add too much of one ingredient to the rice, the whole dish will be spoiled or possibly completely ruined. It will be too salty, spicy, or soggy. Likewise if we cook the rice too long, it will become charred and if we fail to cook it long enough, it will still be raw when we sit down to eat it.

In the same way, a person’s personality needs to have a correctly proportioned mixture of different feelings and affectations.

People are always asking if certain individuals or societies are tainted with deviance. Sometimes we find that the principles embraced by an individual or group are correct and sound. Because of this, we have to say the individual or group is free from deviance in matters of principle.

However, if we recall the meal that we mentioned earlier, we know that if some of its ingredients were too much or too little, then the dish would not taste right. Likewise, if a person’s personality is predominated by too much fear or too much hope or too little of something else, then this will reflect negatively upon his personality.

When we talk about the recipe of a balance between hope and fear and a greater proportion of love, we are speaking first and foremost about our fear of Allah and our fear of sin. This brings us to another critical question: Which is superior, fear of Allah Himself or fear of sin?

The answer to this is that the fear of Allah is superior, for even a person who is free from sin will feel this fear. Allah says, speaking about the Prophets (peace be upon them):

“They call upon their Lord in fear and hope.” [Sûrah al-Sajdah: 16]

“Verily, they used to hasten to perform good deeds and used to call upon their Lord in hope and dread and they had humility before Us.” [Sûrah al-Anbiyâ’: 90]

Allah tells us that this is the reason for salvation. He says: “This is for him who fears standing before Me and fears my threat.” [Sûrah Ibrâhîm: 14] This verse is talking about the most select and pious of people. Their status in Paradise will be elevated on account of their fear of Allah.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) related to us the following story:

A man was approached by death. When he despaired of living any longer, he instructed his family, saying: “When I die, gather around me a lot of firewood, then stoke up a fire so that when it consumes my flesh and strips my bones bare, you take those bones and grind them up. Then scatter me upon the sea on a hot or windy day.”

After all this was done, Allah gathered him together and asked: “Why did you do that?”

The man replied: “I was frightened of You.”

For this, Allah forgave him.

Clearly, this man’s action demonstrated a denial of Allah’s absolute power. However, he did it out of ignorance, so Allah did not punish him for his ignorance. Instead, he forgave him on account of the intensity of his fear.

If balance is required in our fear of Allah, with both excess and listlessness to be avoided, then it is even more necessary for us to be balanced when it comes to other kinds of fear.

For instance, when I began to prepare the article that you are now reading and gather together the material that I was going to need, I felt a degree of worry regarding how I was going to arrange the material, compose my ideas, and achieve my purposes for writing the article. This degree of worry spurred me on to research my topic, verify my sources, pay attention to the arrangement of my ideas, and to set aside sufficient time to work. Due to this worry, I could produce an article as beneficial as my abilities would allow. This reasonable and moderate level of worry was, therefore, a good thing, since it was just the amount needed to get the job done.

On the other hand, imagine if that worry had gripped me so hard that it altered my disposition. Imagine if I had lost sleep on account of it and my mind was distracted and I mistreated my colleagues and my wife and yelled at my little girl when she approached me at work. This level of worry would have been truly reprehensible.

Worry of this sort makes a person imbalanced. Even if a person working under the pressure of such fear manages to produce good results, he will soon grow to loathe his work, since it is very difficult for a human being to cope with such stress day after day, week after week. We find that many people quit their jobs because they cannot bear the stress that they have to face in carrying out their work. Ultimately, the stress burns them out.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Fulfill what must be fulfilled, engage in devotions in the morning, during the day, and a portion of the night, and in all of this attain balance.”

Source:
http://islamtoday.com/showme_weekly_2004.cfm?cat_id=30&sub_cat_id=626
http://islamtoday.com/showme_weekly_2004.cfm?cat_id=30&sub_cat_id=627

 

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you all,

I often think that we fear our fellow man more than we fear God, hence we arm ourselves and fight possibly using the justification of self defence.

If we really trusted God above all else we would leave God to put all injustice right, instead we try and put things right ourselves and mankind seems to compound one wrong with another.

If we really loved and feared God above all else our world would truly be a better place.

fear has been described as the absence of love as the following passage describes.

1 john 4
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

In the spirit of seeking justice for all people

Eric

 

[Chuck]

i am always struck by the amount of fear (of the world to come) that is present in christians and muslims alike. i don't know whether the eastern religions, with their concept of karma, also have this fear or not.
how important is fear as a motivation for practice your religion?

Fearing God is supposed to be a bad thing?

Regarding role of fear, i can only speak for myself, so yes it does play it in my life. How much, well it is difficult to quantify, because fear is not the only thing base I my base my deeds and worship. It is a complex mix of feeling happiness in doing the right thing, reward, fear, intellect, independence, fearlessness (of people, wealth, poverty, other thing except God that people face in their life), hope... etc.

 

[Panatella]

i am always struck by the amount of fear (of the world to come) that is present in christians and muslims alike. i don't know whether the eastern religions, with their concept of karma, also have this fear or not.
how important is fear as a motivation for practice your religion?

I too think about this. It is the old 'hellfire and brimestone' scare em' into being good thing that bothers me.
I wonder if it is really the way God intended? Does God really say "serve me, or else you will pay!!"?
People say we have a choice, but do we really? If I have only two chairs for you to sit in, and you must sit. And one chair is doused in gasoline and burning, and the other is not. Do you really have a choice?

Is this really what God intended?

I really wonder about this alot.

 

[searchingsoul]

I do not fear God. I do not feel that he expects us to fear him. Instead, I love him.

 

[Abdul Fattah]

I do not fear God. I do not feel that he expects us to fear him. Instead, I love him.

what makes you think you can't have both? And on what grounds do you "feel" what God does or does'nt expect? A healthy dosis of fear keeps a person on the right path. As opposed to love wich isn't sufficient to maintain piousness constantly high.