Religion Is For The Weak And Ignorant Masses

from from the above link

Quote:

Jer 5:22 (NIV) "Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord. "Should you not tremble in my presence?"

In Hebrew, yirah (Jon 1:16, Ps 90:11), yare (above, Mal 3:16) and pachad (Job 3:25a, Ps 119:120) mean reverent fear, terror, or dread, normally translated simply fear. There are other words in Hebrew for mere respect, reverence, or honor, such as kabad (Ex 20:12). In Greek fear/terror is phobo (Mat 28:4,1 Pet 2:17c), where reverence or honor is timao (1 Pet 2:17a/d).

With this distinction in both Hebrew and Greek, some still assert that "fear merely means reverence." As if God through His Spirit could not select the right word hundreds of times! Some would prefer to believe this than to understand that God really ought to be feared.

Why is it we will not accept the fear of God? Why do we try to "explain away" the fear of God in Scripture? What is it in our unconscious minds that creeps up when the Spirit leads us into the revelation of the fear of God?

from from the above link

Quote:

Jer 5:22 (NIV) "Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord. "Should you not tremble in my presence?"

In Hebrew, yirah (Jon 1:16, Ps 90:11), yare (above, Mal 3:16) and pachad (Job 3:25a, Ps 119:120) mean reverent fear, terror, or dread, normally translated simply fear. There are other words in Hebrew for mere respect, reverence, or honor, such as kabad (Ex 20:12). In Greek fear/terror is phobo (Mat 28:4,1 Pet 2:17c), where reverence or honor is timao (1 Pet 2:17a/d).

With this distinction in both Hebrew and Greek, some still assert that "fear merely means reverence." As if God through His Spirit could not select the right word hundreds of times! Some would prefer to believe this than to understand that God really ought to be feared.

Why is it we will not accept the fear of God? Why do we try to "explain away" the fear of God in Scripture? What is it in our unconscious minds that creeps up when the Spirit leads us into the revelation of the fear of God?

For about 10 years, I was led to believe that "fear" in Scripture meant super-respect. And it does in some cases. But this presupposition caused me to do some real "explaining away" at other times, which I was all to eager to do since I saw the fear of God and the love of God as fundamentally opposing each other.

But finally the absurdity of this struck me. Fear is fear, and respect is respect. Could not God have used the right word? Why did Jeremiah, Isaiah , etc., use "fear" when there were perfectly good words for respect, honor, and reverence? Are we wiser than the Holy Spirit, or just resisting the truth?

Beyond the brief snippet in the beginning of the study, it should be noted that yirah is fear mingled with reverence, as opposed to only fear or only reverence. In Greek, however, what could be clearer than phobos--or abject terror (where we get phobia from). yare is similar in Hebrew.

Still, many attempt to explain this away. Hey, I did it for years. But the trembling part, in both Testaments, should have given us a clue to the folly of attempting to explain-away God's Word.

Craven, I always equated fear with awe.

Let's test it.


Let us hear you tell your god to screw off...to stop being such a dipshyt...to stop being so goddam offended by nearly everything humans do...and to get off our backs.

Let's hear you tell him you don't care that he may send you to Hell to suffer excruciating, unending torture for all the rest of eternity.

Hello Frank,

Interesting topic. I would like to take a stab at it, thank you.

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Let's test it.


Let us hear you tell your god to screw off...to stop being such a dipshyt...to stop being so goddam offended by nearly everything humans do...and to get off our backs.

This is illogical. You are asking "Christians" to basically denounce Christianity. This would be like asking an "atheist" to thank God for all His goodness, kindness and mercy. The atheist does not do this for it would then mean he or she declared a belief in God, hence no longer an atheist but a Believer. This may be why you are having trouble finding Christians to do this.

You wrote:

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Let's hear you tell him you don't care that he may send you to Hell to suffer excruciating, unending torture for all the rest of eternity.

Frank, I take it that you dislike God.

Perhaps one might deduce from your post that you even hate God, or perhaps it is the "image" of God that you so dislike. I am sorry you feel that way but my question though is born out of a great curiosity as to why would a "God hater" hate the idea of being seperated from God for all eternity?

In other words one spends their live seeking to distance themselves from this God, to denounce Him at every chance.

So would it then not be "hell" for this person if God forced them to live with Him for all eternity and worship Him?

Perhaps something to ponder. Thank you, Tony

It is for the weak, because they are unable to bear the idea that we are in this world with absolutely no clear answers or purpose. Religion gives them these answers; it gives them their purposes.

And, Craven or anybody. There are several "fear" translations from Greek. I imagine some may be fear--but, yes, many of them do translate to reverence, respect...

Answer: The Bible has quite a bit to say about fear. In fact it mentions two specific types of fear. The first type is beneficial and is to be encouraged. The second type is a detriment and is to be not only discouraged, but overcome. The first type of fear is fear of the Lord. This type of fear is not necessarily fear that means to be afraid of something. Rather it is a reverential awe of God; a reverence for His power and glory. However, it is also proper respect for His wrath and anger. In other words, it is a total acknowledgement of all that God is which comes through knowing Him and all His attributes.

Thus one can see how fear of the Lord should be encouraged. However, the second type of fear mentioned in the Bible is not beneficial and should be not only discouraged but overcome. This is the "spirit of fear" mentioned in 2Ti 1:7 where it says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Thus we see right from the beginning that this "spirit of fear" does not come from God.

God makes many people unafraid.

This is true. And there is nothing wrong with that. Everybody has a weakness, and everybody has something that they cling to when they need hope.

OK, I should dust off my Greek books and check out which fears are which. Will return to this at some point. But, you seemed to agree that there are many different translations of 'fear'.

As a child, when I questioned about this 'fear of the Lord', I was told this meant a healthy respect, a deep reverence--like I had for my father. I didn't go about being afraid of him, but I didn't cross him.

I guess that's what I get from some of Frank's comments. ...that people go about cowering in fear of God. What a miserable thought. I hope there's nobody living such a life.

Tony...I am not asking Husker...or anyone else to renounce their god. I am simply asking them to show that they are truly not afraid of the god.

I do not even know if there is a God...and in any case, I am not talking about God. I am talking about the god of the Bible...the fearsome, barbaric, vengeful, wrathful, quick to anger, constantly offended, vulgar, murderous, cartoon god.

So please don't think I have any hatred or even dislike of any God that might exist.

I DO NOT KNOW IF A GOD EVEN EXISTS...and I do not have enough evidence upon which to make a guess about that issue.

But I do have enough information about the god of the Bible to recognize that the chances of that pathetic god being God is so remote...I simply dismiss it.