a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Psalm 46:1-3
Because of God, we will not fear. This is not the sentiment of an isolated scripture verse. The notion shows up with regularity. First John speaks of God being love and of love casting out fear. Jesus' disciples go from fearful to fearless when they receive the Holy Spirit, when God's love begins to dwell in them.
So why do religious people often seem so fearful and so terrified of this or that? I've known my share of devout Christians who wear their faith on their sleeves yet seem mortified about what might happen if evil, the devil, temptation, heresy, etc. isn't kept at bay. People who don't believe or who believe the wrong things are dangerous and to be feared.
I take it that a perverse form of such fear lies behind the massacre in Paris yesterday. Loving God and honoring God would not seem to be the sort of things to provoke rage and deadly anger. Not unless one's faith is already filled with fear. The idea of a god who needs to be avenged or protected from those who would denigrate the divine must either imagine a remarkably impotent god or must be terribly afraid of awful things that could happen if things are kept just so. Such a faith is quite contrary to that of the psalmist. It is terrified of what could go wrong.
Fear needs enemies, and fearful faith often demonizes the other, those who are different from me. At this moment in the world's history, Islam seems to have more than its fair share of adherents whose fear sometimes drives them to violence. However, the notion that this is a problem inherent to Islam must not only forget other times in history when Christianity struggled with its own fear and violence problem, it must also ignore the substantial majority of Muslims whose faith is not full of fear.
Nicholas Kristof had a very good piece in today's New York Times titled "Is Islam to Blame for the Shooting at Charlie Hedbo in Paris?" It contains this. "The
great divide is not between faiths. Rather it is between terrorists and
moderates, between those who are tolerant and those who 'otherize.' " I take "otherize" to speak of what I'm describing, the fearful demonizing of those who are different.
Most of us tend not to resort to violence against those we otherize. American culture is very practiced at lower grade actions against those we fear: prejudice, discrimination, lack of opportunity, etc. Of course if you're not an American citizen our society has agents that will resort to violence on our behalf. The abuses outlined in the recent Senate torture report may not have emerged from faith-based fears, but they were the product of fear, a fear that allowed us to act in a manner deeply at odds with our stated values.
Speaking of such values, it is striking to me that many who insist America was founded as a Christian nation and must remain such are supportive of torture, of doing whatever it takes to protect ourselves from what we fear. Not that terrorism isn't a scourge, but aren't Christians supposed to be followers of Jesus, the one who confronted evil without violence, the one who called his followers to love and pray for their enemies?
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In the more mundane world of my every day fears, fears of failure, of not having enough, of being bested by someone, I have found that my worst moments are almost always connected to fear and anger. I may have a had a moment of genuine, righteous anger once or twice in my life, but most all my actions rooted in fear or anger are ones I've regretted. And they are most certainly not ones in keeping with a life "in Christ."
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
Maybe if I keep repeating that, keep meditating on that...
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