Do you fear God...

Ismail
Fear God doesn't mean to be afraid of Him...God is love. If you "fear" Him, you simply give the utmost respect to Him and His word.
Hope this helps.

Ok Ismail...look at it this way...if you don't respect Him & His word...then on Judgement day you will see His wrath. I think it is more fear His wrath than actually fearing God.
You should talk to your pastor about this.

dictionary.com (source)

Notice #3 .. reverence... that's what I meant by utmost respect.

FEAR
n.

1.
1. A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger.
2. A state or condition marked by this feeling: living in fear.
2. A feeling of disquiet or apprehension: a fear of looking foolish.
3. Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power.
4. A reason for dread or apprehension: Being alone is my greatest fear.

v. feared, fear·ing, fears
v. tr.

1. To be afraid or frightened of.
2. To be uneasy or apprehensive about: feared the test results.
3. To be in awe of; revere.
4. To consider probable; expect: I fear you are wrong. I fear I have bad news for you.
5. Archaic. To feel fear within (oneself).

v. intr.

1. To be afraid.
2. To be uneasy or apprehensive.

REVERENCE
n.

1. A feeling of profound awe and respect and often love; veneration. See Synonyms at honor.
2. An act showing respect, especially a bow or curtsy.
3. The state of being revered.
4. Reverence Used as a form of address for certain members of the Christian clergy: Your Reverence.

tr.v. rev·er·enced, rev·er·enc·ing, rev·er·enc·es

To consider or treat with profound awe and respect; venerate.

Fear of the Lord is a gift of the Holy Spirit although nothing can seperate us from God, Who is love, we have been given a free will, and mysteriously we sometimes reject Love through our will............. please refer to my poem'Fear of the Lord'

Alright, well in CCD our teacher explained it to us at one point or another.
"fear" of God is not meant as--be good or God will punish you---it's meant as, know God's power, be attentive to his greatness and acknowledge his supremacy. To "fear God" in the bible is not to be afraid of him, but to be aware of his capabilities.

*Fear* = *Respect*. It's not that we are afraid of God... we fear/respect him and, as the person above me stated it, are aware of his capabilities.

If you don't give God a reason to be vengeful what have you got to fear?

Very well said Pink.

Very well said.

Yes, as a mystic poet once said 'rest in reason move in passion' Kahlil Gibran wrote about that in [The Prophet] Many fear the earth when it shakes, yet the earth is not evil. The cause of evil is always good. Would anyone call the sun evil after being sunburned?
Fear is a natural passion. It is wise to fear justice even when we receive mercy

It's more a case of fear of the unknown I think.

Yes Ismail, I understand your confusion. The God of Abraham and Moses created laws. The Creator of the universe created natural laws When just laws are broken someone suffers. The paradox you are referring to is that in the translation of the words of the bible’ Do not be afraid’ appears 365 times. We have broken laws through our will not God’s will .If we truly loved God the way he loves us we would be perfect and creation would be complete. In the natural world we would naturally fear being separated from earth wind fire and water. Spiritual laws are more important because the soul is immortal. when we seperate ourselves from the commandments, we seperate ourselves from God It is better to serve a King because you fear the loss of the Kingdom. And it is good to honor your mother and father God's anger last for a short time but His kindness and mercy last forever Psalm 30;1-5

I as a christian I would not be honest if i said i understand the Trinity. God has many titles God is the lawgiver. He is just and merciful. I have also noticed that mans interpretations of laws have changed through the centuries. I believe I loved my mother and father. I remember fearing my father. A Christian who is close to God fears offending God because he believes God is all good and worthy of all of our love.'I am afraid of God's wrath, but isn't that like a father punishing a child for what he has done. I fear god's wrath. I fear his wrath, just as i feared my parent's kane, when i was but a child. I love them and understood their intentions behind their punishment. Just as i understand God's intention behind his punishment' WELL SAID ISMAIL I agree

Very well put Michael

dont take me as a bad person, but i dont really believe in god, i think that if there really was a god that things would be better than wat they are in my life but i dont fear him even if he was real,

Wow Mikey...it's all starting to make sense now.

Are your parents very religious as well?...Or not in the slightest? Anyway on to topic.

Fear is not natural. To me, something can only be called natural when it does not have to be learned or copied. And fear, just like every other emotion, is something we learn to express. So by that rational, you have all learned to fear God...or rather, you have been taught to fear God.

Fear is not the best emotion to act in, ever...except to make you run fast. My God, wouldn't be so stupid as to want us to be afraid of him, because we wouldn't be able to act in our highest mind with fear there too.

Unless God is a gansta, the religions have got it wrong.

Fear nothing if you can...lest of all the most apparantly loving, forgiving being in the universe...doesn't sound very scary to me!!

Micheal.....i've asked you before, and i don't want to have to tell you again...please refrain from advertising your poems in almost every post you make....you know the rules.

Ismail...i wasn't trying to sting Micheal...i was merely inquiring as to whether Micheals strong faith was instilled in him from his parents, or not. I'm always interested in the source of beliefs. Don't be so synical.

And...i never said emotions are un-natural...i just said they aren't natural...there is a difference...i'll let you think about it.

‘I was merely inquiring as to whether Michael’s strong faith was instilled in him from his parents’, yes, I was forced fed Catholicism just like you were Kevin. I went through an agnostic period, and I am proud that you see my faith as being strong. My father was not what I would call a jealous catholic, not as dogmatic as my mother. My mother’s sister was a sister of charity for over 70 years. I think that you and I are not that different at least in the sense that I have a deep love of ‘ free thinking.’ I view God much like I do poetry as to what the definer is capable of understanding. I am honored that I have not offended as many as I have with my views on the nature of God. If you want to know more my origins in faith visit my site www.poetrymd.com
Biography of Michael D Nalley

Michael D Nalley was born on the 26th day of August 1955 in Louisville Kentucky. He was the 8th child of George & Dorothy Nalley. His only brother George Kenneth Nalley drowned May 13th 1956 leaving him with 6 sisters. Two sisters remained in Louisville when his family moved to Tullahoma Tennessee in 1958. It was there Michael, who was born a cradle catholic, received 8 years of catholic education. In his early years in school he struggled with the temptation to daydream. One teacher would notice when he drifted deep into his imagination. She would say; Michael! Come down from cloud 9! In his adolescence though, many teachers gave him high marks in composition. When Michael graduated high school he worked at several factories. His aunt Agnes always told him, that he should be a writer. Michael never married he stayed with his mother until she past away. Most of the pseudo relationships he had with women were unorthodox. Michael may never reach the level of one of his mentors, Thomas Merton, but it won’t stop him from trying. Michael did a lot of research on his genealogy and found that his ancestors were among the first to settle the area that Merton called the center of America. Many of Michael’s relatives knew Thomas Merton personally. After his mother passed away Michael got involved with a charismatic prayer group, which lead him to a profound awareness of the Holy Spirit. After reading the journals of Thomas Merton, Michael tried be as honest about his true feelings in his first book. Michael believes in the power of the Holy Spirit but is faced with new challenges every day in discerning God’s plan for him
Michael would love to share his thoughts with anyone interested while he is on his way back to cloud 9.

As has been said, fear can = reverence, which, in this case, I DO fear God.

Of course, one can fear God's Wrath as well, using the more known definition.

~Ciao Lipton

Nice of you to be so honest about where you've come from Micheal...maybe i'll share my history of faith with you one day.

ismail....i'd rather you explained things to me in your own words, and not just post some link. Anyone can type a question into google and then post a link to the answer....it doesn't hold any wait with me however, in terms of debating a point.

So, if you want me to listen to you, speak to me and don't quote to me.

I am thank ful to god. i can't fear him because i understand him.

I don't beleive in him, therefore I don't fear him. His existance is useless to me. I have no reason to look up to him or respect him and what not.

Interesting. I'm assuming that when someone talks about a child naturally reacting to say a loud noise by crying...then they must be afraid...and thusly, because they are children...their fear is natural.

Pretty massive asumption to make. I think it's more to do with their lack of understanding at such a young age...and also their lack of options in communicating their confusion at things like loud noises....many people fear things they don't understand, and if they cannot express that fear easily...it could become panic...or tears or anger...none of which are natural.

The tears of a baby at a sudden noise are usually replaced by the curiosity of the toddler as their understanding broadens....if such emotions were natural then why are they changed with learning and experience?

Topic focus though....fear of God goes away with learning and understanding. Are we all babies.....God is not a scary loud noise.

Yes, I do. Not MUCH of a believer, but i do have fears, i guess.

"The tears of a baby at a sudden noise are usually replaced by the curiosity of the toddler as their understanding broadens..."

That supports fear as a natural reaction, tempered by learning.

Ugh.. I'm quoting again.

I don't think so Bret. What i was getting at is that we see a baby crying and assume it must be scared, when it is more likely a communication issue.

Babies who are taught simple sign language do not react like babies whose only option is to cry when something confuses them.

It's my perception of your wording then fella. I have no idea how a baby's mind works after all, I'm neither a doctor or someone who works with children. I just look after my niece and nephews on occasion.

'Topic focus though....fear of God goes away with learning and understanding. Are we all babies.....God is not a scary loud noise'. Anyone who has ever been frightened knows that it is not a choice but a conditioned response. You would laugh if I said; I was in danger but a forgot to be afraid. When fear becomes a learned behavior I believe it is unhealthy and called a phobia. I remember being afraid of rejection and disapproval all of my life I remember on several occasions holding my breath with the hope that I would die before I had to face the disapproving teachers the next day. When I asked the object of my desire for a date my heart was beating so fast I could not get the words out without a lack of breath to my voice. And when she rejected me the pain was so great I converted the pain to anger. If it is not natural to fear pain then I suspect the world is full of unnatural creatures. If you don’t believe that, check the sales of chemicals designed to reduce pain and anxiety. I believe that Kevin is on to something ....'fear of God goes away with learning and understanding'. From all that I have read, and all that that I can feel I believe that God, does not reject anyone whom accepts love. If something is not natural it can also be called supernatural

At least when you look at fear from the angle of cause and effect ' Fear is an irasible passion' the quote that fear is a passion is from [A Tour of The Summa] Which is a summary of the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. I believe that a fear can be nurtured also. As I have stated Fear of the Lord is one of the supernatural gifts of the Holy Ghost

The fear of the Lord is the begining of wisdom ; prudent are all who live by it. His praise endures forever. Psalm '110

he can curse you, kill you or send you to hell.....i would be pretty scared!

Come on guys! Haven't you all seen Dogma?...Buddy Christ?...thats the dude man...the all forgiving creator.

Burning in hell for making a few mistakes...or even a lifetime of them..thats like a kids tale you get told to make not go into the shed at the bottom of the garden.

"Be good or God will send you to Hell forever"

It's about time we evolved our ideas about this religion. I stopped believing in Gods wrath when i was 12....

I don't really fear god. i use to but since i learned that he forgives your sins and has unconditional love for all i don't fear him. I do feel guilty sometimes but it's not fear it's more like knowing that you displeased someone you really care about in real life, but you can't change the things you have done so ask for forgiveness and try to move on the best you can knowing that he's smiling because it's like in a sence a never ending friendship full of forgiveness, all you have to do is ask and mean it, and life moves on. I've been happier in life since i have lived like this other than always caring around the guilt and thinking i am going straght to hell for lieing or doing something thats displeasing.

~PLP~ lil slam~

Hey Joe the third...it's nice you have passed on the opinions of others there in your post....but seeing as it is your post, how about you state your own opinion and cease posting for the general population, which is out of order.

God is not scary, fear nothing if you can.

You are supposed to fear God, but in a loving way.......its says we are Fearfully and Wonderfully made, therefore he is fearful and wonderful. Fear his power, he still loves!