Comments on: Evangelical Anxieties 2: Fear, Faith and God’s People

By: cmrk3

cmrk3 — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:15:41 +0000

Someone said that fear is the opposite of faith. I would go farther than that. Fear is the opposite of love. It is impossible to love people that you are afraid of. Evangelicals need to be very careful of who they fear, because the people that are feared are not being reached out to. Dislike and hatred is communicated.

Conservative American paranoia is not simply a different gospel. It is the OPPOSITE of the gospel.

Jesus was/is not afraid of anybody.

-Mark

By: Michael Spencer

Michael Spencer — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 16:10:45 +0000

My working definition is evangelicalism is 20th century. I have gone into that on the posts on post evangelicalism. I do not want to confuse 1) anyone with whom I have something in common and 2) all Lutherans with American evangelicals.

By: custard

custard — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 07:06:47 +0000

How brief is brief? Evangelicalism as a distinct movement in England (admittedly a different kettle of fish) goes back at least to the mid 1500s, (and arguably back to Wycliffe in the 1300s).

By: K.W. Leslie

K.W. Leslie — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 03:30:22 +0000

I encountered a lot of students at my Christian college who were home schooled, and were consequently unable to be salt and light in the world because they had been trained to hide under a basket. I encountered such students again when I taught at a Christian school.

Some of it also comes from the wrong teachings of paranoid pastors; I went to one church for about a month until I discovered the pastor was one of those Trilateral Commission black helicopter type paranoiacs. After he spent the bulk of one Sunday morning sermon on it, I decided I couldn’t attend that church anymore. (Though to be honest, most of my complaint was that he was taking too many liberties with the scriptures.) If you’re the fearful type, many a pastor will encourage you in it.

Speaking of the scriptures — I understand Mark 4:40 to be about the disciples’ fear of Jesus after He calms the storm, not the fear of the storm itself. The fishermen among the disciples would have ridden out squalls before; what profoundly scared them was that storms were (and are) considered to be acts of God, and to stop an “act of God” was entirely unexpected. It hadn’t happened in their scriptures; I don’t think they knew it was possible. Jesus “stopping God” had to completely confound their worldview, for while they may have had faith in God, they hadn’t yet achieved that faith in Jesus.

By: Caine

Caine — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 23:59:32 +0000

Interesting blog, but you did not take the tack I thought you would, moving from discussion of fear of God to more on a fear of culture. I was expecting a more nuanced review on the fear of God and the Church.

For example, fear appears to have driven the huge expansion of the Church in Jerusalem. Acts 2:42; 5:5 ; 5:11; and 9:31 mention the great fear that came upon both those inside the Church and those outside due to the actions of God and the preaching of the Apostles. During this time more than 5,000 people were added to the church (from a modest 120 disciples at the start). It would seem that fear, though not the major or only component of the Gospel is certainly a factor.

If the early church is any indicator, the fear of God combined with the comfort of the Spirit leads to boldness before men.

Or do you take those signs and actions as unique needs of the time particular to the Jerusalem church and its signs of Judgment on Jerusalem in the first century not to be repeated in ours?

By: Isaac

Isaac — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 23:54:44 +0000

Michael,

Excellant, as usual. I am wondering, however, how this plays out on your oft-admitted fear of your own sickness and death.

Don’t mean to get personal; just curious.

Thanks,
Isaac