RELIGION PROMOTES FEAR

Religion promotes a number of fears. By encouraging human pride they produce a fear of failure. By elevating self-righteousness they instill a fear of shame. By magnifying man’s intelligence they advance a fear of ignorance. By upholding free will and human ability they create a fear of weakness. By far, the number one fear by which they maintain the faithfulness of their adherents is th e fear of Hell. But the Bible never speaks of the fear of failure, shame, or ignorance. In fact, the teaching of Christ is that these are inevitable for creatures of flesh. What’s more, the Scriptures do not impose the fear of Hell, but they have much to say about the fear of the Lord. Even when Christ spoke of the torments of Hell, His precise wording directs us to fear the God who condemns sinners, not the place where they are punished. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)- Mark Daniel