Faith Takes Away the Fear

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Namaste Jesus

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EdgyDolmen said: "Without hope and fear there likely is no faith."
Aussie Thoughts replied: "For me faith takes away the fear."​

Faith takes away the fear. This simple statement has stuck with me all night. Could this be the reason many of us have faith in the first place? Faith in God that is.

For me at least, faith has always provided solace, reassurance and guidance. It has most definitely allayed my fears and been a staunch ally. I'm suddenly reminded of this Bible verse...

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Psalm 23:4

... and this one from the Bhagavad-Gita 2:40

"In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear."​
 
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There are those who would suggest that salvation (requiring faith) is simply giving up worldly fear for the fear of God.

Certainly the word in the Book is fear but only the individual can interpret it for merit or lack thereof.
 
Yeah, every individual has their way of looking at things and interpreting scripture. Personally, I've always viewed Biblical passages relating to the fear of God as having more to do with fearing the consequences of sin rather than an actual fear of God. As a small boy, my mom use to sternly warn me with a clap on the rump not to climb on the furniture whenever it looked like I was going to. Out of fear of that clap I stopped trying. Later of course, I realized that she wasn't trying to instill fear, she just didn't want me to get hurt. I was too young to realize that at the time, but a sting on the backside I got right away!
 
Craz said:
Could faith mask, rather than take away, fear(of the unknown)?
Just a thought
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Yes. Do you have any examples in mind? Do you think there is a difference between faith and blind faith?
 
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And how often are orthodox traditions told they depend on fear as a means of control?
 
Ahanu said:
Yes. Do you have any examples in mind?
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When I first met my (former) Guru, I was enchanted and became initiated.
In the (secret)initiation session,I was shown how to meditate and experience (supposedly)God within. I immediately took to the meditation and began to have a depth of inner experience that blew me away.
I was also told the the Guru was God Himself(in human form). During the session this was 'proved' by the instructor showing us references to what was showing several scriptures, in both Abrahamic and Dharmic scripture.
I had to prostrate(full pranam) to a picture of the Guru and pledge devotion thrice.
.
.
This formed the basis of my faith,which I adhered strongly to for over 20 years.
I left after realising that he wasn't God and that I had given over my life to him.
I was initially terrified of leaving, but my conscience wouldn't let me stay.(Ironically much of this came to me thru the meditation).

Leaving someone I believed to be the 'Living Lord' wasn't an easy task. I still felt the fear for several years after leaving.

I remember entering the initiation and saying to myself. This has to be the ultimate truth.
This was my mask.
 
Wow! Thanks for sharing Craz. Sounds like what was happening here in the late 60's and 70's. There for a while it seemed like everyone either was or knew someone who claimed to be some sort of mystic entity. Many fell victim to these charlatans with their half truths masking out and out lies. Thank goodness you saw through the mask and got out. Sadly, many did not.

It is tough not to become disillusioned after such an ordeal, but at least something positive came from it. You learned the value of meditation. There are actual honest to goodness Gurus out there. I've had the pleasure of meeting a few myself. None of which ever claimed to be God or professed to have all the answers.
 
Craz said:
Could faith mask, rather than take away, fear(of the unknown)?
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I'm sure it can for some. For others though, as in your story, faith can also lift the mask and allow the truth to show through. In turn, overcoming the fear.
 
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Reading Craz's story reminds me of an incident that happened in Fiji not long after my wife and I were married. There was this old fellow in the village, a distant cousin of my wife's grandfather I think, whom everyone feared. It seems he had been to India and convinced everyone that he now had mystic powers. So they all tried to please him out of fear of something bad happening. He reinforced that fear by taking credit for every mishap and whenever someone fell ill. I tried to explain to everyone what he was doing and that the only power he had was their fear, but I wasn't very successful.

He got wind of what I was saying about him and decided to put a curse on me. That's when he fell victim to his own con. He'd been doing it so long, he had started to believe he actually did have supernatural powers and that I did as well. One night I'm sitting with my in-laws watching tv and he's outside chanting to himself softly. My brother-in-law takes me aside and tells me this fellow is trying to put a curse on the English speaking one. My brother-in-law actually wanted me to hide, because the curse was supposed to take effect when this fellow shook my hand and I spoke in English. So I decided to turn the tables on him.

I told my brother-in-law not to worry and that I'd take care of it. A few minutes later, sure enough here comes Mr. Wizard through the door. He walks right up to me, extends his hand and says, "How you boy?" I took his hand, giving it a firm squeeze and replied "Hum theek hain Adja." That means I'm fine Grandpa, in Hindi. You should have seen his face. You see, the curse was supposed to work on the one who spoke English and he was the only one speaking in English. This guy was so caught up in his own routine that he actually believed he had cursed himself, got physically ill and went home.

I had hoped everyone would draw a lesson from that and see that this person had no actual powers, but all they took away from it was that my powers were stronger than his. I've since be able to make them understand that the power lie with God not me. There for a while though, they were actually afraid of me! As for Mr. Wizard, he wouldn't even come into the compound after that. Last I heard he was in a nursing home in NZ.
 
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EdgyDolmen said:
There are those who would suggest that salvation (requiring faith) is simply giving up worldly fear for the fear of God.

Certainly the word in the Book is fear but only the individual can interpret it for merit or lack thereof.
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It is my understanding that the word fear in the bible means reverence. In that sense to have faith in God would also mean to hold God in reverence.
 
Richard Pickett said:
It is my understanding that the word fear in the bible means reverence. In that sense to have faith in God would also mean to hold God in reverence.
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Mine as well...

I don't live in fear of a building collapsing on me despite it's weight, mass, and energy contained there-in which could potentially change.... I have respect for it though..
 
That's one of the things that a took a while to getting used to, and it changed a lot of the meaning for me.
 
Richard Pickett said:
It is my understanding that the word fear in the bible means reverence. In that sense to have faith in God would also mean to hold God in reverence.
Click to expand...
Very true and within the premise of the thread, reverence and faith in God takes away the fear of evil and the fear of the unknown.
 
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