Fear of the gods

by Narkissos 35 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Narkissos

  Let me start with the questionable, unprovable, yet common premise that the gods in general were born out of human fear.

  If we look for the closest match to our word "religion" in the Hebrew Bible, the best candidate, interestingly, will be "fear of (the) god(s)". "Service" to the gods will denote the religious practice, but the basic religious attitude is fear. No matter how politically correct translations water it down into respect, reverence etc. -- one is primarily scared by the sacred. That's what all theophanies (manifestations of gods) are about.

  Let me assume that the "sacred," "numinous," "divine" is basically a representation of man's fears. A kind of exorcism by which mankind writes out its multiple terrors (death, sickness, loss, frightening natural phenomena) and gradually learns to deal with them through ritual, prayer, narrative mythology, etc. Religion in this perspective amounts to a strategy of fear against fear. Imaginary fear to overcome real fear. Fear the objectivised fear in a speakable, negotiable way in order to deal with the unspeakable, overwhelming subjective fear. Fear of the gods paradoxically induces confidence (Proverbs 14:26f; Matthew 10:28 etc.). Originally in an eudemonistic way (the feared gods will bless, protect, etc.), later in a more sophisticated dualistic way (real woes turned into heavenly, spiritual bliss).

  We may have outgrown the gods, but I doubt we'll ever outgrow the strategy of fear which I feel is the essence of religion. Even describing this process in a philosophical way is basically a religious act reflecting the very same strategy.

  What do you think?
• 

  Abaddon

  I think I more or less agree...

  ... however, one can overcome fear of gods... I've been skipping round the carpark at work all morning singing "Allah is an asshole, Yahweh is a fraud, Odin don't seem likely, and the rest are just bores", and not ONE bolt of lightning...
• 

  Satanus

  It makes sense, as far as a mass movement goes. Shamanism is claimed by researchers such as gordon wasson, to be the oldest and spontaneous religion, if indeed it can be called such. In shamansim, there is also fear, to an extent, by the nonshamanic toward the unknown or numinous entities. The shaman interacts vicariously for his people.

  From this primordial system, there was a long, evolutionary development towards the oldest religions.

  S
• 

  Sunspot

  I'm not sure if I am understanding you correctly or what.....but for decades I lived in (and with) this fear of God, especially the evil and jealous Watchtowergod....and now this fear is gone upon leaving the WTS. (BTW, It DID take some time to exorcise those demons, LOL!) But in all honesty, I don't fear Jesus Christ, now that I have had the opportunity to finally "meet" him. This IS a big difference in how I view and understand things now.

  Annie
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  Bryan

  I totally agree. Reguarding cultures in areas such as the Amazon, when seeing the white man for the first time, they thought these white men were ghosts. Even today in our modern day culture, many people are killed in a tsunami and the world wonders if God is punishing. After Katrina hit New Orleans one well educated woman in Houston told me she thought it was God "cleaning up the area".

  God and religion, I feel, certainly are created in man's image.

  Bryan

  Have You Seen My Mother
• 

  DannyBloem

  I think you make a nice point.
  I only think that it was not fear alone, from which the Gods are born. It must have also been to try to explain the (at that time) unexplainable, which can be fearsome somwtimes, but which can also be positive.
  But in general, I agree. I always thought of it as a strange destription "fear the true God"etc. And repeated so many time in the OT. In this light that really makes sense now...

  Danny
• 

  Narkissos

  however, one can overcome fear of gods... I've been skipping round the carpark at work all morning singing "Allah is an asshole, Yahweh is a fraud, Odin don't seem likely, and the rest are just bores", and not ONE bolt of lightning...

  I guess this experience was quite possible, and probably often realised, in the ancient world too. Actually it was one essential ingredient in religious change (in a sense, henotheistic and monotheistic Yahwism start with blasphemy... of other gods).

  The question is whether we can overcome fear itself without a similar strategy (which of course doesn't need to be a theistic one). I feel we still need to name our fears, give them external existence, on the imaginary level, to deal with them. As long as we do so we are, in effect, playing a religious act, aren't we?
• 

  freedomlover

  I feel we still need to name our fears, give them external existence, on the imaginary level, to deal with them. As long as we do so we are, in effect, playing a religious act, aren't we?

  absolutly Narkissos. I have thought of this dilemma many times. If I choose to reject all "religion" and gods and dogma and just pursue spiritual enlightenment then that would in essence become god and worship to me. If I reject searching for spiritual enlightenment and decide to only pursue selfish, fleshly, interests then soon that would be my god. If I reject everything all together and live as a hermit and worship myself and my existence then I am still worshiping. Why do we feel the need to have a religious act? It is precisely to allay our fears. fear of the unknown if you ask me. We come up with answers to soothe and comfort ourselves because of the way this sloppy, unaccountable universe vomits all over us in its random ways. It's just to big, and scary for us humans.

  Fear gives way to coping mechanisms. Survival is what every living thing on this planet struggles for. They struggle to survive even though they fear survival.

  Mans worship is a way to help us cope and survive in a very f'ed up world. When you learn to actually look "straight into the sun" of your fears you start to feel the "need for answers" loosen it's grip on you. THis is the only way to deal with fear that interests me. at least at this point......
• 

  Narkissos

  Annie,

  for decades I lived in (and with) this fear of God, especially the evil and jealous Watchtowergod....and now this fear is gone upon leaving the WTS. (BTW, It DID take some time to exorcise those demons, LOL!)

  I guess this ingredient of fear is particularly strong among JWs -- and other fundamentalistic groups too, don't forget the notion of "hell"! -- and paradoxically what makes them comparatively attractive and effective on the religious market.

  But in all honesty, I don't fear Jesus Christ, now that I have had the opportunity to finally "meet" him. This IS a big difference in how I view and understand things now.

  I don't question that. Only I think that the overcoming of fear in Christianity (especially the Johannine brand, cf. 1 John 4:18) is basically the result of the same strategy. You have first to name your fear (as fear of death, oblivion, hell, curse, damnation, loss) to be saved from it -- in the deepest way, by a reversal of values: your curse comes to be your blessing.

  (Or, to paraphrase from Snoopy: if Jesus is the answer, what is the question? There lies the fear.)

  Danny,

  It must have also been to try to explain the (at that time) unexplainable, which can be fearsome somwtimes, but which can also be positive.

  Maybe the more embracing concept of awe, including fear but broader, is better for an overall explanation. I just wished to focus on the negative aspect, a bit provocatively perhaps.
• 

  Narkissos

  fl,

  Reading your post made me think that we are all, in our own way, priests, victims and recipients of the same mystery: there's no place or time in the history of thought and beliefs we can look down on (or look up to).

  The differences between "ancient" and "moderns," "believers" and "unbelievers" are really second to that deep unity of human experience.