ArcaMax

Q: I read your column and enjoy and reflect upon your wise words. Could you please define and elaborate upon what the expression "God-fearing" means? My husband and I are Roman Catholics and disagree on its meaning. Please help! – (from J)

A: A wonderful question, dear J. One of the obstacles to faith is the belief in a fire-and-brimstone God who is cruel and vengeful. This blocks the belief that God is loving and compassionate. A God-fearing person, by this common understanding, is a person who obeys God out of fear of punishment and not out of love. So what has happened over the centuries in the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam is that all three religions have developed love theologies and fear theologies.

The fear texts in the Bible are very powerful. My favorite text is from Isaiah 45:7, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” All mature faith must come to the sobering truth that God is the God of everything.

The love texts in the Bible are equally compelling. I love Deuteronomy 11:22,

“For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;” I also love the way Jesus follows this love message of the Hebrew Bible in Matthew 22:37-39,

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” I know that it is far more compelling to cleave to God rather than fear God but doing so shrinks God to the size of our love. What we need to do is expand our love to God’s majesty and power.

We often leave out the wisdom texts of Islam. Here are some love texts from the Quran: Surah Al-Baqarah (2:165) "And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah..."

Surah Aal-e-Imran (3:31): "Say, [O Muhammad], 'If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.'"

It would be easy but incorrect to tell you that love is the only way to worship God. God is not just some jolly old soul who dispenses blessings. God is that but God is so much more. God is the one who gives life and causes death. Both tasks are part of what we believe in God.

Fear of God is not just the result of our belief that our lives are in God’s hand and we can be taken from life in an instant. Fear of God is also the result of our belief that God has shown us a path of life that leads to human flourishing. That path is a collection of ethical teachings that direct and sustain our lives. To be God-fearing is to acknowledge that violating this path of God’s law leads to personal and collective disaster. It is not that every sin is punished but it is true that a sinful life does not lead to happiness. Speeding down the highway does not always cause you to be stopped and ticketed but a life of speeding does. Doing good because of fear of punishment is a low level of faith but it is the beginning of the higher faith based on following God out of loving obedience rather than fearful terror.

If my answer does not satisfy you, perhaps this will help. The phrase “God-fearing” is actually a mistranslation of the original Hebrew which is yirat adonay. The Hebrew word yirat actually is better translated as “awe” rather than fear. So then the term God-fearing should better be translated as “the awe of God.” Awe is our response to a power that is so overwhelming it strikes us silent and makes humility the only proper response. So, a God-fearing person is perhaps better translated as a person who is in awe of God. Encountering nature or the vastness of the cosmos is a good way to develop awe of God. The power and majesty required to create on such a level is overwhelming and that awe is really what being a God-fearing person truly means. Then when we are able to embrace in awe God as the Creator we can then move forward to embrace in love God as the creator of life and blessings.

(Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including “Religion for Dummies,” co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman. Also, the new God Squad podcast is now available.)

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