The Fear of the Lord: The Beginning of Reconciliation

Abstract

Some of the Biblical narratives seem inconsistent regarding human fear of God. For instance, according to Luke’s Gospel, Jesus commanded fear of God, but he also evidently commanded ‘Do not be afraid’ in relation to God. To block inconsistency, this article clarifies two kinds of motivational fear of God: conforming fear and nonconforming fear relative to God’s will. It explains why conforming, obedient fear of God, even when combined with felt abandonment by God, need not yield despair about God’s reality or goodness. The article avoids two influential extremes: treating fear of God as experiencing an ‘ineffable’ object that is ‘wholly other’ (Otto and others) and treating it as mere obedience to God (von Rad and others). It identifies a central but widely neglected role for affective distress experiences in fear of God, which indicate moral or cognitive shortcomings before God but can be empowering for obeying God and for reconciliation with God.