If God is good. Why are Priests afraid of Him?
445376
well, im a muslim.. n yep, i am afraid of god.. its not really afraid actually,its more like a sense of devotion n respect..cuz no matter wat religion u believe in, the whole point is to have faith =) n faith lights you in the darkest moment.. peace!
996307
I was a Christian for many years. I feared many things... death, evil, Hell, God, "backsliding".... all sorts of things.\n\nI am now an atheist and do not believe in ANYTHING supernatural, so by default Hell, gods, demons, etc. hold zero fear for me. Also, I do not think it will be any different for me after I die than it was for me all those years before I was born, and while I do try to avoid death, I do not fear it. I accept it as part of life. If you listen to what Christians pray for, it's pretty obvious they fear a lot more than the wrath of their own god.\n\nAlso, I no longer have Satan or God to blame for my actions in any way. Taking full responsibility for what you do brings self-confidence, and self-confidence is a great way to get rid of fear. When you think you can pray and some powerful buddy will bail you out of trouble, you aren't showing much self-reliance. Not feeling like you can do anything on your own against ultra-powerful entities should make it obvious to the Christians themselves that they naturally have more fear than atheists.\n\nI know many  Christians who use the argument that if I am wrong and there is a god, I will go to Hell. So if they use fear to recruit new Christians and keep them, doesn't it stand to reason they would have more fear?\n\nAdded after reading other responses: Almost every answer from Christians so far shows a fear I overcame... the fear of not being Christian! LOL!
582956
Atheists don't have enough knowledge about religion because they are not associated with any religion. I guess it's their own ignorant way of forming an opinion which ins't even valid. It's kind of like children laughing or teasing at something that they have never heard of. It's a childish way of coming to terms with something.\n\nYou're right in saying that there is a reason to believe in God. As a catholic, we don't really consider it as a "higher power" though. However, it is the only form of being that we worship (we worship no one else except God) which comes from one of the 10 commandments.\n\nOne other thing, why would God be unfair and cruel? Because of all the terrible things that happen? Let me tell you that there is a reason for everything that happens and it's all part of God's plan for each of us in the future. For example, something bad had to happen today for something more important that will happen tomorrow.
1069898
Many people curtail their entire lives believing that some strict father figure is watching over them ready to spank them if they do anything naughty.\n\nWithout religion you save the time you would waste in church.  You can be a good person content that the good comes from within, not from some fear of a God smiting or eternal damnation.\n\nYou can enjoy healthy sexuality without fear of sin.  In fact you are completely free to do whatever you like without worrying about whether your religious peers will shun you or judge you.\n\nFinally you are also free to intelligently consider ethical and moral situations without referring to some contradictory old religious text written by a bunch of men hundreds of years ago.  This leaves you able to be open minded and free thinking.
1007890
your not  crazy. That's a fact he, the evil one, want s to scare you into submission ...fear is one of satans greatest tools .. you know God is all powerful and will never leave you remember  next time satan and his angels try very hard to mess with you when you are doing your best to do what you know to be right  keep up the good work ...don't give up God loves you ok i am going to add  something  you cannot fight Satan God is the one with power you pray and pray and rebuke him in the name of Jesus and God will hear your prayers and make him leave....
927650
Only a fool does not have fear .If a soldier who does not have fear goes into battle the chances are he may not come back,alive.We all come to God from fear of going to Hell ,but it is The Holy Spirit who tells us that God is not a bad person and besides it is only right for us to do the right thing.Peter was at first frightened ,denying Jesus.Later on he overcame that fear to be crucified upside down.
598950
Hello tall paul.. :)\n\nWe are afraid of NOTHING, because Perfect Love from Jesus casteth out all fear.. :)\n\nCan Jesus, give you Love, Peace, Joy, Kindness and Gentleness and Forgiveness within your heart..Yes He can..and He will if you ask :)\n\nCan satan blind your eyes to the truth of God's Holy word..Yes he can..and he does.. :)\n\nCan satan give you greed, lust, hatred, anger, drugs and a lonliness within your heart, yes he can and he does..without evening asking him..gee what a nice guy he is.. :(\n\nWars are not because of religion..\n\nJames 4\n\n From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?\n \n2  Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.\n \n3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.\n \n4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.\n \n5  Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?\n \n6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith,\n         God resisteth the proud, \nbut giveth grace unto the humble. Prov. 3.34  \n \n \n7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.\n \n8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.\n \n9  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.\n \n10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.\n\nI am here for you.. :)\n \nIn Jesus Most Precious Name..\nWith Love..In Christ..
701099
They fear what they don't understand, and so must have a world to live in where they are able to explain everything.  The unknown frightens them.  God is something they don't understand, and so must make efforts to do away with God or the part God plays in our world so that they can feel comfortable.  Arrogance plays a big part in it, too.  How arrogant must someome be to think that they are capable of understanding everything in the universe to begin with.  Sometimes I wish folks from another part of the galaxy would come down here and show us all how little we truly know.
714378
God isn't threatened by what people think of Him, or whether or not they believe in Him. If you hate God, I'm sorry for you. To quote Ethel Waters, "Your arms are too short to box with God." God has always been alive and will never die. So if anyone should take a drink, it might be you.
386186
Absolutely.  Priests are in a position of trust.  Parents trust them to counsel and advise their children.  Children look up to and respect them.  If they are perverts, they should not be placed into a position where they can harm children or any other unsuspecting individuals.
16832
So that the ordinary masses of people feel guilty! And people who feel guilty are more easily led and/or influenced/manipulated.\n\nImagine if you considered yourself innocent and not guilty, why would you need priests to help you in the first place? \n\nYou could directly communicate with a Higher Being. No need for people inbetween. But that would rob the clergy their powers! So they continue to tell us that we have sinned, that we're bad people and that we need THEM to get redemption.\n\nHumbug.
936490
I don't really know why people say to "fear" God. There's nothing to be afraid of really. But I think what they mean is to be respectful of your maker. Show respect and humbleness towards the one who created you. To fear is to admire and praise and to show reverance. Hope that helps!
175131
one cant, at least THIS one cant.  When something terrible happens and you question gods "wisdom" a religious person will most often come back with god has a plan we just don't know what it is.  Well my point is if there is a god and this god is omnipotent then this god allows all of this terrible stuff to happen.  Now if this god has a plan that lets these things happen FOR WHATEVER REASON then it is not something I would want in my life.  If a person stands idly by and lets pain and suffering befall his fellow man when it is in his/her ability to stop the suffering then they are as much at fault as whatever is causing the suffering.  If a "god" dose the same thing, well its just a perverse sort of thing to put your faith in.
202368
It bothers you because you have the answer in your heart! Of course God wouldn't do that. But religion will tell you otherwise to try and control you with fear. He cannot be loving and forgiving and also send people to hell. That wouldn't make him the conqueror over sin would it? \n\nWho won, Satan or Jesus? Jesus saved the world and that is that. People just don't want to believe that they are free and loved. They want to do good things and be rewarded for them. And they want to be punished for being bad, or see other people being punished. Would you send someone from your family to hell - for anything? So how much more loving and forgiving is God than you are? \n\nYour heart is more reliable than any book.
1057008
good point. \ni am told to fear god by the church and i have more fear for him than i would for stalin if i was russian \nbut not saying that stalin is as bad as god, its not like im crazy or anything i know who the reall maniac is
495261
A natural fear of the Lord is something that everyone has to a certain degree. \nWe all fall so short of HIS GLORY, that it causes us concern.\nWhen you read the Bible you have two choices and two choices only.\nEither it is all Words of GOD and therefore correct;\nOr its all a bunch of trash.\nYou can not pick and choose.
1127228
Priests are people too. There's no Divine barrier that shields these people from sin once they are ordained.  Mind you, only 6% of priests have been associated in any way to molesting children.\n\nWe all know that society is a cess pool of immorality, so when the average man on the street is discovered to be a child molester, nobody really cares.\n\nBut we expect a Catholic priest to exhibit a proper moral code. So when one is discovered molesting a child, it's a shock.\n\nSociety has made two mistakes here:\n\n1) People, many of them Catholics, have placed priests upon a moral pedistal with standards impossible for any person to follow. We have to remember that priests are people too. They sin like everyone else.\n\n2) The Catholic Church's moral code is unpopular with Western civilization because what it finds morally acceptable, and what secular humanists find morally acceptable, are two different things entirely.\nThe media, largely secular humanistic, uses it's power and influence to attack the Catholic Church whenever possible - and people eat it up because they don't consider themselves sinners.\n\nMy point is that 'what IS' and 'what SEEMS TO BE' are two different things. Yes, some priests are child molesters - but only 6%. That's 6% too high of course, but let's face it; doesn't the media and the anti-Catholic crowd make things seem worse than they really are?