Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Fighting Our Fear

Fighting Our Fear

Last updated on: October 17, 2023 at 2:44 am by Henry Karlson

0 Comments

Fighting Our Fear 2023-10-17T02:44:30-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Joos van Craesbeeck: The Temptation Of St. Anthony / Wikimedia Commons

The Christian faith is a faith of hope and love, not fear. Those who think they can use threats to frighten people, and through such fear, make them Christians, have ignored or lost an element of the Christian faith, “for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim. 1:7 RSV). We are not to be afraid for Jesus has given us his peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn. 14:27 RSV). Nothing, no evil, should leave us so frightened that we end up despairing for ourselves and those around us. The Christian faith and the peace it gives to us teaches that no evil has any final or authoritative power over us. The Lord, like a good shepherd, guides the world, directing it so that it can and will attain its proper end: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4 RSV).

Yes, despite the way we are told to transcend fear, we are also told, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28 RSV). Fear is a part of the human condition. We will experience fear in our lives. We will be afraid, especially of those who can and will cause us pain and sorrow. We are afraid of cruelty. We are afraid of torture. We are afraid of needlessly suffering and even death. We want to live a life free from sorrow, and anything or anyone who threatens that can make us afraid.

We are told not to be afraid, and we find that, in many situations, we can indeed transcend fear; we will come face to face with our fears and overcome them, making sure those things which once made us afraid no longer have the power to do so. Sadly, even with our faith, even with our hope that comes from our faith, there will be things which challenge us and make us afraid. We must fight off such fear with courage realizing courage does not mean we do not sense any fear but we do not let fear dictate to us how we should act. We should not let fear become all powerful, for when we allow it to do so, we slowly find ourselves falling for the greatest kind of dread of all, that is, we start thinking God is wants to cause pain and sorrow, that God will use any possible excuse to condemn us to eternal perdition. That is not what God is like. God is love, and with such love, wants the best for us. By giving his peace to us, Jesus has us experience the truth of that love, and through it, to see through all such fear. Once we are victorious against it, we will find ourselves growing in strength, with the wisdom and grace we need to deal with other fears, so that in the end, we can become as bold and as courageous as Christ, doing all we can to help others: “You take possession of me. I become fearless. I act for the benefit of beings. I leave behind previous wrongdoing completely; never again shall I do another wrong.” [1]

Truly, then, the Christian faith teaches us that Jesus leaves us the peace we need in order to transcend all fear. Threatening people about hell is not spreading good news: teaching people there can be freedom from hell is:

Divine hope uplifts the heart, but fear of Gehenna crushes it. The light of the mind gives birth to faith; faith gives birth to the consolation of hope; hope fortifies the heart. Faith is the unveiling of the understanding. When the mind is darkened, faith is hidden, fear holds sway over us, and our hope is cut off. It is not the faith that comes from instruction which frees a man from pride and doubt, but the faith that is beheld and dawns in the understanding; this is called knowledge and the revelation of truth. As long as the mind perceives God as God by His being revealed to the understanding, fear will not approach the heart. When we are permitted to be in darkness and we lose this perception, then fear will assail us until we are humbled and we draw nigh to humility and repentance. [2]

To overcome fear, we can and should confront it with the peace and grace we have been given. We must bring the light of grace within, to expose the monsters, within and without, which seek to dominate and control us. Demonic powers pounce at us only when we allow them to do so, when we give them power over us. Fear gives them that power. Exposing them to the light, showing both the terrible things they can and do inspire, but also their weakness, their inability to overcome the light when it is exposed, is important. If we try to ignore them and cast them into the darkness within, we only give them a place to thrive and grow and become a threat later in our lives. If we confront them with the spirit of power and self-control that we have been given thanks to grace, we will find their power diminishes until, in the end, they have been cast out and are gone from our lives. This requires us to be willing to look into the darkness, to see the potential monsters in there, to weaken them and their power over us by exposing them to the light. Sometimes we do this by looking deeply into ourselves, but sometimes we are to do this by reflecting upon the pain and sorrow we and others around us have experienced, giving that pain and a name and form, for when we do that, we bind them to those forms, giving us something which we can then expel. This is one of the reasons why telling stories which deal with such dreaded powers is important, for we end up giving a name and form which traps such demonic powers so that all their power is drained from them.

In the end, the greatest horror we will face, the greatest demonic powers we will face, are those powers within which tempt us to do evil; we can make no peace with such horror, we must, instead, courageously fight it until we see Christ’s victory shine within us:

If you think that persecution has relaxed and that you have no quarrel with the enemy, look closely at the hidden centers of your heart. As a diligent inspector enter all the recesses of your soul. Then see if no opposition confronts you, if no tyrant wants to rule in the citadel of your spirit. Do not make peace with avarice, and despise the rewards of unjust dealings. Refuse to make an accord with pride, and fear more to be raised up in glory than to be trampled on in humiliation. Restrain yourself from anger, and do not let the desire for vengeance inflame the resentment of ill will. [3]

So long as we are afraid to confront the evil within, we let the hell of our own making have power over us. We must never let hell have the final say. We must find a way to embrace the courage which Christ has given to us. We must engage the world and the horrors within it. We must consider not only real horrors, but potential ones, so that we can make sure such potential horrors do become realized. We must not let the shadow of death itself distract us from our work. For our eyes should be on Christ, on the peace he gives to us, finding a way to take in that peace and spread it throughout all creation, so that in the end, truly, God will be all in all and all the demonic powers will be abolished for eternity.

[1] Śāntideva, The Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra. Trans. Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995; repr. 1998), 14 [2.9].

[2] Saint Isaac the Syrian, The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian. Trans. Monks of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Rev. 2nd ed (Boston, MA: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 2011), 384 [Homily 51].

[3] St Leo the Great, Sermons. Trans. Jane Patricia Freeland CSJB and Agnes Josephine Conway SSJ (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1996), 363-4 [Sermon 84B].

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

General Christian

Previous Post

October 15, 2023

II Nicea And Practical Theology

Next Post

October 18, 2023 Israel Has A Right To Defend Itself

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Gosh, did that hit the spot. I have been having great anxiety lately. And I ..."

Mark Wilson

Rejecting Doom: Christian Hope And Human ..."

"Justice and peace are two sides of the same coin. Where there is justice, there ..."

Dr.Cajetan Coelho

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Thank you for your very, very powerful and very, very insightful analysis of the relationship ..."

alwayspuzzled

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Given the amount of lethal malevolence that has prevailed in human history for the past ..."

alwayspuzzled

We Must Value Our Health

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz