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Rejecting Fear, Embracing Hope

Rejecting Fear, Embracing Hope

Last updated on: April 6, 2026 at 1:18 am by Henry Karlson

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Rejecting Fear, Embracing Hope 2026-04-06T01:18:17-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Ahill34: Young Girl With Hopeful Expression / Wikimedia Commons

Christ is Risen! Joy From Heaven is around us, Christ our Pasch now dwells among us! All things are made anew, giving us hope, hope for ourselves, and hope for everyone and everything else. Christ has overcome the fallen powers that be, the structures of sin and the nihilistic death which they bring. He is risen, and we are to rise with him. While we celebrate Christ’s resurrection during Paschaltide, and with it, embrace the hope and joy his resurrection brings to us, it seems to me that we sadly lose that hope and joy as time goes by. We have them for a brief period of time, maybe even only a day, before things go back to normal. Then, fear starts to grow in our hearts, and with that fear, our faith itself gets subverted, because we no longer keep up with the hope which God wants us to have.

Christ does not want us to be afraid. He wants us to continue to have hope and love. Hope should motivate us, helping us overcome those petty fears which would hold us back, those fears which prevent us from confronting and seeking to overcome the structures of sin reigning supreme in our lives. And, sadly, it seems all too often, the way Christianity is presented, reinforces this, because so much of it is spread by proselytizers engaging our human fears, proselytizers who preach “fire and brimstone,” that is, use the threat of hell as the sole reason to follow Christ. What should be preached, what should be the message, is love, not fear; we should be motivated by love, love for what is good and true, and with that love, find our fears melt away as we look upon the face of love, Christ.

When fearmongering becomes the main way people use to proclaim the Christian faith, everything goes astray. It leads only to despair, as hope and love are entirely lost to Christians. They look out into the world full of fear, and, through that fear, they begin to hate the world, thinking everyone and everything in it is a threat to them and their very existence. They end up believing that the only potential response to their fears is to either to hide away from the world, or to find a way to destroy it, thereby eliminating that which they fear. When Christians live with such fear and hate, they are easily manipulated; they are easily led center their fears on that which they do not know, that which they do not understand, that which is different, often leading to some form of xenophobia.

Christians are called to love, and through that love, find all their fears melt away. My patron saint, St. Antony the Great, explained this was one of many lessons he learned during his spiritual journey. He came to realize he should not live with fear, even the fear of God, because he and everyone else is called to the love of God. When he embraced that love, he found his fears were dispelled. In my life, I have had a similar kind of experience. This is because, in my youth, and especially in middle and high schools, I listened to and was influenced by those who presented the Christian faith with such fearmongering, such as Bob Larson, who I would listen to on the radio after I got home from school, and John Ankerberg, who had television programs discussing what he said were the evils of rock music and Roman Catholicism (among many other concerns he wanted his audience to have). The conclusions they made, often based upon ignorance, or relying upon ignorance to promote their fearmongering, influenced me, making me think that I should avoid those things which appeared to be tainted by evil. This is why, for a time, I turned away from my love of the horror genre in books and movies, and role-playing games, because I came to believe that there might be something demonic about them. This sentiment only lasted a couple years, but by the time I was over it, it was too late, as I had sold off many books which I wished I had kept, many which I have never bought again (as they were out of print and hard to find, and expensive if I did). Thus, through my own experience, I understand how popular Christian media can influence its audience, especially those who are younger, those who are new to the faith, or those who have not been properly taught the basics of the faith. When Christians want to learn more, they turn to what is available, and if what they find presented by popular media is fearmongering, they will likely take it in as true. This is why we must counter such bad presentations of the faith with good, encouraging materials, materials which promote the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, reminding every Christian we should not have or act upon a spirit of fear. Instead, we should follow the advice which was given to Timothy: “Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control” (1 Tim. 1:6-7 RSV).

Sadly, too many Christians listen only to those who embrace fear instead of hope. Yes, it is important to know the injustices in the world, to expose them, but it is important to do so in the proper fashion, one which maintains hope, and with that hope, love, instead of having people become so afraid they embrace hate and do the opposite of what Christ wants them to do.

Fearmongers have us look at various groups of people or things in the world and make some generalized statements about them to suggest why they are dangerous and to be rejected, hoping to keep us in fear. They tempt us in many ways to embrace our fear, to let it direct and guide our actions, instead of hope. Sadly, as fear is a strong emotion, it is one which readily gains an audience; those who embrace it or use it to manipulate Christians, are using elements of the Christian faith to have Christians act contrary to the love and hope they are supposed to have. We often see this in politics. Christian nationalism, and with it, the xenophobia which emerges from such nationalism, wants us to be afraid and hate those who are different, those who are not Christian (or the right kind of Christian), or those who do not come from the right cultural or religious background. While it is far from what Christ would have us be, it has had a long history in Christianity, as it is what has led to Christian antisemitism, both ancient and modern, as well as Islamophobia, and sometimes both Christians should know better, because Christ teaches us to reach out to other and embrace them with love, treating them hospitality instead of contempt.

It was fear of the unknown, a fear of what appeared to be different, which led to the great Satanic panic of the 80s (and with it, the attacks on Dungeons and Dragons); it is also this kind of fear which manifests itself in the way many Christians are led to think that the modern UFO phenomena comes from demons. Is it any surprise, therefore, that J.D. Vance, with his embrace of Christian nationalism, and the fearmongering which goes with it, now claims any encounter with alien life, if it happens, would not be with some sentient creature, but demons? This kind of attitude is dangerous, because, if (in the small chance) we ever meet such alien life, Christians would be ready to demonize it, attacking it instead of showing it the love it should be given. Certainly, recent Popes (and officials from the Vatican) do not have the fear which J.D. Vance advances; rather, they have said if such life exists, and if we ever have a way to meet with it, we should not only be able to engage it and learn from it, but we should be able to share with them what God has revealed to us (if they do not already know it). This is not just a modern sentiment; it is one which many Christians have had throughout the centuries. My favorite theologian who took the plurality of worlds as a given is Nicholas of Cusa, who stated God created a universe full of life. If aliens exist, they certainly would be among those given grace Christ. Indeed, it would seem that there is something about this hope represented in a story concerning my patron saint, St. Antony. St. Jerome tells us that Antony once was on his way to meet with St. Paul the Hermit, and in the middle of his arduous journey, he met with what appeared to be a satyr. Jerome indicated that Antony at first assumed the creature was a demon, but it told Antony not to be afraid, that it was another one of God’s creatures, that its people had had heard at least some of Christ has done amongst humanity and was interested in learning more. While many scholars assume Jerome was intending this to be a satirical story, criticizing paganism, others point out Jerome, when writing historical narratives, did not like to tell stories he believed did not happen (even if he exaggerated them in a way which was the fashion of ancient historians). No matter how we take it, the story shows us the kind of spirit which Jerome suggests we should have when we encounter something marvelous, like an intelligent non-human creature; we are not to embrace fear, we are not to assume it is a demon, but we should cautiously engage it with hope that it is another form of life which God created, showing it love and respect instead of treating it with disdain.

J.D. Vance’s remarks on the UFO phenomena, in the way he suggests it must be demonic, shows the typical kind of demonization which follows xenophobia. While it might start off with such fear, it often ends up leading to the dehumanization of that which is feared. This is why I have seen or heard many Christians, especially Christian nationalists, end up calling Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and other non-Christians, as being demonic. Soon after, I see that dehumanization being used to promote the eradication of those who have been demonized. Christian hope, and with it, the love Christians should have for others, time and time again is eliminated by that fear. The more we let our hearts be troubled with fear, the further we find ourselves from the peace and love of Christ, and the further we are from that peace, the easier we can and will be manipulated to do what Christ would not have us do, which is to hate and seek the destruction of that which we hate. Sadly, this is what I see happening today. Too many Christians hate immigrants, and it is that hate which allows them to justify the unjustifiable injustices used against immigrants, especially refugees they should be helping. It is also that same hate which has many Christians seeking to establish a crusade to eradicate all Muslims from the world. Fearmongering has gotten us here. So long as such fearmongering continues to be accepted by Christians, instead of being instantly rejected, we will find Christians coming to live with hate and fear. Because of it, they will not be able to attain the peace of Christ in them, for his peace can only be experienced in and through the embrace of fearless love.

* This Is Another Post From My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

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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.

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