It is only the fear of God that can deliver us from the fear of man.
Get a FREE Copy of "The Essential Federalist Papers
What Jefferson called the greatest commentary on Government ever written, organized by topic!
Share →
25 Responses to George Whitefield, Unsourced (From the Founders, Religion, and Government Page)
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
Search The Federalist Papers Project Archives and Historical Database
Get The Essential Federalist Papers
Get a FREE Copy of "The Essential Federalist PapersWhat Jefferson called the greatest commentary on Government ever written, organized by topic!
If you love and fear God, and follow his promises & instruction, no man can hold you or your future, and cannot exert dominion over you.
I agree, as whether we like it or not God always intercedes for or acts against the actions of man.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God
The other side of the coin: if the Almighty God loves you and saves you, what difference does it make what Man thinks of you?!
I certainly don’t believe in fearing God. God IS Love. I do however fear God’s JUSTICE because it is PERFECT. At the same time, I LOVE God’s justice because it is perfect. Mankind on the other hand is scary. I understand Whitefield’s point however, in that the fear of God’s perfect justice should keep society from terrorizing their fellow man.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a Holy and angry God…so best not to piss him off in the first place
There are a few of us out there who do not subscribe to any religion (not necessarily atheists, think: deist); we respect others’ religious faith and acknowledge that faith can assist mankind towards loftier futures. Likewise, said faith should never be the reason for any political decision, but rather the inspiration to be a good steward of the Liberty of God’s children.
Like muslims and progressive socialists; they have a forced conversion of pluralistic secularism. Those who beleive in collective groups; don’t submit to God and Christ Jesus. But they submit to oppress all people to follow the groups sins and only when you submit to the groups will; is the only way sins are allowed to them. But individual responsibility shows us that sin is wrong; cause it is God that shows us the evil of oppressing others and there is more freedom standing against sin. Muslims & progressive christians allow sin in their congregations. As long as; their members accept their teachings that their power is above all other powers. This is the blaspheming mentioned in revelations of the Bible.
I believe in the fear of God. KNowing that God has the final say in man’s judgement is far beyond the comprehension of any of us and is to be feared, revered, trusted and respected. His way is absolute as ours is fickle. No man should weild power over another so long as the fear of God is greater. This is not to say that we do not love God, but do we not also fear our fathers vainly hoping they never find out our transgressions while loving them all the same?
@ Don…Exactly!
Ben Franklin posed something similar, that it would take a strong moral code in order for us to honor our laws in the form of the Constitution. Sociologist call it “repressive law” or a common moral code amongst a society that prevents individuals from breaching societal norms. In short, even if you think of it intellectually, it can’t be denied.
All my life I’ve hear the expression “fear God” and I don’t understand that. I have never feared God. I love God, as he is my Co-pilot. I guess I’ve missed something along the way somewhere.
I has been the case that wars are fought because men use religion as a way to move men to war. If we were to actually study the word of God and that would include the word read in most religions, The word teaches peace and love of eachother not killing as our governments lead us to do. Therefore fear of God and not man,more correctly Love Of God and his word will bring us together. Men using God’s word incorrectly are the source of our ills, we need to correct that and move on …
God is a loving God, and I don’t fear Him, but I love Him, and respect what He does for me and all mankind.
Fear in this context also means respect, not just knee knocking dread. If the men and women serving in our government actually feared God, and at that more than their fellow man, we would not be in the mess we’re in now.
Our founders were wise men to keep appeals to various magical sky wizards out of the Constitution.
The Bible says,fear he who can kill body and soul. (Christ Jesus) Once anyone, admits they need a Savior, and turns to Christ Jesus, as their Lord and Savior,and repents of their sins, and start following Christ Jesus, in reading their Bibles, and learning what it means to be a Christian,Born-Again Christian. Christ Jesus, will give us a new mind, and a new spirit, that will be more inline with his and his will.
To fear only ment, to hold in high regard, respect or reverance. Not as we think of today when we think of a Mad muslium running around with c4 strapped around his jocky shorts
I think fearing God means standing in awe of Him and His holiness; recognizing you and your selfish desires are not what it is all about, but His glory and perfect goodness are what it’s all about; walking humbly with God, who *alone* can be trusted, with eyes wide open when it comes to how far the sinful “self” can be trusted.
The *only* reason a sinful human being can come boldly before the throne of grace is because God Himself condescended to humble Himself, be made in human likeness, and become obedient to the point of death, as the supreme example of love, service and humility for us.
Any belief system (religious or otherwise) that does not recognize the insufficiency of self and the all-sufficiency of God has as its starting point self-deception, and easily gives place to pride, self-righteousness, and the illegitimate exercise of raw power over others. A truly good society is one in which each individual is willing to examine honestly and govern his own passions. And individuals like that are too concerned with being transparent and humble before their Creator, and growing more like Him, to try to “fake it” before others.
The respect[fear[ for, the love of God is what gives hope of eternal salvation and faith that all will be well. So what can man do? If we fear him, it is for what purpose as death should not harm us?
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant…”
I think the statement is true, but I don’t think it is relevant to a discussion about a government that respects individual rights and property rights and that promotes liberty. It would, however, be relevant to a discussion about a tyrannical government and whether or not to overthrow it.
I agree because it’s true now the same as it was then, even more so. These universal truths never change! I just wish more people believed them and acted accordingly!
“We can never count on a man who does not look upon himself with the look of an entomologist.” (Don Colacho’s Aphorisms).
More from Bob at OneCosmos today:
“More generally, you can be fairly certain that anyone who accuses the wealthy of “greed” has never exhumined his own buried motivations, and for this reason has a warped view of mankind.
For to suggest that a man is ‘greedy’ should be a banality of the first rank. The question is, what are *you* going to do about *your* greed? Make it go away by confiscating from those who have more than you? Envy, like evil, cannot be appeased. Rather, appeasing it fuels it.
The above considerations explain how and why there is no one more aware of his faults and failings than the saint, for his conscience is the most developed. Charity begins at home, by modestly ridding the world of a single assoul. ‘The first act of charity is to rid the soul of illusions and passions and thus rid the world of a maleficent being; it is to make a void so that God may fill it and, by this fullness, give Himself. A saint is a void open for the passage of God’ (Schuon).”
Eyes wide open.
Hmmm…that Schuon quote would make a good status…