Biblical References
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages are from the NIVArchives
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Category Archives: fear
Inerrantists are My Brothers and Sisters in Jesus—Not My Enemies
I do not believe in biblical inerrancy. I think inerrancy is a very harmful belief, and I often demonstrate the errors of the assumption, or presupposition, of inerrancy. Of course, I get a lot of push-back from inerrantists and (though … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, fear, hell, inerrancy, Jesus, legalism, love
Tagged angry God, enemy, homosexuality, John 13, LGBT, proof-texting, sexual abuse, spousal abuse
35 Comments
Belief in Biblical Inerrancy Must be the Second Most Damaging, Misguided Christian Belief of All
Earlier we discussed that Angry God is a foundational harmful belief because it gives rise to other misguided, harmful beliefs. We can say the same about Inerrancy and for the same reason. In fact, the two are closely connected. Inerrancy leads … Continue reading
Posted in atonement, Bible, creationism, dispensationalism, evolution, fear, gays, God, hell, inerrancy, Jesus, legalism, love, Old Testament, Satan
Tagged angry God, Demons, LGBT, patriarchy, Penal Substitution, proof-texting, Rapture, YEC
84 Comments
If We Are Free to Approach God Without Fear, What Becomes of Our Other Religious Fears—Like Hell?
To many believers God is love. This is the primary thing we know about God from Jesus—unconditional love. This is what Jesus told us about the Father and also what Jesus demonstrated in his own life as the representative of … Continue reading
Posted in atonement, fear, God, hell, Jesus, legalism, love
Tagged angry God, Gehenna, Hades, Isaiah 66, Jeremiah 19, Penal Substitution
22 Comments
Belief in Angry God is Perhaps the Most Damaging, Misguided Christian Belief of All
What is more central to our religious experience than our relationship with God? But some believers understand their relationships with God much differently than others do. Most of us believe God loves us and cares about us. We even talk … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, fear, hell, Jesus, legalism, love, love your enemies, Old Testament, The Father
Tagged angry God, Deuteronomy 28, harmful beliefs, Hebrews 10, Matthew 5, sermon on the mount
44 Comments
How Some Misguided Christian Beliefs are Very Harmful
Christianity is a very broad group of more than 2.3 billion people throughout the world, and there is tremendous variation in doctrinal beliefs among us. What we have in common is that we all, in some way, recognize Jesus as … Continue reading
Dealing with the Confusion, Grief, and Existential Chaos of Leaving Fundamentalism or Traditional Evangelicalism
If you are questioning beliefs you were taught in fundamentalism or evangelicalism, your journey might be going smoothly or it might involve a lot of fear and uncertainty. It is not easy challenging beliefs we once deeply held. Over a … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, evangelicalism, fear, fundamentalism, inerrancy, Jesus, Paul
Tagged Adam, Emma Higgs
83 Comments
We Often Create God in Our Own Image: Angry God Part 2
Last time we talked about how thinking God to be angry, violent, and vindictive, based on Old Testament stories like the flood and the genocide of the Canaanites, can cause us to be angry, violent, and vindictive too in imitation … Continue reading
Posted in fear, God, hate, Jesus, love your enemies
Tagged Amalekites, angry God, Canaanites
60 Comments
We Often Become What We THINK God is Like: Angry God Part 1
Many people at some point decide to begin reading the Bible. But the Bible is a very large book; where should they begin? A large percentage begin at the beginning, of course—Genesis! Genesis is an interesting book: there are creation … Continue reading
Posted in fear, God, Jesus, judgment, love, Old Testament
Tagged angry God, Empathy compassion and care, the flood
118 Comments
Lean Not On Your Own Understanding: The Fear of Thinking in Fundamentalism
If you have ever questioned what you were taught by conservative churches, I am sure you experienced a certain amount of fear and trepidation in doing so. This fear is built into the conservative Christian culture and is constantly reinforced … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, doubt, fear, fundamentalism
Tagged proof-texts, Proverbs 1, Proverbs 3, wisdom
94 Comments
Hell? Conditional Immortality? Something Else? What Happens to Those Who Reject God?
I agree with believers who suggest that God offers eternal life after death to everyone — even those who have never heard, and even those of other religions. Thus it is possible that all who ever lived could be part of … Continue reading
Posted in conditional immortality, eternal life, fear, hell, Kingdom of God, resurrection
Tagged Annihilation, Isaiah 66, Jeremiah 19, Plato, universalism
50 Comments
5 Great Fears Believers Should Never Have
We mentioned before that many believers today are driven by fear—especially in very theologically conservative groups. This includes the fear of God, the fear of hell, the fear of making a mistake, the fear of being wrong, and the fear … Continue reading
Believers Should Never Have a Fear of God
Many believers today are driven by fear—especially in very theologically conservative groups. Leaders in those groups teach that God is often angry, harsh, and vindictive. And this is easy to believe when we read certain Old Testament stories; for these … Continue reading
Dealing with the Fear of Doubt and of Questioning Religious Beliefs We have been Taught
Growing up a fundamentalist, and then 25 years as an evangelical, I witnessed a lot of fear and experienced significant fear myself. These very conservative environments are filled with fear and, to a large extent, are based on fear—fear of … Continue reading
Posted in authority, baggage, doubt, evangelicalism, faith, fear, fundamentalism
Tagged Proverbs 14:12
48 Comments
5 Reasons Why the Harmful Doctrine of Mandatory Tithing is Wrong
Believers should be able to give as much as they want to the church and to church projects; and they should determine for themselves how much to give based on their own criteria, but telling people they are obligated to … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, fear, Jesus, legalism
Tagged Haggai 1, Perry, stewardship, the poor, tithing
47 Comments
“If There’s No Hell then I Will Sin All I Want!”
One day I spoke with an elderly believer who was a fundamentalist all her life, and the issue of hell came up in such a way that I shared with her that I didn’t believe eternal punishment in burning hell … Continue reading
Posted in fear, God, hell, Jesus, legalism, love, sin, the Good News, witnessing
Tagged Do unto others, Love your neighbor as yourself, Mark 1, morality
62 Comments
Addressing Sin in the Old Testament
When many of us think of sin we are heavily influenced, consciously or unconsciously, by what we remember from the Old Testament. So let’s look briefly at Old Testament concepts of sin; I think it will help resolve some of … Continue reading
Posted in fear, God, Jesus, legalism, Old Testament, sin
Tagged 10 Commandments, Israel, Temple ritual
24 Comments
Do You Still Feel Guilt and Fear because You Fall Short of what God Demands?
Recently I published a post titled God’s Love for Us Takes Away Our Fear, Guilt, and Self-Condemnation. Two responses represented what I am sure many people felt after reading the article—they still felt guilty and fearful. The post was not … Continue reading
Posted in fear, God, hell, Jesus, Kingdom of God, legalism, love, the Good News
Tagged divorce, guilt, Matthew 5
38 Comments
God’s Love for Us Takes Away Our Fear, Guilt, and Self-Condemnation
We begin life very self-centered; as infants we are totally dependent, so we are only interested in having our personal needs met. Only later do we recognize other individuals and begin to consider their needs. However, our process of socialization is … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, fear, God, Jesus, love, sin, The Father, the Good News
Tagged Naked Pastor
15 Comments
God is not Angry and Harsh with Us as Many of Us Thought
Do you think God is angry, harsh, and vindictive toward us? Millions of people do, and I used to believe it myself—for good reason. All the preachers, teachers, and other church leaders taught that he is; if we don’t walk … Continue reading
4 Ways that Believing God is Angry and Harsh Hurts People
As a young believer, I was taught that God is angry, harsh, and vindictive. I was taught to be afraid of God and follow strict religious rules or he would punish me in terrible ways; I’m sure many of you … Continue reading
Posted in fear, God, hell, legalism, the Good News
40 Comments
Jesus Without Baggage 