I was raised in 'fear" of my parents...........that was NOT a mentally healthy thing for me. I do not teach my children fear of anything. I am and did raise my children to look at all things positively and fear is a negative thing. No negativity in all things.....discipline, ( I dont do that when I am angry) teaching morals and values...(yes I have them even if I am Wiccan and those who think I am a heathen will think I have no morals) .......anyway what I am getting at is that "fear" is a negative thing, a negative word, and I fear nothing......for the Universe is not a fearful place.

First of all.... my apologies ahead of time if this analogy offends anyone.

When I was a child I asked my father this very same question, "Why should I fear God, Dad? He is supposed to Love me... like you do. He would never hurt me... would he?"

My Dad assured me that God would never hurt me. But also explained that if I didn't follow God's commandments I would end up hurting myself. "Please explain", I asked.

He went on to describe the "Fear of God" using our woodstove as an analogy. We heated our home and cooked our meals on our family woodstove. It was the center of a great deal of attention in our home.

He explained that, "God is like our woodstove. It takes care of us by keeping us warm and cooking our meals. Without the woodstove we would freeze to death. But if we foolishly reach out and touch the stove with our bare hand we are going to get burned. The woodstove didn't make you touch it. That was your doing. You need to learn to fear the woodstove because it is very powerful and has the potential to hurt you. It will not hurt you and will only take care of you as long as you remain aware of its power and fear its power to hurt you."

"As long as I fear the woodstove's power to hurt me it will only help me. Right Dad?", I said.

"That's right. All it WANTS to do is help you son. You don't worry that the woodstove is going to get up in the middle of the night when it is roaring hot and jump into bed with you... do you?"

"No. That's silly dad.", I said.

"Of course it is! ha ha", he said, "God is the same way!"

Keep in mind that I was only about 7 or 8 at the time.

But his point stuck to this day.

This is the fear that is correct. But also we need to fear God because we cant trust ourselves thinking we are not going to miss God because we love him unless we have perfect love. A dose of fear will protect us from getting burn since we are not perfect obeying God. I think some people hear the word terror when they see the word fear. When my father told me with an angry face "Get down from that table and don't do it again", I got a little dose of fear by the way he said it. Everytime I was tempted to do it again there was something (a small fear) that prevented me to do it again. I could have gotten hurt by falling from that table. But that small fear protected me until I was able to understand the reason behind my father's command.

This is the fear that is correct. But also we need to fear God because we cant trust ourselves thinking we are not going to miss God because we love him unless we have perfect love. A dose of fear will protect us from getting burn since we are not perfect obeying God. I think some people hear the word terror when they see the word fear. When my father told me with an angry face "Get down from that table and don't do it again", I got a little dose of fear by the way he said it. Everytime I was tempted to do it again there was something (a small fear) that prevented me to do it again. I could have gotten hurt by falling from that table. But that small fear protected me until I was able to understand the reason behind my father's command.

I've never wanted my children to not do something for fear I wouldn't love them or for fear that I'd be angry...

I think that your example is one of the saddest examples of power-hungry adults using their position to cast someone smaller and weaker than themselves into a position of subordination.

That's why man invented god/s....to have something bigger to look to instead of trusting themselves and accapting responsibility for their own good and bad choices in life. Blame it on the most high that you can't help your neighbor because after all, your neighbor is a deviant and we all know you're not supposed to consort with sinners.

The thing I fear most is that which is out of control....rabid belief in an invisible space alien who promised to come back at the end of the world...so believers sit in positions of power with their fingers just twitching to push the button to hasten that return.....

Too bad for the rest of us who think rationally instead of allowing superstition to be our guide.

No fear is ever correct. Why should we fear, so that some one can control us. That is what this is all about, control. There is nothing loving about fear.

Preachers scream from the pulpits every time the church doors are open, don't sin you will burn in hell and won't to heaven (that being some place we should all attain to going to so that we can be further controlled, hmm, doesn't sound like too much fun). The Sunday school teachers, pastors and priests use their "power" and "control" on children...they scare them until they almost pee themselves stating "you must take Jesus in your heart or you will burn in hell". Oh yes,they also use this power to molest these innocent children. They back them into a corner, what does a child know. This must be "right" my parents sent me here.

Wake up everyone please if for anything let it be for the innocent children. They don't have the reasoning capability of an adult. If they are taught fear in the home they will accept this fear from any adult!

No fear is ever correct. Why should we fear, so that some one can control us. That is what this is all about, control. There is nothing loving about fear.

Preachers scream from the pulpits every time the church doors are open, don't sin you will burn in hell and won't to heaven (that being some place we should all attain to going to so that we can be further controlled, hmm, doesn't sound like too much fun). The Sunday school teachers, pastors and priests use their "power" and "control" on children...they scare them until they almost pee themselves stating "you must take Jesus in your heart or you will burn in hell". Oh yes,they also use this power to molest these innocent children. They back them into a corner, what does a child know. This must be "right" my parents sent me here.

Wake up everyone please if for anything let it be for the innocent children. They don't have the reasoning capability of an adult. If they are taught fear in the home they will accept this fear from any adult!