You shouldn't have to fear God.

I'm a non-religious spiritualist. I'm not involved in any institutional belief including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc.

                                                                                                                                                      

It's wrong for the sinful, imperfect creations of a 'perfect' God to hit their children for refusing to return their love, but it's okay for an infinitely patient, benevolent, forgiving and loving God to burn his 'beloved children' for eternity for the same reason.

This is obviously an allusion to Christianity and related beliefs. I mention that because that's where the idea of 'fearing God' sprang up.

So to those people, I go on to ask if, in any healthy relationship with anyone they love - anyone - they feel there should be fear. That goes for parents, children, siblings, friends, best friends, soul mates, brothers-in-arms, and any other kind of relationship established on the grounds of trust, open hearts, freely giving, and unconditional love, all in the best interest to protect and ensure the best for those subject to said feelings.

When they say "No," case dismissed. I've nothing to argue. But when I get a "Yes," it bothers me profusely. So I ask "Why?" I always get a conglomerate of responses adding up to something like, "You should fear God the way you fear authority, like you feared your parents as a child. Fear is necessary to protect you, because they know what they're doing and don't expect you to interfere. Just as fear is necessary to survive in the wilderness, to run from threats."

I understand where someone's coming from with this. But I've noticed it's usually carried on the minds of those raised under harsh parenting, where hitting a child was justified on, "Because I love you." And being children, we don't usually question what we're told. So we come up with things like this steam-pressed onto our mental chalkboard into adulthood, where the dogma's recycled on the children of those adults. "That's how my parents raised me, so that's how it should be, and my own children won't have it any other way." I would know, my girlfriend's parents came up under Hindu culture and that's a rule of parenting where they're from: strike fear into your children to ease the parenting process. (Rather than lovingly guide them and treat them with the respect you're expected to treat anyone else.) Notice, they're Hindu. Striking fear into one's children is acceptable because their gods do the same. As with Christianity, "God does it, so as a godly parent, I shall follow by example." Notice the ties to religion. Goes full-circle back to fearing God originating with religion. It passes down through children via parenting through fear hosted onto the belief systems which are drilled into childrens' minds before they're of age to question it. These are the same people who've garnered impossible magnitudes of bloodshed through religious wars in name of fearing a 'loving' God. Because bloodshed resultant of outright denial of others' perspectives is loving, right?

I've been through all the mills online arguing with the dogmatic, whether theistic or not. Yes, even atheists have had this problem, and it's usually rooted on mainstream science and the idea of survival; "In nature, fear is naturally used to avoid harm. Thus, to avoid harm to my child, I raise him under fear. I raise him to fear the world, and I moreover raise him to fear me, because if he doesn't listen to me, I'll give him something to be afraid of." Because that's more intelligent than raising your child to calmly focus, maintain self-control, and rationally analyze the best solution to avoiding a potentially dangerous situation. Right?

If fear is designed to avoid harm by means of running from said threat or retaliating against it, why should I fear God? How can I become closer to a God whom I'm expected to run from or retaliate against?... Or does God intend to harm me? "He will, if you don't fear Him." But why? "Don't ask questions, you'll burn in Hell. Surely you're afraid of that!"

We don't need to be afraid to avoid harm when we can rationally react to dangerous situations instead. We don't even need fear to react impulsively. We don't need fear at all, period. Ever. Fear's saved people, granted. So has pure coincidence. So has embracing lies. So have so many other systems of thought which a thinking human knows isn't right. How many times has fear killed people who reacted on fearful impulse instead of steadfast, rational quickness? Panicking, crashing into things, self-injury hand-in-hand with collateral damage, stabbing oneself into that sharp outcropping their adrenaline-clouded mind didn't process, or falling off that ravine that wasn't there, or running in front of a moving vehicle that seemed stationary in the only instance you consciously noticed it... These instances don't save people, man.

Getting verbally and mentally defensive with someone results of fear. This causes problems in peoples' relationships, the physical catastrophes in the previous paragraph just happening on a mental level. Running from your problems by avoiding the person who 'threatened' you. Angrily and/or hatefully making impulsive remarks and outlashes from those dark emotions which you wouldn't've said in your rational mind. "I hate you!" when, you actually love them. "I wish I'd never met you! Never speak to me again!" when, you wouldn't know what to do without them. "Fuck you!" when you've nothing more constructive to say.

It's this understanding of fear which is why I feel fear can never be used as grounds for love. Fear is weakness... as I see it. And I believe that's how it truly is. I believe fear's the root of all evil, including the 'sin' religious individuals dread.