Christians Downplay the Need to Fear a Monstrous God
Jewish counterculture and subversive monotheism
In a video sermon, the popular YouTuber and Catholic apologist Brian Holdsworth explains why we should take seriously the biblical passages about the need to fear God.
According to Holdsworth, it’s not just that we should fear being separated from God when we burn forever in Hell. No, the Bible talks about the need to fear God himself. According to the Bible, God is terrible, not just what God can do to us. Plainly, God would have to be terrifying in the first place if he would inflict Hell on us or if he would drag his chosen people, the Jews, through the mud.
The need for fear of God
Again, the Bible is plain about this. For instance, there’s Proverbs 3:7, “Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil,” and Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Fear of the Lord is viscerally portrayed in the Book of Job, and is summed up in 23:13–17, “But he [the Lord] stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases. He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store. That is why I am terrified before him; when I think of all…
