Is fear in God just an illusion to control people?

Answer 1

Short answer - Yes.

But to the Church's credit, the God of the bible is certainly one to be feared. Be grateful people who don't like you can't speak directly to God and have you torn asunder by a wild animal.

Answer 2

How curious that you post this in the Philosophy section.
If you are purely consulting reason on this, you will be misled.
In fact, you will probably rationalize your wrong answer.
God is not an illusion. And fear of God can be justified. Unless we go whole hog here and just hope there is no Last Judgment. Some people obviously have a heap to fear.
You can think of some of those people. Hitler, Stalin, etc. Don't contribute to the bs that keeps some people at least from being the hell-raisers they might be if they didn't have to fear eternal damnation. As for me, best to love God.

Answer 3

Some people would argue that it is not fear that we feel towards God, but 'awe and wonder' that keeps us in control. We do not 'fear' Him as such, but are completely amazed by Him and this has a direct impact on our actions. We do not act because we fear we may upset God, but because we are inspired by Him to do the right thing.

Other people would argue that yes, Religion does use God as a threat. Churches use God to get money out of people. Naturally, nobody would part with their money, but as soon as the church has God on their side, it becomes almost compulsory.

It's up to you to decide. There are many views on this subject and there is no right or wrong answer.

I hope I've helped on your understanding in some way. :)

Answer 4

It really depends on the individual(s) using it. Some people will endorse 'fear of God' because they honestly believe in it and think they are helping people (and can't be convinced otherwise, LOL). Some people will use religion and things like a 'fear of God' for their own motives, primarily linked to a desire or need to control others.

As for myself, I feel that religion is largely for the purpose of controlling other people. At least, it seems to be widely employed as a tool.

But fear, whether of a deity or something else, seems to be increasingly popular these days when it comes to marketing anything, at least in the USA. What happened to all those TV commercials that tried to get you to buy things because they might be something you WANT? They've been replaced by commercials that try instead to scare you into buying the product. Just think about all the new pharmaceuticals that are being churned out faster than ever...

(man reads newspaper)
"Look at this, honey! We may be at risk for TKL!!!"

"TKL!!! Oh no! Not TKL! We're doomed! The sky is falling! What should we do?"

(Everything's all initials these days, isn't it? Nothing more frightening than a few unexplained initials, apparently)

"It says here that this new drug, Damitol, might be able to help decrease our risk. We should ask our physician if we can get a prescription for it."

(Naturally, the commercial says absolutely nothing about what TKL actually is, who might have to worry about it, or how dangerous - or insanely harmless - the condition is)

Side effects may include headache, drowsiness, upset stomach, spontaneous combustion, delusions of grandeur, sudden urges to eat duct tape, and decreased libido.

Avoid TKL! Ask your doctor today!

Anyway...

Yeah, people (not just religion) use fear all the time to try and control you.

Answer 5

Fear in god? I don't have any fear in god because I don't think of god as being a person with power to control me...

Answer 6

There are lots of good answers on this one, it seems to me, so really there isn`t much to add!
Certainly, looking at it from a Science-Fiction point of view, if some more technically advanced Being from the Skies won this part of the Solar System as part of his/her Domain, I would imagine that the best tactic for him/her to use, in order to achieve power over the Earthlings who had come under his supervision, would be to send down Spokesmen to Earth in order to preach fear of the new"God", as he would be called, and forbid all worship to former "Gods," in order to obliterate any opposition from that source.
Therefore I would agree. Instilling fear in people is an excellent tactic in order to dominate them and aquire their allegiance.
However, to be fair, the tactic of using fear may be necessary at times such as these, in order to convince people that something positive must be done by a united Humanity in order to combat a new and serious enemy that needs to be recognized and dealt with on a Global level,...the Climate change and the irresponsable War-mongering attitudes of some present World Leaders whose thirst for Power seems to have gone to their heads and left them without any sense of simple Logic!
If they get their way then possibily there be nothing left but a sterile Earth for the next "Gods" to rule over!!! Although lI suppose that is the LAST thing that should worry us at the moment.

Answer 7

No it is not an illusion. I fear God in a loving way...

I fear waking up one day and not feeling the warmth of God around me and in my heart.

I fear getting out of bed and not feeling the inner strength that God has given me.

I fear walking down the street and not feeling the peace that God has placed in my heart...But most of all, I fear being myself while not having God with me always to listen to my every problem, help me overcome my personal obstacles, and help me to be my true and honest self!

Adam De.

Answer 8

Absolutely! Like the 'angry god' of the old testament, who judges and punishes those who disagree with him - it's total baloney.
The powers-that-be want us to always be in a certain state of fear (because people in fear are easier to control), and this is one of their oldest tricks.
There will be no 'judgment day' and there's no such place as hell!

Answer 9

For me fear from God is fear from myself to do something that I shouldn't do. May be it's fear from the other people too.

Answer 10

yes! it is. if you are scared of god it is the worst thing that can happen to any one and unfortunately it is happening to every one in our planet. If you have a fear in god than to whom in the world you can trust, you can love and you can be what you are ?
you need not to have any fear in god i can tell you this is not only an illusion but also a misguidance to the people who are seeking any kind of help in god. Making a concept that one should have any fear in god is the worst thing done to humanity. It is the biggest crime ever committed.
let me explain you why it is so because if you have a fear in any body you can not love him any more. fear can not bring love, it can only bring hatred. love is something which comes from freedom if you feel free with somebody sooner or later you start loving him but if you are scared of somebody sooner or later you start hating him. because of the concept of fear in god world has become so much anti god, people have become so little spiritual. there is much crime and frustration in the world. god is ultimate refuge to every one and even with him if you are scared you are bound to be frustrated and than you start hating him. we need to love god rather have fear in him.