The Danger of Fear

I guess most of you saw or read about the outcome of the European election and know that throughout Europe there is a disturbing rise of parties no sane person wants to be in charge of anything.
And, a slightly different topic, right today I saw a documentary about creationism and "scientific" museums "proving" that creationism is true - showing Adam and Eve together with dinosaurs and convincing the youngest of our society, our children, that evolution is wrong.*

Why do I tell you about these two different things? Because they are dangerous, very very dangerous. And they are connected through the danger of fear.
See, it's just a thought of me, but I'm really convinced of this one. The main "enemy" every single human has to fight with is fear. The fear to be alone, to be excluded, to find out that our existance has no meaning. Every single person wants to feel loved and valued. And if we see this haven of love and value threatened (no matter if it is a real threat or an imaginary one) we will fight that threat with everything we have. It's a fight for survival - either we win against that threat or we lose everything and become lonely, exluded and lose every meaning our live might have had.
And that's the danger of fear: It makes us believe that our save haven is in danger. It makes us believe that we are constantly threatened by "the others". It makes us think that we need to fihgt everything that does not fit into our own little world because otherwise we would lose verything.

You can see this everywhere around you: In religious fanatics, be it Christians, Muslims or any other religion. They fight and condem everyone not sharing their belief, because if they admit that someone else might be (also) true they fear that they will lose everything they ever had. They fear that if science and evolution is correct this automatically means that everything they believed in is worthless and therefor their lives are meaningless. So they fight the enemy - like wounded animals that feel corned.

And the right-wing parties? Most of their supporters fear everyone the parties declares as enemy (though politicans most of the time use nicer words than "enemy"). Homosexuals, immigrants, poor people in need of help of society, black people, yellow people... Because being against someone means that you can feel save. If you have an enemy you can assure yourself that you are right and others are wrong.
Be honest: Everyone of us does know that it doesn't matter if Joe and Jack marry and adopt children - we can still live happily in a heterosexual relationship. And just because there are muslims in the neighbourhood does not mean that our own faith is less strong as long as they are there. But why don't we simply accept the difference? Because of fear. And that's the danger of fear.



*With my conclusion I want to jump bakc to the top of this post. I absolutely don't want to day that everything the Bible tells is wrong. In my opinion there are many things in it that are a treasure to mankind - the lessons of forgivness and that everyone, even the deepest sinner, is a human being that deserves respect. I also believe that the Koran is a treasure of equal worth as is every other religious book.
But I condem what some people do in the name of their religion. It is disgusting to teach children that science is wrong because somewhere in the translation of the translation of the translation of the... (you get it) of the one and only holy book are some sentences that can be interpreted in a way that makes evolution impossible. Please! The same persons wont go out an claim their right to sell their daughters into slavery though that is also written in the very same book. It is disgusting that some people pick only those parts that are useful for their own agendas while ignoring others and poison the minds of the most precious treasure we have: Our childen.

So my conclusion is that everyone who uses a holy book or text or an religion to declare who is right and who is wrong in this world very likely got his/ her religon completely wrong. I know, a daring theory, but here's why:
In my opinion the Bible and Christianity is not about accusing others because of their believes but to remind people that they are loved - if not by other humans you are always loved by God. Even if you sin you are loved, even if you break His law you are loved - as long as you trust in Him and His love.
I am absolutely convinced that if you really believe in Him with all your heart you wouldn't hate other people, no matter of their religion, sexuality or skin color. If you believe in God and His love there would be no need for you to fear the "danger" of everyone and everything foreign. You could be relaxed and handle those problems confronting you with the ease and conviction of a human being sure of himself.

Of course there are dangers in our world. There are people threatening and killing. But There are many more people not dangerous, and those need our friendship or at least our acceptance.


I want to end this endless text (that got quite a bit religious-spiritual I'm afraid, sorry for that) with one request: The next time you find yourself opposing someone or a group of people, take a break and look into yourself. What are you afraid of?



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