FEAR OF WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW
There is a fear that possesses nearly all human beings. This fear has settled so deeply in our hearts we barely notice it anymore. It’s now just a part of who we are. No; not a fear of the dark or snakes or heights or sharks.
It’s fear of the unknown.
Alfred Hitchcock knew this and exploited this fear masterfully in his films. Many of us have seen the blood and gore graphically offered in “slasher-films.” It leaves little to the imagination. Hitchcock went further. Rather than leave little to our imagination he left everything to our imagination.
By offering limited information and keeping things hidden he invited the viewer’s imagination to run wild. He knew, left to our own devices, we would conjure something more terrifying than anything he could display on the screen. There is a lesson to learn from Hitchcock. The lesson? If we allow what is unknown to remain unknown fear will increase.
Of course, learning this lesson goes far beyond knowing a thing or two about films. It is a lesson we must learn in our world, our culture and everyday life, because we are a people who cling to fear as though our life depends on it.
Think about it. What did you experience the last time you read or listened to the news? Or how about the messages peddled from the pulpits of politicians and pastors in our world today? Much of it is soaked in fear. Mark Danner commented fear is “the most lucrative political emotion.” We have become so fearful we are now afraid of fear.
It makes perfect sense this fear-based message is so popular. Research has shown our brains pick up on negative energy faster than positive energy. This is why nearly every car will slow down to soak in the scene of a car accident that occurred on the other side of the highway. It’s also why forty people could pay you kind compliments, but what sticks is the one nasty comment from a disgruntled person. Humans respond to fear.
It was not always this way. There was a time when there was no fear. It was the time before the first man and woman ate the forbidden fruit. Fear only came into human consciousness after they ate the fruit. And we’ve been terrified ever since.
It's no wonder the commands, “Do not fear” and “Fear not” are the most common commands in the Bible. Some claim they are given 365 times – one for each day of the year. Given the current climate of fear in many Churches and the way many Christians choose to live in fear, we need to hear that command, not one time, but several times each day.
One only needs to scan Facebook or Twitter to understand why I would say this. There is a surplus of fear-saturated posts and comments about Muslims, racial tensions, the LGBT Community, immigration, politicians (the ones we would not vote for), the government, same-sex marriage and attacks on other Christians who believe differently. Of course, those who post do not say, “I’m really scared about this, so I am posting it.” They don’t need to.
When the parts of our brain that process fear kick in we are largely (and instinctively) left with two responses: fight or flight. Most of the time we run. However, armed with a distant and mostly anonymous online presence has fueled our keyboard courage and now we can fight. Simply put: we attack because we are afraid.
What is so fascinating about this is what we observed above, which was the thing Hitchcock knew. We are afraid of what we do not know. How many of our comments, attitudes and opinions today are rooted not in knowledge but ignorance? We may have heard or read a thing or two about a subject, but this does not mean we know anything about it.
For example, in my experience, many who are scared of Muslims and believe those of Muslim faith are a direct threat do not know a Muslim man or woman. The information that feeds their fear comes from what they have heard others say. It’s fear of what is unknown.
It’s the same with those who attack the LGBT Community and destroy those who affirm same-sex marriage. Their attitudes are shaped in isolation far away from a relationship with a man or woman who is gay. It’s fear of what they do not know.
This is little more than accepted, collective, group thinking. It asks little of us, it is rampant in the Church and it pours gasoline of the flames of fear. We avoid living in tension, we believe we have all the answers and information we need, and we steer away from challenging our previously held attitudes and opinions. We live in ignorance and call it wisdom.
All the while, the command, “Do not fear” which flows from the lips of the God who is love, disappears amid the noisy clamor of fear. There is good news however: fear does not have the last word; love does. I say this because the Jesus’ disciple John claimed “love drives fear away.” If we are the people of the God who is love, we are forced to ask, “What part does fear have in our life?”
Perhaps the best way to move beyond fear is to reach out in love to those who seem so terrifying. Maybe we should imitate Jesus and share a meal with someone who represents a group we are scared of. Another way we could say this is: Have a dinner party with "the other" that your group is scared of.
Invite a person to your home that many choose to demonize and shower him or her with love, grace and hospitality. Invite a man or woman who is gay into your home and treat them as long lost family. Go to lunch with a person of Muslim faith, ask questions and listen. Enjoy a beer with an staunchly conservative Republican or, (depending on your persuasion) with a super liberal Democrat. If we do this we will recognize we are not arguing about an issue, but speaking about dearly loved daughters and sons made in the image of the Almighty God.
Remember Jesus ate dinner with the tax collectors who exploited the poor, and he ate with the poor who were exploited by the tax collectors. He sat with the ultra-religious who judged the “sinners” and reclined in the home of the “sinners” who were judged by the religious. For Jesus there was no “other” – everyone was worth his time and love. And because he chose to love he could not spend any energy on being afraid.
If we are ever to see our world and others in it differently we need to see them face to face, and we must experience flesh and bone. For then we will know the other and the voice of fear will begin to fade. Because when we know others and are known by others we create the necessary space for love to grow, and when we do that fear, will have to head for the door. And we will find the freedom and joy of no longer acting in ignorance or fear, but operating out of the heart of God that is love.
Learn more about Michael's new book titled: Changing Faith: Questions, Doubts and Choices About the Unchanging God. Pre-Order today. Available everywhere May 10, 2015.