I bet Dr.
Hunter S. Thompson never expected to see his works featured in an Easter
message. But here goes: The mad prophet, Thompson, is famous for numerous books
but for none more than his notorious Fear
and Loathing series. It began (aptly for this year) with Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72;
then broadened its perspective with Fear
and Loathing in America; and culminated in the quintessential Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage
Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.
We don’t
have to like Thompson or agree with him; but inescapably, his focus on Fear and Loathing as a dark feeling,
attitude, or even spirit of our time tells us something we need to hear whether
we like it or not. I recently noted in a social media comment about race
relations that fear is a pervasive factor in our society today. I was taken
aback at the reactivity of one man who was shouting on line that fear is good.
We need to be afraid – very afraid – because if we are not afraid, terrible
things will happen to us. Since faith is the opposite of fear, I can only say
paradoxically that he had placed his faith in fear itself as a way of being in
the world. It is palpable. Fear has grasped our society by the throat and leads
us where it chooses.
Perhaps by
now you are tired of hearing me point out that the Bible commands us to “fear
not” – 365 times. I have not mentioned quite so often that the commandment
Jesus gave his disciples more often than any other was “fear not.” That spiritual imperative to live bravely
sets the stage for my favorite fear story in Scripture, Mark’s account of
Easter morning.
In Mark,
the three women come to the tomb and find Jesus gone but “a young man with a
white robe” (presumably an angel) is there. The very first thing he says is: “Do not be afraid.” He then instructs
them to proclaim the resurrection to the rest of the disciples.” But they “ran
away from the tomb and said nothing to anyone because they were afraid.” And that, friends, is how the original
version of Mark ends. They told no one anything because they were afraid. The
End. Finis. Bring the curtain down.
That ending
was so harsh, the Church could not live with it so a later author added some
resurrection appearances parallel to the ones in other gospels. The disciples
getting it wrong is a basic theme in Mark so he is at least consistent to the
end. The points for us to take are:
1. The natural human propensity to live
in fear, even in
the face of glorious
good news; and
2. The power of fear to choke the good
news in our throats.
The
vitriolic rhetoric of this year’s Presidential campaign is a manipulation of
fear to persuade people to hand over power. But it did not start this year and
it did not start with political candidates. They may be amplifying and
exploiting the fear that is the zeitgeist
of today, but fear-mongering politicians are more the product of our common
spirit than the cause of it. They are only saying what we are clamoring to
hear. Blaming the politicians is a cop out for not doing our own work.
Why then is
fear so prevalent? In the days following the terrorist attack in Brussels, that
may sound like a stupid question. Obviously terrorism causes terror. That is
the point. But we must not stop with the obvious or easy answer. Fear is a
cancer killing the American soul. It is a meandering tumor of the kind with
roots or tentacles. If we excise only a part of the tumor, we are not healed.
Terrorism is unquestionably part of our malignant state. We will discuss that.
But the problem predates terrorism and is more complex. To some extent
terrorism, like the rhetoric of today’s politics, exploits a pre-existing
condition, which has wider causes. For a better explanation of how we came to
this state than I can offer here, I commend to you two must-read books:
Finding Intimacy In A World Of Fear by Eric Law
Following Jesus In A Culture Of Fear
by Scott Bader-Sayre
I will not
attempt a comprehensive explanation of our spirit of fear – just a few points
that may help readers get a bit of perspective.
First, fear has more to do with
perception than reality. When I moved from Boise, Idaho to New York City, I was not surprised to
find the fear level much higher in the Big Apple. It was just more dangerous.
But when I moved from New York to sleepy little Macon, Georgia three years
later, I expected the fear level there to be more like Boise. I was wrong! It
felt just like New York. I don’t have an explanation. But fear and danger did
not correlate the way I expected.
Sociologists
conduct surveys to test the level of fear in society. A remarkable fact is that
the crime rate has been going down through the years. But as the crime rate has
gone down, the fear of crime has continued to rise. Interestingly,
incarceration has continued to rise to match the fear rate rather than decline
to match the crime rate.
We are
particularly afraid of strangers. The more different from us the stranger is,
the more afraid we are apt to be. There is solid evolutionary psychology to
explain how we came to be pre-wired to fear strangers. But here’s the kicker:
most violent crime is committed by people who know each other quite well. That
odd-looking character on the street is less of a threat than those near and
dear to us. In terms of race, Whites are dramatically more likely to be killed
by Whites than Blacks, and Blacks more likely to be killed by Blacks than
Whites.
Of course
we are reasonably concerned about terrorism and should take reasonable
precautions. But is our level of fear in proportion to reality? We are nine
times as likely to be killed by a police officer as a terrorist. We are
substantially more likely to be killed by lightning than a terrorist. Our
chances of dying in a terrorist attack are about one in 20 million. This is
close to our odds of being killed by a falling asteroid. Our chances of being
killed by a refugee are dramatically more remote. But there is clearly a lot of
fear of refugees. The conservative journal Foreign
Affairs analyzes how relatively unlikely refugees are to be terrorists –
not that it could never happen, but that the odds are remote.
Basic
point: fear is in our head, in our heart, and in our gut more than it is in any
objective reality out there in the world.
Second, there are people skillfully
instilling a spirit of fear in us, and it isn’t for our own good. The most obvious fear-mongers are
terrorists. Their very name tells us that they lack the political, economic,
and political power to achieve their goals, so they use the randomness and
irrationality of their violence to shake us with fear. The more reactive we are
to their tactics, the more we encourage and empower them.
But it
isn’t just the terrorists. The anti-terrorist, anti-crime, anti-this and
anti-that industrial complexes thrive on and in many cases profit from our
fear. So the state and the people who rule the state have a vested interest in
the level of our anxiety. We cannot walk through an airport without multiple
reminders of the “heightened security” and the color-coded “threat level.” I do
not mean the people scaring us are consciously lying. In most cases, they live
in fear themselves. But why? Their fear gives them a cause to fight for and we
are desperate for a cause. (see the 20th Epistle). But it is also in
their financial interest. Regardless of their motives, the end result is the
same, a steady stream of powerful people telling us to be afraid.
The
entertainment industry and the news media also make money and seize our
precious attention (ratings produce advertising) with fear. The horror and
violence of entertainment is self-evident. In the case of news, it is an old
adage: “if it bleeds, it leads.”
Eric Law
recounts the story of Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who was injured and captured in Iraq
after her vehicle was damaged by a roadside bomb. Later a unit of Special Forces
recued her from an Iraqi hospital. A compelling enough story. But it was
initially embellished in the press by stories of her Rambo like tactics, which
turned out to be false as her rifle jammed before she lost consciousness. So
the stories shifted to her rape (in graphic detail) and torture – which turned
out to be unsubstantiated as well. The focus then turned to the dramatic rescue
by our Special Forces. But it turned out the hospital had no armed security
present. In fact, the Iraqis were treating Pfc. Lynch’s wounds and said they had
attempted to return her to our army base but were driven away by American fire.
None of this is to detract from Pfc. Lynch’s service or the heroism of her
rescuers – just to say the fear and drama factors of the story were ratcheted
up considerably for our titillation.
This is not
meant as a conspiracy theory so much as an observation that the emotional
system of the world is locked in self-perpetuating panic, which leads to the
next point.
Third, fear is a reciprocal snowballing
dynamic. There is a
common belief, supported by good sociological data, that a lot of white people,
including some law enforcement, are afraid of young Black men. See, e.g., http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/17/will-america-s-fear-of-black-men-ever-go-away.html
I have a
Black friend whose son is a very large Black teenager. He and his wife live in
fear that someone will kill or injure their son because they are afraid of him.
They have “had the talk” – repeatedly and emphatically – the talk about how to
act around the police, a talk my parents never had to have with me. These are
upper middle class well-educated people who have “succeeded in a white world,”
but they are still afraid.
Many (by no
means all) Black men report that they are afraid of law enforcement.
In his
memoir, Between The World And Me. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0812993543/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=7010978340&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_5xnhii0byt_e Ta-Nahisi Coates writes a compelling
account of the fear implicit in growing up Black.
I am not
saying whether Black men should or
should not be afraid. I am just that they are, and it makes sense that their
fear makes them more likely to fight or flee, which makes them more frightening
to the police officers, which makes the officers more frightening to the young
Black men, and so the cycle spirals. This pattern of escalating reciprocal fear
is one reason that young Black men are 21 times as likely to be killed by the police
as are young White men.[i]
I am not
writing to fix blame – there is also data to the effect that Blacks are
disproportionately likely to kill police officers -- only to demonstrate that fear begets fear.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive
out hate. Only love can do that,” Dr. King said. Likewise, fear cannot drive
out fear. Only faith can do that.
Again, my
point is not to fix blame. It is not even to focus on race relations and law
enforcement, worthy as that topic might be. A parallel story could have been
told about terrorism and American military interventions. Each pours fuel on
the flame of the other. The point is to reverse a basic assumption – and this
is a key point in Christian spirituality, the teachings of other faiths, and
secular psychology. We think danger causes fear. But what if fear causes danger?
From the
standpoint of most Eastern religions and psychologies the external world is
wholly a fabrication of our minds. We would not go that far. But clearly the
external world is powerfully influenced by our minds. “As a man thinketh, so he
is.” Proverbs 23: 7. When FDR said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself,”
he not saying everything is ok. He was naming the enemy. Fear crashed the
market in ’27 and held the economy in thrall for over a decade. Fear is a
formidable force.
Fourth, fear is a group spirit more
than an individual impulse. We rarely assess a situation for ourselves and feel afraid. We catch
the fear from those around us. It is a herd stampede response. Last December I
jogged most days along a beach, usually going past flocks of seagulls. Most
days I could jog quite close to them and they paid no attention. But some days,
even days when I was passing at a greater distance, one or two would panic,
take flight, and the whole flock would squawk away in terror. We are not so
different from seagulls. We are not sure how to feel, but the mirror neurons in
our brains make us imitate the reactions of those around us. We catch fear like
a cold. Our fear is no more our own feeling than an invasive virus is our own
body.
I am
reading a biography of George Washington. It says he enacted extreme punishment
(shot on site) for anyone exhibiting cowardice in battle, not because it was
morally wrong, not because it was not perfectly understandable and forgivable,
but because Washington knew “fear is contagious.” If one soldier runs, others
will follow. We feel the fear in our bodies so we think it is our own, but it
is closer to being “possessed” by something from outside us, the spirit of our
community.
Fifth, fear breeds in silos. As the world gets smaller and more
pluralistic with globalization, migration, and instant communication, we are
withdrawing more and more into little enclaves of people who look, think, and
act like ourselves. I commend to your reading The Big Sort: Why The Clustering Of Like-minded America Is Tearing Us
Apart by Jim Bishop. http://www.amazon.com/Big-Sort-Clustering-Like-Minded-America/dp/0547237723/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457453771&sr=1-1-fkmr2&keywords=Jim+Bishop+the+big+sort (This book explains a lot about
things from congressional gridlock to this year’s bizarre primary races.) We
are genetically wired and culturally formed to be more comfortable with people
like ourselves. So increased pluralism has ironically but predictably resulted
in our retreat into enclaves of likeness. It’s natural -- but problematic. Our
gated community syndrome makes the rest of the world seem all the more other. We are wired to be cautious
around the other; and now the other
is right next-door. As we cluster in our silos, the fear factor multiplies. We
build gates around our neighborhoods and gun up. “They” are out there. Look
back at points 3 and 4: fear is a reciprocal snowballing dynamic and fear is a
group spirit. “It must follow as the night the day” that in our silos we would
cascade into paranoia easily manipulated by those who benefit from our fear.
(Point 1)
The Christian response: The roots of fear are in self-preservation
instincts wired into us through millennia of evolution, reinforced by the
culture, and manipulated by powerful people for their advantage and our harm. So
what hope is there?
Paul says,
“Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world (fear and loathing) but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. . . . .” Romans 12: 2. How is that
possible?
The Bible
says:
God
had not given us a spirit of fear but of power
and
of love and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1: 7
Read, mark,
and inwardly digest that verse three times! Then put it together with this. The
Bible also says, “If their purpose or action is of human origin, it will fail.
But if it is of God you will not be able to stop them.” Acts 5: 38-39.
Fear is a
merely human thing. “God has not given us a spirit of fear.” Merely human
things fail. That which comes from God (power, love, sound mind) cannot be
stopped. The Bible tells us “God is love.” 1 John 4: 8. Look where that leads.
“There is no room for fear in love because perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John
4: 18.
This is not
a political issue in any ordinary sense (though it may have political
implications and policy ramifications). It is a spiritual issue. Paul says,
“For we do not struggle against flesh and blood but against the principalities,
against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness . . . “
Ephesians 6: 12. To our ear this may sound spooky, but it is not. Paul means we
do not need to blame anyone for our present state, but instead to contend with
the real enemy, the spirit of fear itself.
Now this
distinction is subtle but absolutely crucial. The feeling of fear is natural and unavoidable. The feeling is not the
enemy. It is ok, natural, and healthy to
have all sorts of feelings, including fear. The problem comes when the feeling
has us. The Bible does not say, “Do not feel fear.” It says, “Do not be
afraid.” Do not give in to it. Do not live in fear. Do not believe your fear.
It will do
absolutely no good to judge, condemn, shame, and berate anyone – especially
ourselves – for feeling afraid. We need to treat each other and ourselves
considerably more gently than that. I recommend several kinder responses.
First, learn the origin and nature
of fear; then study the spiritual alternatives to fight/ flight reactivity. Again, I commend to you these
books:
Finding Intimacy In A World Of Fear by Eric Law
Following Jesus In A Culture Of Fear
by Scott Bader-Sayre
Second, make a spiritual discipline
of not believing everything you feel or even think. Instead of following our natural
impulse to gather or concoct facts to justify our panic, we can be still,
breathe, and look for objective information to temper our fear with truth.
Third, don’t run; don’t hide. Running from the things we have
been wired and/ or taught to fear only fans the flames. Instead, we can summon
up the “spirit of power” God has given us to turn around and stare our fear in
the face.
If you will
permit me to borrow from the wisdom of a sister world religion, there is a fine
Buddhist book on this very point by Pema Chodron, The Places That Scare You: A Guide To Fearlessness In Difficult Time. http://www.amazon.com/Places-that-Scare-You-Fearlessness/dp/1570629218/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457312569&sr=1-4&keywords=pema+chodron
The title
comes from an old Buddhist adage: “Go to the places that scare you.” When we
face our fear instead of running from it, amazingly the things that frighten us
often disappear in a vapor, like the Goblin King (David Bowie) when 15 year old
Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) finally says “You have no power over me,” in the
George Lucas/ Jim Hinson movie, Labyrinth.
So don’t
hide in your silo. Break out and get to know someone from the group you fear.
Connect with them in person, as a human being. Extensive research on overcoming
racial and other prejudices (close relatives of fear) shows that there is really
only one thing that works: personal relationships between members of the
different groups.
One night I
arrived in Las Vegas to read this graffiti in an airport restroom: “Kill all
Muslims.” That same night Trinity Church was hosting an Islamic group in which
there was teaching but more importantly Christians and Muslims sitting in small
groups at tables sharing a meal and getting acquainted. That does not happen
automatically – especially in today’s cordoned off society. We have to
intentionally and deliberately make it happen. That works best in groups – like
congregations. Bold loud hint.
Fourth, entrust yourself and those
you love to God’s care. We cultivate this attitude with prayer. So pray for your own safety,
entrusting your well-being to God. There are many such prayers in the Bible and
the Book of Common Prayer. Each day I pray from the 1st Song of
Isaiah,
“Surely it is God who saves me.
I will trust in him and not be afraid
For he is my stronghold and my sure defense
And he will be my savior.
I say this
as one who has “already come” “though many dangers, toils, and snares.” I have
come through them by the grace of God, not my own paranoid planning. I have
been generally naïve, often a fool. But God has been my shield. We are not
smart or powerful enough to secure our own well-being. But God has promised:
“Fear not for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by
name. You are mine.
When you pass through
the waters I will be with you
And the rivers shall not overwhelm you
When
you walk through the fire you will not be burned
And the flame will not consume you.” – Isaiah
43: 2
A faithful
response to that promise would sound like this:
“Yea though I walk though the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil for thou art with me.” –
Psalm 23: 4
The
Psalmist said,
“Some trust in chariots, others in
horses
(we might say: some trust in drones,
others in .357 magnums).
But we trust in the name of the
Lord.” -- Psalm 20: 7
God has not
promised that nothing bad will happen to us. Life is usually hard and sometimes
tragic. But God has promised to join us on our cross and raise us from our
tombs. God will bring us through anything the world throws at us. Jesus said,
“In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome the
world.” John 16: 33
Fifth, pray for the people that
scare you. Pray for
your enemies. (Matthew 5: 44; Luke 6: 27. Don’t do it to be nice. Do it to be
safe. You are a whole lot safer when your enemies are doing well than when they
are suffering and angry.
I got the
core of this prayer from Carmelite monks (who crafted it from a Theravadan
Buddhist meditation) and added the last part. Like the Nixon White House, I
have an enemies list. But I pray for my enemies by name and then go on:
“May all of my enemies be filled with
loving kindness.
May they be well.
May they be peaceful and at ease.
May they be happy.
Protect me from them by the turning of their
minds
And hide me neath the shadow of your wing.”
Instead of
ratcheting up fear and loathing, we can counter it by praying for the
well-being and happiness of the very people we fear.
Finally and
most fundamentally, we can exercise our
faith in God. That is the power of the Resurrection. Christ has come with perfect
love to cast out fear, even the fear of death, even the fear of Hell. In
Christ, we are set free from every bond including the bond to fear. “For
freedom Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5: 1). This does not mean nothing
bad will ever happen, but it does mean God will be with us and bring us through
it.
God has
broken the chains of fear to set us free. And ain’t that good news! When we
claim the freedom he has given us, at the cost of his own blood, how could we
not proclaim the good news? Remember the disciples who “ran away and told no
one anything because they were afraid”? That’s a picture of what not to do. How
could we not share the good news of our resurrection freedom with the trembling
world still in bondage? We are surrounded by a people enslaved by the power of
fear. But the Spirit of the Lord is upon us because he has anointed us . . . to
set the captives free.” (Luke 4: 18)
This is
what is at stake: our proclamation of the gospel of Christ Jesus. What are we
doing on this earth? We are here to proclaim the good news to all nations –
Matthew 28: 19-20 – particularly those who are poor, captives, or oppressed.
Luke 4: 18. If we fail to do that, our lives are wasted. So will we boldly
proclaim the gospel of Christ Jesus? Or will we run away and say nothing to
anyone because we are afraid?
[i]
There are other factors – poverty, etc. – that contribute to these statistics.
I do not claim mutual fear is the only thing at work here. But it is perhaps
the most powerful.
