Faith, Not Fear

I do not usually make New Year’s resolutions – at least not on New Year’s Day. January 1 seems like a terrible time to make decisions about the coming year. We aren’t thinking straight. If people are not hung over from New Year’s Eve (not me, by the way), then they are worn out from the holidays (this is me, by the way).

Life decisions should be made in a careful and thoughtful manner, not hastily mandated by cultural traditions. Now that Martin Luther King Day is behind us, and winter has settled in, it seems like a good time to sit by the woodstove and contemplate priorities.

I have done exactly that, and I have made a resolution: I will live by faith, not fear. It is said that the phrase “Do not fear” or its equivalent is found 365 times in the Bible, one for every day of the year. I suspect that some preacher has fudged the numbers, but I get the point. 

The meme “faith over fear” was popular among political and religious conservatives early in the pandemic as a slogan opposing COVID vaccines and masks. You don’t hear that phrase bantered about so much these days. Probably because so many of these people contracted COVID. Nothing silences fake faith like hard facts. But genuine faith remains in short supply in our country. It has something to do with the spiritual supply chain.

I confess that I am not fearless. I fear for the future of my country, especially since the events of January 6, 2021. I fear that democracy is dying in America. The United States may not survive, at least not in its present democratic form. I fear political extremism. I fear falsified election results in upcoming elections. I fear Donald Trump and his cronies. I fear that more dangerous men will follow in his footsteps.

I fear for the future of Christianity. All churches – progressive and conservative - are losing members at an alarming rate. Younger people are abandoning the Christian faith. Evangelicalism is being taken over by Christian nationalists and fundamentalists. The spiritual dimension of Christianity is being replaced by moral legalism, culture wars and partisan politics.  I fear that when my children are my age that healthy Christian spirituality will be a thing of the past.

There are some things I do not fear. I do not fear the COVID pandemic! I take precautions, but any worries I had about hospitalization or death due to the coronavirus have been alleviated by the effectiveness of the vaccines, which I consider to be gifts of God. I also do not fear the vaccines. It is ironic that so many of those who previously voiced “faith over fear” seem so fearful of vaccines.

I fear for American education. The anti-science attitude that has blossomed during the pandemic is overtaking schools by means of hijacked school boards. The censoring of books and the rewriting of American history by white supremacists do not bode well for the future of American education or American society. 

I also fear religious hatred, intolerance and extremism. Militant fundamentalism is a problem in all faiths, but as a Christian I am most concerned about American Christianity. The increase of anti-Semitic, anti-Islamic, and anti-immigrant sentiment in our country is disturbing. In short I have fears, but this year I will exercise faith over fear.

I will starve fear and feed faith. As part of my spiritual practice, this year I am reading through the biblical prophets, who were poets of fearless faith and fierce justice. The Hebrew prophets were unafraid to foretell doom to the nations of Israel and Judah because of their abandonment of social justice, but they also foresaw the ultimate victory of justice and peace in the world.  I have faith in their vision of history.

When I hear propaganda and conspiracy theories, and when I see evil triumph, I will exercise faith. I believe that the God of the universe is in control of human history. Fellow Baptist preacher Martin Luther King never tired of paraphrasing Unitarian minister Theodore Parker, saying, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

I prefer Parker’s original full quote: “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.” I have faith that this is true. Fear not.