Sin, Awe and the Loss of Meaning

Our misunderstanding of an ancient idea is at the heart of our spiritual malaise.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

One of the first things to go when traditional Christian believers reject their faith is the idea that the God they worship is to be feared. Along with that goes the idea of sin or of the severe consequences for violating God’s laws or commands. This seems a common response whether one determines they are spiritual but not religious or rejects the whole idea of God, transcendence and spirituality.

This rejection of “the fear of the Lord,” the ancient concept of sin and the deep experience of awe in the presence of something far greater than ourselves, is not limited to atheists, agnostics or former traditional believers. Those who continue to occupy the often nearly empty pews today or who zoom into their favorite worship services, for the most part share that rejection. Evangelicals may sing “Our God is an awesome God,” repeating the words over and over in a nearly endless song, and not mean at all what has been an essential part of religious experience. The words “awe” and “awesome” in contemporary usage mean something quite different from what the ancient writer of Proverbs meant when talking about the fear of the Lord.