Kinda my thinking as well. I grew up in the church. Southern Baptist to Full Gospel Baptist to Missionary Baptist. My grandparents were heavily involved in the church, my father was a preacher, I played instruments in the church, sang in the choir and was an usher. For me church was a learned behavior no different than a baby learns to speak his native language. I had faith, because I was told to have faith. I felt the hand of god, because I was told that I did. It wasn't until quite a bit of self-inquisition and evaluation of my beliefs and what I felt were truths that I came to accept my current beliefs.
The definition for "God Fearing" in KingAesop's New World Dictionary: *God Fearing (adj.)[ NE circa 2012 ]-A term that Protestant Christian denominations use to scare people into attendending church. The true meaning of the term is "God Respecting" or more simply "Respect God". I find it hard to worship something I fear. I grappled with the same question for a long time until I got the balls to look into the matter for myself. Being the son of a preacher you can imagine how hard it was for me to shake old habits and maneuver through the pre-determined destination for my life. Religion is abusive. It really can destroy an otherwise good relationship you can have with with God, but it should never destroy your connection to him. Sometimes you have to find your own path. "God" and "Religion" are two totally different things. The chicken came before the egg.
I thought we were supposed to fear god because he is a vengeful, wrathful and jealous god? All as evidenced by scripture, btw.
That's more the old testament. This new generation of Christians who choose to be Christ like tend to follow his example of all encompassing love. At least I hope they do since that's what being Christian is all about. Following the path of Christ.
I've always understood "God fearing" to mean reverence or awe rather than fear or distrust. Acknowledging that God is a holy God and honoring that holiness. A bit like a child who loves and is loved by a parent, but recognnizes their place with that parent and honors him/her.
What I meant that the black community could go further with out the belief in God is that it would probably enhance their critical thinking skills and be more productive especially in the science field. I think one of the reasons why their aren't more black scientists, doctors, researchers, explorers, etc are that religion is to ingrained in our community. If you already came to the conclusion that God is the answer and he is the one that makes the universe and the world works than what good are you in the science field. There isn't a need for you to be a scientist and you're basically useless. Some people think that science and religion can go hand in hand. There are scientists that are religious and spiritual. I don't really agree. I think that science and the belief of a creator can go hand in hand. Not religion itself. It also depends if you believe in a personal god or not. Not only am I an atheist, but I'm also an agnostic. I don't believe in religion or a creator/deity, but if you ask me if I knew any existed then I would reply that I wouldn't know. I have no knowledge whether a creator exists or not, but I'm open to whether one exists or not. I don't really care either way. If one does exist then I highly doubt it's a personal one that answers prayers and does divine intervention. Or one that any religion describes. I have a deistic view of looking at it. I also believe ALL religions are man made and mythological. I think Christianity is just as man made and mythological as Greek mythology. With that said, I respect other people's right to believe in whatever they choose whether I agree with it or not. I'm utterly indifferent towards religion, it does annoy and irritate me from time to time. Even though I think the world can do with out religion, I would atleast like to see more tolerance develop in religious communities. Like I said, I'm not trying to change anyone's beliefs, I'm just telling you mines.
Yep, that is what I was talking about. Sorry about the thread derailment, but it happens. As for Obama, I think it's most likely he'll win a second term whether his opponent is Romney or Gingrich.