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"Fear of belief"? Is it part of a statement or part of a question? Giving either precedent, we can effectively address "fear" and "belief", as the terms relate to faith in a higher power with an old adage known as Pascal's Wager.

Blaise Pascal, an 18th century scientist and mathematician, surmised: to believe in God is an infallible venture. If you believe in "God" and he proves to be non-existent, nothing is lost. However, if you deny "God" and upon your death discover that "God" is indeed real, all is lost and you will suffer eternal damnation.

Presenting an ultimatum with direct consequences for the non-believer, Pascals famous wager plays directly on "fear" and "belief". "fear of belief" should then be amended to, "fear of non-belief". A non-believer will never "fear" what is seen as an imaginary specter, "God". The aspiring believer is the one who truly fears "God" and ardent believer is the one who may attempt to instill fear in those who deny the existence of "God".

That said, Pascal's Wager fails the logistical litmus test. Most religions claim their version of god is the one, true "God". So anyone sucked into Pascal's Wager would need to pay homage to all gods in all of the World's religions in order to avoid risk of damnation. Of course, most religions will also require believers be devoted solely to their own, "true God". Many Christians, for example, believe worshiping "false gods" is a sin punishable by damnation. This makes Pascal's Wager an impossible bet. There is no safe way to play these cards.

Feeling dizzy? Breath...

Belief in a god of any caliber is based on faith and faith alone. Many believers try to present proof or evidence that their "God" is real. All fail because they never use the terms, "proof" and "evidence", in a consistent and logical context. For a contention to be shown as a general truth, it must be testable through observation or prediction, the results of which constitute evidence of the contention's validity. To date, no theist has offered a means to validate, or the evidence to support the existence of a higher power.

So does the non-believer have a "fear of belief"? The question belies itself. It makes no more sense than Pascal's Wager.

Do those who believe wish to instill the fear of "God" in non-believers? I'll save that one for the faithful.

Learn more about this author, Edgar Humphrey.
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