Nothing to Fear but Fear

Roosevelt reads from a Dutch family Bible before his inauguration in 1933
(Image by U.S. Embassy The Hague)   Permission   Details   DMCA

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself..." President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural address, March 4, 1933

The Real World

Many people believe that we live in a dog-eat-dog world, in which power and the possession of it is the only thing that matters. Even my wife tends in that direction. Religiously and philosophically she's been taught to be an "eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" kind of girl. And this difference between us has led to a significant level of discord. But those of us who believe in a world where people are essentially good are not a bunch of wild-eyed, gullible optimists: that is unless you believe that Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, and others of their ilk were all impractical idealists.

The Forces of Light

I have to admit at the outset that I was raised a fire-and-brimstone Southern Baptist. This means, at least doctrinally, that you believe in the devil and the power of evil.

However, my first pastor and the one I imprinted on was a Southern Baptist minister, the Reverend Leon C. Jones. He introduced me to the complexities of Biblical history, including the fact that the New Testament was written in Greek and then retranslated into Latin and English.

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