Sequelae of fear

The fear of the father, teacher, public authority, pastor, symbolically transferred to God the supreme characteristic of the judge, capable of sentencing the “guilty” with scathing severity. Being afraid of the authoritarian pantheon of absolutes in Brazilian society was an earthly expression that also provoked fear of God. The verbal expression of this feeling became unthinkable in ecclesiastical, school and family circles. Understanding the effects of these relationships became possible only decades after the end of the dictatorship and the fading of the extension of its tentacles throughout contemporary times.

Despite decades after the end of the dictatorship, the after-effects still shine in the firmament of frightened children, many of whom are now parents and grandparents, confronted by nightmares, guilt, remorse and regret. By repeating the mistakes they made, Generation 64 miseducated their children and grandchildren, not imposing limits on them. The amalgamation between the paternal deliberations of repressive times and the radical changes towards a networked society created the figures of the Imagetic Generation or Cyberspatial Generation. Also labeled by other authors as Generation Y, those born in the midst of the explosion of new forms of communication underwent a “software update” in the frontal lobe.

If God is Father, then certain attributes of fatherhood should emerge in the figures of the teacher, the pastor and, above all, the father. However, this did not prove to be the case in practice, as what was seen and felt did not project a positive polarization. The father figure conveyed, at the same time, authoritarianism and fear. This distant relationship caused two paradoxical situations: for some, the total distancing from God as the omnipotent Being and centralizer of decisions about the lives of creatures; for others, the approach to God as a result of warnings and unimaginable consequences due to transgressions of ecclesiastical norms and biblical commandments. That is, the individual approached God out of fear, not out of respect, but out of fear of being swallowed by a hole, burned by fire from heaven, torn to pieces by wild beasts or in an accident. Solomon stated that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Pv 1:7 KJV). In other words, there was no reason to hide from Him. On the contrary, the wise man warned not to forget knowledge and the teaching. The prophet Isaiah advised to seek “the Lord while he may be found” (Isa 55:6 KJV). (Continued in Part 3)

Ruben Dargã Holdorf, Comm.Se.D