“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life” (Prov 14:27a). On the Development of the Notion of the Fear of the Lord in the History of the Church

Ks. Tomasz NAWRACAŁA

Zakład Teologii Dogmatycznej, Fundamentalnej i Ekumenizmu, Wydział Teologiczny, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, ul. Wieniawskiego 1, 61-712 Poznań, Poland , Poland

Abstract

The Christian notion of the fear of the Lord defines the attitude of a human being towards God. The attitude in question expresses on the one hand the awareness of human limitation and sinfulness juxtaposed with the greatness of God Himself. Almighty God evokes in the human being the feeling of fear and anxiety about the future retribution. On the other hand, however, the Biblical tradition pointed out the necessity to stand in front of God experiencing His love. God is the Father for the human being, whose sins are forgiven out of love and who receives the gift of adoption out of love. The current article presents the most essential elements in the development of the notion of the fear of the Lord in order to show its value for the Christian life, as well as its significance to the Church as such.

Keywords:

fear of the Lord, love, judgement, retribution, freedom, choice