(The following is a letter a professor wrote to a friend of mine on her experiences at her "Christian" University when she brought up the fear of the Lord to her students.)
A Disturbing Experience With the Concept of the Fear of the Lord
One of the responsibilities of classroom instructors at the Christian university where I am an adjunct English instructor is to present a brief devotional at the beginning of every class. That responsibility for me has been also a privilege and a great joy. In my devotionals I usually read a few verses from Psalms or Proverbs, and early in each semester I have focused on Proverbs chapters 1 and 2.
Last fall in a freshmen English class I read Proverbs 1:7–a verse entirely appropriate for any Christian classroom setting: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. . . ." I commented on the importance of the fear of the Lord, noting the many other Scripture passages in both Testaments that emphasize this concept.
One after another, the students began responding quite negatively, saying that God was not to be feared. No, He was their friend, their buddy, their pal. Surprised, I repeated that this concept was all throughout Scripture, and in the New Testament, the Greek word used is phobos–"fear." Their protests became more intense, to the point where I was being nearly shouted down.
Realizing that it was useless to say anything else, I stopped abruptly with the devotional and with a heavy heart began the academic material for the day. In subsequent devotionals I focused on completely different topics.
I had many other problems with that class–academics, discipline, attendance, and more–and I can't help wondering if all these other problems stemmed from the students' failures in their view of God. Not coincidentally, I am sure, was, in the students an accompanying overall dearth of Bible knowledge, theological understanding, and knowledge of hymns. As well as the fact that their primary interests in life were video games, rock music, and movies.
Teaching that class was such an all-encompassing discouraging experience for me that I am re-thinking my plans to teach further freshman English classes at this Christian university.
Carol in Longview, Texas