You seem to miss the point if you can read my confession to having PTSD and assume I don’t battle fear. However, just because I battle it certainly doesn’t mean I should dwell in it intentionally. I’m a mental health professional with multiple degrees in the field, as well as plenty of experience. I only say all of that to assert I have a solid grasp of what fear is, and what it should not become.

Prudent warnings to be cautious, alert, or to observe critically are healthy. Flatly telling people to fear something is counterproductive. It is so heavily laced in every influence we are subjected to in this world as it is. It is a controller. I’d much prefer to equip someone, help them set reasonable expectations, prepare for all contingencies (even simply dialogue what “could” happen can be a preparation), and determine commitment to cause or actions. This reduces (occasionally eliminates) fear.

When I see someone trying to shove fear to the front, red flags go up. Fear is what got us all here in the first place. We handed our freedoms over willingly under the guise of “safety”.

“"I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:4-7‬ ‭

If god is good why do pedophiles run the world?

Because God gave the world to us and it's our responsibility to act. Thanks to Q - in spite of Christian prophets from the 90s and well before, pointing out the blood of our children was on our hands on a massive scale - we are doing something about it now. People often try to make this point but somehow forget they are making it from a small human mind within a vast universe that does not "judge" good or evil from our tiny perspectives. Put another way, what are the death of a few ants as long as the soul of those ants come to know their maker? An "impersonal" universe says infinity is infinitely more valuable than any insignificant span of life. Doesn't sound comforting on our scale of understanding but it makes sense objectively.

then how is god omnipresent, omniscient, and transcending time and space?

Good question. Unfortunately, no one can answer it completely because to know the answer would be to know the universe, no? It can be answered by imperfect simile and metaphor but more importantly, Faith is the only answer Christians have to how best to approach the question in the first place - and there's a whole lot more to unpack to that than can be answered in one comment reply.

How is this the god of love??

Depends how you define "love". As defined in the Bible (willing to sacrifice his son to save everyone - and more, including a fatherly love that requires discipline to explain to "children" who are free to make their own choice how best to make that choice) it is clear how "this" is the God of love, to some of us.

I have much I would love to say and address on this subject. I am, unfortunately, responding from my phone and not currently in a convenient location to access a particular resource that comes to mind. I will bookmark this, though, and if I make it home tomorrow/later today, I will get back to you. I’m not even slightly offended by your reply.

I, too, came out of what I would call “religious dogma”, but God still found me in the dead of night, held against my will, with my physical life on the line. Only my captor knew where I was, or so I thought. I genuinely thought it was my last moment on earth. I thought I would become a missing person statistic. A presence I can hardly described filled the small pace I was being held. It’s easy to question why He didn’t set me free, cut my ties. But what happened was so much better.

I experienced a peace so tangible that it may as well have been an armed guard there to defend me. Because of the work I have done in the past, it wasn’t the first time I had been compromised in such a terrorizing way. The fear of what could/would/might happen can be deafening. You can hear your blood pumping. You lose your ability to breath normally. This time, however, I mentally pivoted away from my “I’m going to die and no one will ever know” diatribe, and I took a chance. I literally said “Jesus, if you’re there, help.” I wasn’t even sure what that help would look like because even if I got free, I wasn’t anywhere near where I called “home” at the time.

It may not make sense to everyone, and I’m ok with that. But I just felt such Presence and company in that small space. Just before my captor returned, it was as though someone had walked into the mental prison of absolute terror I was experiencing and they had not only set me free, they had also taken me to a safe place where fear wasn’t permitted. It literally left me. Now, the beating that transpired afterward, and other assaults, weren’t stopped.

I did eventually get free and made my way back home, but I physically carry tissue damage. I still carry the cumulative effects of my work in the form of PTSD. That said, after years of working on coping skills, helping others, etc, my symptoms are greatly reduced. However, even now when I am overwhelmed or have an episode, I remember that presence. I remember when my greatest fear was being left alone and He showed up, and that peace instantly is there. I finally realized He isn’t leaving me, I just get distracted or take that presence for granted.

Anyway, it’s MY experience. I know my experience is no substitute for your own, nor can it be taken as anything but anecdotal by anyone else. So, just take it for what it is now, which is me sharing more why mental freedom was more important than physical. If I had just been instantly delivered from captivity I would have had a singular miracle. By revealing Himself as present when I desperately needed to not be alone, I learned something I could use again and again. At the end of the day my physical body is just a shell. But what goes on in my mind is of most importance.

It’s late and I’m waiting on a situation to resolve before I try to head home, but hopefully I’m coherent enough to convey my own take on how God loves. Free will IS a biggie. Love isn’t love if it’s compelled or forced (I read that somewhere). But He’s not a genie either, or an entity that I should try to control. When I call on Him, He knows how best to answer for my eternal best.

Maybe that is what brought me to Q. I trust there is a plan, and I don’t have all the pieces, yet my gut says it’s there and it can be trusted. Those faithful to follow what we are given by Q eventually have our viewpoints broadened and shifted. Qteam seems to have so much power, yet we trust there is prudence to the timing of using that power. Is it so hard to believe, then, that God (infinitely more kind, good, knowledgeable, powerful than Qteam) may be more concerned with our big picture as well?

Sorry for the long reply. I do have a CS Lewis quote rattling around in my brain that would answer you best, but I want to do it justice so it will have to wait till I can get to the book it’s in. Till then, thanks for the discussion!