Welcome to the contradictory world of the bible.

That's one of the contradictions that prove the Bible is not the literal word of God.

There are different kinds of fear, especially the way that the Hebrew or Greek languages apply. The Bible says to fear God, but that doesn't mean to be afraid of him. It means to fear displeasing him, as you would not want to disappoint your parent. You would fear to hurt them or have them think bad of you. To fear God is to fear hurting him and disappointing him by not doing your best. But the other use of fear is as to be frightened, then it says that love throws aside fear,meaning you don't have to fear anything if you have love.

In Biblical usage the fear of God is a positive concept. (Isaiah 11:3) It is a profound reverence and deep respect for God, a strong desire not to displease him. (Psalm 115:11) It includes acceptance of and strict adherence to God’s moral standards and a desire to live by what God says is right or wrong. One reference work points out that such a wholesome fear expresses “a fundamental attitude toward God that leads to wise behavior and the avoidance of every form of evil.” Appropriately, God’s Word tells us: “The fear of Jehovah is the start of wisdom.”—Proverbs 9:10. The fear of God encompasses a wide range of human experience. It is associated not only with wisdom but also with joy, peace, prosperity, longevity, hope, trust, and confidence. (Psalm 2:11; Proverbs 1:7; 10:27; 14:26; 22:4; 23:17, 18; Acts 9:31) It is closely related to faith and love. In fact, it involves our entire relationship with God and with fellow humans. (Deuteronomy 10:12; Job 6:14; Hebrews 11:7) Fear of God includes the deep conviction that our heavenly Father personally cares for us and is ready to forgive our transgressions. (Psalm 130:4) Only the unrepentant wicked have reason to be terrified of God.—Hebrews 10:26-31.

You have to remember that the words in all religious writings were written by man, subject to man's interpretation with the knowledge and intelligence he possessed at the time of writing. You have to interpret those same words with an open mind, full of more advanced knowledge, and understanding of the world we live in to find the message a 'God' would want to send to His people. I, personally, equate the fear and love concept in the same way as the modern parent/child relationship. Parents want their children to know they are loved (unconditionally). They don't want their children to be afraid of them, but they want just enough 'fear', or healthy respect and wanting to please (or not displease) them to keep the children on the right path.

The fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom... but... Perfect Love drives out all fear.

Both, is my reasoning, when we are "growing up" we love our daddy's but we also fear him in a healthy way....same goes for our Heavenly Father as for our earthly fathers...love, obey and fear of discipline if disobediant..(this is fear not terror) earthly fathers discipline out of love and God has never failed to discipline either....that fear and love kept my son out of lots of trouble growing up,! he knew his dad loved him but foolishness would get discipline immediately, his friends respected that about his dad and he still respects his daddy to this day, they actually joke about it today, he is 26 ...hey, spare the rod.... a reverant fear, and love and respect.. don't see alot of this in chldren today..it is sad...but God still demands it and always will of his children... hope its helpful..

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/555206 http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/647731