When I was a novice, one of my spiritual directors quoted the Scottish philosopher John Macmurray, who contrasted “real religion� and “illusory religion.� The maxim of “illusory religion� is as follows: “Fear not; trust in God and He will see that none of the things you fear will happen to you.� “Real religion,� said Macmurray, has a different maxim: “Fear not; the things you are afraid of are quite likely to happen to you, but they are nothing to be afraid of.�
