Article August 19, 1905 Issue

Sermon against "Fear"

H. Bradley Jeffery

The Philadelphia Press

To the Editor of The Press.

Sir:—In your columns of Monday appeared a report of the baccalaureate sermon delivered to the graduating class of the Boys' Central High School on "Fear of God," the text for which was, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." To the undersigned it seems a very unfortunate proceeding, this inculcating of a sense of fear, or the developing and enlarging of a already established sense of fear in the minds of young men just about to go forth in the full strength of youth, with minds naturally trustful. sanguine, optimistic, and buoyant.

Solomon may have said, "Fear God," but Jesus the Christ taught that God is love, and often said, "Fear not. And he, better than any one before or since, knew the laws of physics, physiology, psychology, and metaphysics. He also knew the effects of fear upon the human mind and body. Aside from hatred and jealousy, fear is the most destructive of any of the mental states. In fact, hatred and jealousy have their root in fear.

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