"FEAR NOT"

Archibald McLellan

Through all the centuries mankind has been cheated and defrauded by its belief that evil is something real and powerful, but in the last half century, fortunately, through the discovery of Christian Science and its teachings by Mrs. Eddy, multitudes have been awakened to the falseness and iniquity of this belief, and thereby they are being freed from it and from its consequences. Through this belief in the supposed power of evil, and through it only, fear has entered into human consciousness, and only by its destruction can mankind avail itself of the blessed gospel proclaimed by the Master, who came "to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, ... to set at liberty them that are bruised."

To fear evil is to subscribe to the belief that evil is power, and that it can harm us and harm others. That this fear should prevail is possible only through ignorance of God and of His unalterable law. That fear is a mistaken belief is apparent from its own contradictory character. The admission that evil is real, whether this admission be tacit or expressed, must of necessity carry with it the belief that evil is of divine origin, a belief which, when stated in plain words, is seen to be opposed to Christianity, because it either denies the omnipotence of God or holds Him to be the creator of evil and thus responsible for all sin, sickness, and death.

Evil not being of divine origin, and therefore being unreal in the sense that only God's creation is real, has no power; therefore, in fearing it mankind is simply fearing a self-imposed belief. This is a strong point in Christian Science, and Christian Scientists must rouse themselves not only to claim their freedom from evil, but also to assert their freedom from the fear which would give it power. Mrs. Eddy writes, on page 380 of Science and Health: "The physical effects of fear illustrate its illusion. Gazing at a chained lion, crouched for a spring, should not terrify a man;" and she adds, "Nothing but the power of Truth can prevent the fear of error, and prove man's dominion over error." Also, on page 392, she writes: "Casting out evil and fear enables truth to outweigh error. The only course is to take antagonistic grounds against all that is opposed to the health, holiness, and harmony of man, God's image."

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