Early in his study of Christian Science the student learns the importance of demonstrating the unreality of fear as the first step in the solution of every problem. Mary Baker Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (pp. 411, 412), "If you succeed in wholly removing the fear, your patient is healed."

Fear is a belief in the absence of God, good, in one form or another. Such fear is folly, inasmuch as God, good, is omnipresent. The remedy for fear is to know the certainty of the omnipresence of the infinite perfection of God and of all His divine qualities.

Fear of disease, for instance, is the result of a belief in the possibility of the absence of health. Over the radio and television, in newspapers and magazines, one hears a great deal about the possibility of the absence of health. The student of divine Science must be alert to know that God, divine Mind, is ever present and that Mind is constantly manifesting itself in wellbeing. Divine Mind is supreme and is therefore a law of annihilation to every discordant sense of existence. Perfect divine Mind maintains absolute control and harmony.

Christian Science reveals that there is no place where God is not present. As we worship God with all our heart and soul and mind, we see how impossible it is at the same time to fear disease. To fear sickness is to dishonor God; it is to believe that He has lost the harmonious control of His one and only universe. How impossible!

Individuals are troubled sometimes by the fear of lack and limitation, known as a feeling of insecurity. They are apprehensive of the possibility that divine Love, which meets all our needs, will be absent. The student of Christian Science acknowledges wholeheartedly that God is forever the preserver of man and that our true security is found not in matter or in investments, but in God, the source of all true substance. God is forever pouring out His great bounty of good for all His children; and man, His image and likeness, always has the capacity to receive this bounty.

Supply does not come merely in little trickles; its very nature is infinite. Jesus said that he came that we "might have life, and ... have it more abundantly" (John 10: 10). He never taught that there was only a little bit of good for everyone. He knew that there was abundance for all mankind. Let us daily meditate on the certainty of abundance for all. In this way we help to destroy the fear of lack and prove that the infinite blessings of Love flow to humanity.

Sometimes people are almost horrified by the possibility of making a mistake. They are afraid to do anything because it might be the wrong thing. They are afraid to buy or to sell, to take or not to take a new job, to get married or not to get married, afraid to give a testimony or to tell anyone about Christian Science, because they might make a mistake. They are believing in the possibility of error rather than in truth. The remedy is to maintain in thought the certainty of the omnipresence of Truth, which is always available to lead us to do the right thing at the right time under every circumstance. As we magnify the Lord and rejoice in the infinitude of Truth, the fear of error disappears, and we are led to make intelligent and right decisions.

The writer awakened one night with a pain in his side. He recognized that it evidenced a sense of tension, anxiety, and fear. He soon discovered that he was apprehensive about meeting someone several days hence because there might be misunderstandings about some business affairs. He immediately turned from this false sense and affirmed that "the divine understanding reigns, is all, and there is no other consciousness" (Science and Health, p. 536). He acknowledged that divine understanding is universal; it was not only with him, but with all of God's children. Immediately the tension was gone, the pain disappeared, and he was able to sleep. The business conference turned out to be a very harmonious one.

Paul tells of many people who "through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebr. 2:15). Fear of death is the belief of the possibility of the absence of Life. But Life is God, ever present and eternal. There never was and never will be any absence of the true Life, which is God. It is on this basis that Christian Science teaches that there is no death.

Let us never waste a moment pondering a time when we might no longer exist. In Christian Science we learn that we shall truly exist forever in that eternal Life which knows no beginning and no end. Man never existed in a state of mortality. He dwells everlastingly as an idea in divine Mind, which is the source and substance of all being. Our work is to maintain these facts in daily living and thus eliminate the fear of death.

In international affairs people have believed so firmly in the possibility of the absence of peace that much of the world economy is geared for war. Through Christian Science we can help others to turn thought from the possibility of war and to work for world peace. In Psalms we read that God "maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth" (46:9). It is only divine Love that can eliminate the possibility of war. A sincere recognition of the universality of Love enables us to do our part in beating "swords into plowshares."

Let us never think of war as inevitable. Let us not compromise by thinking selfishly, "If it comes, I shall know it cannot hurt me." Let us daily rejoice that there is actually no force to bring war into existence. Divine Principle lovingly governs all. We can know with certainty that through Science there shall be peace on earth and good will toward men. We must not merely hope or wish for the millennium: we must rejoice that it is an absolute certainty, for where God is, there is peace; and God is everywhere.

Some years ago a statement was made which appealed to many Americans: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." But to be afraid of fear is to make something of it. Fear of fear is believing in the possible absence of God. Fear is powerless to do anything to man, who dwells in God's heavenly kingdom. Mrs. Eddy tells us (Science and Health, p. 151), "Fear never stopped being and its action." Fear is never something; it is only the suppositional absence of the confidence and faith which are based on the understanding of the allness of God. The sure remedy for all fear is to worship God with all our heart and mind so that we gain a clear recognition that there is none else besides Him. Then all fear is gone because we see that there is never anything to be afraid of, since God fills all space.