On this program Robert Posey of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, told of his own experience. The program was as follows:

Speaker: We seem to live in a world filled with anxieties—fear of contagion, allergies, ill-health, misfortune. Today we're going to discuss how hazards like these can be overcome and new freedom gained through spiritual means alone. We have with us Robert Posey of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He found out just how practical this approach can be.

Mr. Posey: Yes, I did. Perhaps I'd better start at the beginning. For a period of seven years I had been suffering from an allergy to pollen. I could not be near hay, roses, or any other kind of flower without aggravating the trouble. It would begin with the first mowing of grass and last the greater part of the summer.

Speaker: Tell me, Mr. Posey, had you been able to get any relief from the trouble?

Mr. Posey: No, although my father was a physician and wanted very much to help me. He gave me injections of serum for several years. Then once, after I'd had an injection, I awakened in the night with a great sense of suffocation. I had to sit up the rest of the night in order to get my breath. Dad was dismayed at this and said it wouldn't be safe for me to have any more of this treatment. I became very discouraged, and I suppose I just resigned myself to a future of suffering and discomfort. But then several years later I was introduced to Christian Science. A friend of mine asked me to go to a Wednesday evening testimony meeting with him. I accepted his invitation because I was curious to see what the meeting would be like. I was much impressed with what I heard that night and from that time on began the regular study of Christian Science. I was completely inspired by what I was learning, because it seemed so logical.

Speaker: Well, Mr. Posey, many people are introduced to Christian Science in just this way. Perhaps our listeners would be interested in knowing that these Wednesday evening meetings, held in all Christian Science churches, include about half an hour of testimonies of healing, given spontaneously by members of the congregation. But please go on, Mr. Posey.

Mr. Posey: As spring approached, I began to have the first symptoms of the difficulty again. One day when I was suffering from an attack, I went to a Christian Science Reading Room. I told the librarian there about my trouble. She listened quietly; then she opened a copy of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" to page 175. Let me read what Mary Baker Eddy writes there: "What an abuse of natural beauty to say that a rose, the smile of God, can produce suffering! The joy of its presence, its beauty and fragrance, should uplift the thought, and dissuade any sense of fear or fever. It is profane to fancy that the perfume of clover and the breath of new-mown hay can cause glandular inflammation, sneezing, and nasal pangs."

Speaker: That must have been a very helpful statement to have been shown at that moment.

Mr. Posey: Yes, it was, and as I read these very beautiful and logical lines, I realized that they were not just opinions, but that they pointed to irrefutable laws of God, of divine Love. I knew that I was healed and left the Reading Room sincerely grateful that I was free.

Speaker: And was that the end of the trouble?

Mr. Posey: Yes, and that was over twenty years ago. Ever since that time I've enjoyed flowers and fragrances, enjoyed gardening and walks in the country; and I've been completely free. There's been no trace of the former difficulty, and I've had many other proofs of the power of God's law to heal.

Speaker: I think that was fine! But I'd like to ask you about your father. What was his reaction to these healings?

Mr. Posey: He was delighted and readily accepted these as Christian Science healings. You see, he was a religious man, and he knew that the power of God had brought my freedom. I continued my study of this religion with his complete approval.

Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Posey. You know, such a healing of a long-standing problem illustrates a very helpful point.

Friends, just by grasping what he was reading in the Bible and Science and Health, our guest was completely and permanently freed from his suffering. What had changed? There had been no change whatever in the material surroundings. The climate and air had not changed. Plainly the change which had occurred was that our guest had gained an entirely new concept of God.

In Christian Science we learn that God is infinite, divine Love, the governing intelligence of the universe. Man is God's spiritual image and likeness, governed, guided, and maintained by God. Actually man does not live in the constant shadow of threats to health, happiness, comfort. The real, spiritual man abides in the atmosphere of God's goodness and love, untouched by any contaminating material element.

In the Bible, in the book of Job, God is described in this way: "He is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict." Perhaps the most convincing evidence of God's goodness and love for His children came through the ministry of Christ Jesus, who proved through his healing works that God does not cause sickness.

Pure Christianity, as demonstrated by Jesus, reveals man divinely endowed with freedom, dominion, health, immortality, holiness.

Such an understanding of God and of man in His likeness opens the way to freedom from disease and suffering. It shows us that we need not fear or accept allergies, weakness, deficiencies, or any other discord. You and I reject these impositions—remove them from our thinking and from our experience by realizing they are without a true cause.

A very helpful statement concerning discord is found on page 390 of Science and Health. Mrs. Eddy writes, "It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony." The right understanding of God and of man in His likeness removes fear. It provides the basis on which we can wipe away any false picture of illness or misfortune because we know it is without any foundation.

As we become more aware of the unchanging purity, beauty, and harmony of God's spiritual universe, we see how possible and how perfectly natural it is to cast aside the anxieties and problems which would bind and oppress us, rejoicing in God's ever-present love and goodness. As the Apostle Paul declares, "In him we live, and move, and have our being." In proportion as this is understood, freedom and dominion will always be ours to enjoy. They are our God-given heritage.

The musical selection on this program was Hymn No. 58 from the Christian Science Hymnal (Father, we Thy loving children).