The sum of all comfort

WARREN BOLON. SENIOR WRITER

Searching a DVD rental website, I found 74 videos with fear in the title. They ranged from the classic film Cape Fear to the 2002 Armageddonish thriller The Sum of All Fears—"27,000 nuclear weapons ... one is missing," goes the promo. We keep our home DVD player fairly well fed, but we've seen nothing on that list. That doesn't surprise me. Although we enjoy an eclectic range of movies, there are genres that we avoid. Using a selection process I'd call "the sin-disease-death filter," we skip films focused largely on sensuality, illness, or violence.

Sure, the movies are largely about entertainment, and all kinds of unpleasant things are part of human existence. Yet while I value anything that makes me think more deeply about relationships and other challenges facing the human family, I don't find nourishing those movies, TV, or Internet images that aim to impress the bad and the ugly into consciousness, even when it's done with memorable screenwriting, acting, or special effects. That's just it—moving pictures are memorable.

We live in a subjectively mental world. Many of our everyday anxieties spring from mentally projected expectations of bad things happening, from believing we're vulnerable to evil. As Christian Science healer Jean Hebenstreit said in last week's issue, "Whatever is held in thought is not long out of experience."

You may not hear the line quoted in many Bible movie epics, but Jesus once said, "What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch" (Mark 13:37). That's also the Sentinel's motto. He didn't advocate hiding from the world and its problems. His words urge me to watch trends of thought in human culture; to take in the good and substantial, the Soul-food that promotes spiritual growth; to reject whatever is fear-producing, self-defeating, or corrosive. Watch, he seems to be saying, so you can help the fearful and brokenhearted find healing.

This week's authors have found some solid answers to the anxieties that vex most people at some point. As you page through, we hope their insights and experiences will point you to the sum of all comfort—to God's certain love for you and all that He has created.

WHAT I SAY UNTO YOU I SAY UNTO ALL, WATCH. — JESUS

The Christian Science Sentinel was founded in 1898 by Mary Baker Eddy, and its mission remains the same: "to hold guard over Truth, Life, and Love." The Sentinel continues to report on the unlimited ways that the healing power and presence of the Christ activates, uplifts, and transforms the lives of everyday people around the world.

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