Upfront January 30, 2012 Issue

Calm in the face of anger

Kim Shippey, Senior Editor

Anger (or wrath) has been with us a long time. Think Cain and Abel, or the seven deadly sins. Leap forward to our own times where anger continues to seep into personal relationships, or surfaces as politicians battle over policies, taxes, and spending; where religious and racial issues boil beneath the surface. The insidious nature of such anger is that even for a generally calm individual, it can sometimes feel “right” to be angry. 

In this issue, you’ll find a different view, beginning with Walt Rodgers’s lead article (p. 6). He encourages us to cultivate the spiritual poise that gave Christ Jesus self-control amid the hostilities of his time. Studying the accounts of Jesus’ calm in the face of anger is a great starting point, Rodgers writes.

And do read on page 8 how Emma Flavin handled an altercation in a subway station (and its aftermath) by praying with ideas from this statement in Science and Health: “You must control evil thoughts in the first instance, or they will control you in the second” (Mary Baker Eddy, p. 234). 

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