Article June 11, 1966 Issue

Overcoming Parental Fear

ELIZABETH CARROLL DE WINDT

Parents are naturally concerned with the health and welfare of their children. Yet how can they be free from fear? Mrs. Eddy states. "Christian scientific practice begins with Christ's keynote of harmony, 'Be not afraid!'"^{Science and Health, p. 410:} Freedom from fear is the divine right of everyone. This freedom can be demonstrated in family life through the application of Christian Science, which teaches that man coexists with omnipotent and omnipresent good and therefore that there can be no evil power to disturb his fearless dominion. Man's life is poised in dominion because of his unity with God as His reflection.

The increased means of communication in our modern society, especially the publicizing of disease, produce fears, which often lie latent and unrecognized in thought. Such fears held by parents must be removed to keep their children free from disease. In their desire to raise their children properly, parents sometimes listen to advice that only increases fear. We have a right and duty to be as selective of what we take into thought as we are of what we take into our home. Christ Jesus long ago warned in his Sermon on the Mount, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."^{Matt. 7:15;}

The removal of parental fear is essential to healing. After giving some rules for healing in Christian Science, Mrs. Eddy writes, "If the case is that of a young child or an infant, it needs to be met mainly through the parent's thought, silently or audibly on the aforesaid basis of Christian Science."^{Science and Health, p. 412;}

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