Over the years I have read or thumbed through a great many books on how to conquer fear. The cult of relaxation has, in fact, quite taken over certain areas of the religious thinking of the day. Of course the fear-not cultists are able to assemble a lot of Scripture to support their teaching, but the catch is that practically all of it is misunderstood or misapplied. It just doesnt mean what they say it does, and what is still worse, it isnt addressed to the people they try to apply it to. The fear-not philosophers all begin with the same error; namely, that there is nothing to fear, and all we need to do to get deliverance is to believe it. To teach people living in a world like ours that there is nothing to be afraid of is to be guilty of gross irresponsibility, and any teacher who does so disqualifies himself instantly and proves himself unworthy of the confidence of serious-minded men. Both the Bible and human experience teach that the world is full of enemies to mankind, not the least of those dangers being man himself. Our Lord said, I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into Hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
