FEAR

Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

—Luke 21:26

1640 Four Impelling Motives

There are four great impelling motives that move men to action: Fear, Hope, Faith, and Love—these four, but the greatest of these is Fear. Fear is first in order, first in force, first in fruit. Indeed, fear is “the beginning of wisdom.” Scripture summarizes the chief cause of sin and crime: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

—Prairie Overcomer

1641 From Ann Landers

It is reported that the newspaper counselor, Ann Landers, receives an avenge of 10,000 letters each month, and nearly all of them from people burdened with problems. She was asked if there was any one of them which predominates throughout the letters she receives, and her reply was the one problem above all others seems to be fear.

People are afraid of losing their health, their wealth, their loved ones. People are afraid of life itself.

—The Bible Friend

1642 Anatomy Of Fear

In spite of what they say, 90% of the chronic patients who see today’s physicians have one common symptom. Their trouble did not start with cough or chest pain or hyperacidity. In 90% of the cases, the first symptom was fear.

This is the opinion of a well-known American internist as expressed in a roundtable discussion on psychosomatic medicine. This is also the consensus of a growing body of specialists. Fear of losing a job, of old age, of being exposed—sooner or later this fear manifests itself as “a clinical symptom.”

Sometimes the fear is nothing more than a superficial anxiety; sometimes it is so deep-seated that the patient himself denies its existence and makes the round of doctor to doctor, taking injections, hormones, tranquilizers and tonics in an endless search for relief.

1643 Frightened Men

Professor Harold Urey, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry at the early age of 41, wrote a pamphlet entitled, “I’m a Frightened Man.” As a member of the Uranium Committee on the key operation of U-235, he said: “I write to frighten you. I am a frightened man myself. All the scientists I know are frightened—frightened for their lives—and frightened for your life.”

1644 The President’s Armored Car

The President of the United States rides in a $500,000 automobile designed to withstand small-scale military attacks. A new Lincoln limousine was built. It has:

—a fighter plane canopy and over two tons of armor. The shielding is designed to stop a 30-caliber rifle bullet, a barrage of molotov cocktails, or both.

—window glass and plastic bubble top which are thicker than the glass and plastic used in Air Force fighter planes.

—four specially designed tires. Within each tire is a hard steel disc with a hard rubber tread which would allow the car to be driven up to 50 miles an hour at top speed with all four tires flat.

1645 Fear Among Children

A nationwide survey of more than 2,200 seven-to-eleven- year-olds, released by the private Foundation for Child’s Development, indicated that most children feel good about their lives, their families and just being themselves. But many are also afraid.

More than two-thirds are scared that “someone bad” is skulking about their neighborhood, waiting to break into their homes. A quarter of the children are afraid that they will be attacked when they go outside—with some justification, since more than 40% have been harassed by older kids or adults while playing. Children addicted to television (those who watch four or more hours daily) are twice as likely to be fearful; nearly 25% of all the children are frightened by TV “shoot ’em ups” and other violent programs.

—Time

STORIES OF FEAR

1646 Death Manufacturer Fears Death

Alfred Krupp, the Prussian manufacturer of death, was so in dread of death himself that it is said he never forgave anyone who brought up the subject in his presence. All his employees were strictly forbidden, under fear of discharge to speak of death when he was about. A relative of his wife, who was visiting with them, died suddenly, and Krupp fled from the house in terror.

Later, when his wife remonstrated with him about his act, he forsook her and never lived with her again. As he sensed age taking its toll, he offered his physician a sum amounting to one million dollars if he would prolong his life ten years. Of course no doctor can guarantee life to anyone, and Krupp died.

—Evangelistic Illustration

1647 Head In The Sand—Louis XV

Louis XV, King of France, foolishly ordained and ordered that death was never to be spoken of in his presence. Nothing that could in any way remind him of death was to be mentioned or displayed, and he sought to avoid every place and sign and monument which in any way suggested death. Carlyle said of him: “It is the resource of the ostrich, who, when hunted, sticks his foolish head in the ground and would fain forget that his foolish body is not unseen too.”

—C. E. Macartney

1648 Unhappy Stalin

How unhappy Stalin was: He was constantly in fear of being poisoned or killed himself. He had 8 bedrooms which could be locked up like safes in a bank. Nobody ever knew in which of these bedrooms he slept on any given night.

—Wurmbrand

1649 Assassination-Shy Monarch

Few monarchs ever lived in greater fear of assassination than Abdul-Hamid II, Sultan of Turkey from 1876 until 1909 when he was deposed and exiled.

His Yildiz Palace in Constantinople was heavily guarded and contained only one room in which he would allow himself to be interviewed by outsiders. During such a meeting, the visitor would sit alone in the center of the room and Abdul-Hamid would talk to him from behind a fine grill-work that concealed the balcony. Therefore, the Sultan was not only invisible, but he would walk up and down, fearing that the visitor might whip out a revolver and fire in the direction of his voice.

Moreover, Abdul-Hamid’s private rooms contained alarm systems, trap doors, and mirrors set at angles as well as life-sized models of himself—standing at windows, sitting in chairs and reclining on lounges—which he hoped would receive any knives or bullets intended for him.

—Freling Foster

1650 The Street Sweeper’s Palace

The Street Sweeper’s Palace in Bijapur, India, was built by a street cleaner. In 1620 King Ibrahim ’Adil Shah II, of Bijapur, was sorely tormented by a premonition of death. The court astrologer advised the monarch to propitiate fate by an unusual act of charity. The king was to leave his residence before sunrise on an appointed morning and make a gift of about $100,000 to the first man who would cross his path.

The astrologer was no altruist. He had given Ibrahim this advice after he had concocted a plot with a confederate that was to enrich them both. The accomplice would be the first to meet the king that morning—receive the bonanza and share it with the astrologer.

But fate crossed up the two conspirators. The astrologer’s accomplice died in the evening. And when Ibrahim emerged from his residence at dawn the next day, the first man to cross his path was a humble street cleaner—member of a despised caste. He was out early attending to the business of sanitation. The king handed the humble sweeper a fortune in gold and the latter was so overwhelmed by his good luck that he built the sumptuous palace and named it Mihtar-i-Mahal after his profession. The king survived for another six years.

1651 Fear Without Basis

A Japanese soldier by the name of Shoichi Yokoi lived in a cave on the island of Guam to which he fled in 1944 when the tides of war began to change. Fearing for his life, this man stayed hid den for twenty-eight years in the jungle cave, coming out only at night. During this long period of time, this self-imposed hermit lived on frogs, rats, snails, shrimp, nuts, and mangoes. He had carried a pair of trousers and a jacket from a burlaplike cloth made from tree bark.

Yokoi said that he knew the war was over because of leaflets that were scattered throughout the jungles of Guam. But he was afraid that if he came out of hiding, he would be executed.

Finally, two hunters came upon him and told him that he need not hide any longer. At last he was free, and with new clothes to wear and food to eat, he was taken by plane to his home.

—Carl C. Williams

1652 Tremor in the Pulpit

It was Easter Sunday morning in 1907, my third Easter in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church. I stood before my congregation in Venice Center, N.Y., to read the Scripture lesson, as found in Matthew 28. When I came to verse 4, instead of the inspired words, “And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men,” I heard myself say, “And for fear of him the shakers did quake.” Appalled, I quickly proceeded to correct my mistake by solemnly declaring, “For fear of him the Quakers did shake and became as dead man.”

—Howard S. Bacon

1653 The “Virgin” Governor

The Governor of the Virgin Islands was a guest in Washington. The toastmaster, in the introductory remarks, said the usual things and ended with “It’s a great pleasure to present the Virgin of Governor’s Island.”

1654 Rattling Toothbrush

A woman who had just returned from a trip to Mexico called the Los Angeles police to report that a rattlesnake was loose in her overnight bag. Police went rushing to the scene with sirens screaming. They approached the bag which the woman had heaved out of a window onto the sidewalk. Cautiously, they scattered the contents of the bag—only to find that the rattle was caused by an electric toothbrush, accidentally turned on!

—Anthony Paul

1655 Funny Noise From Box

When Tokyo police received a call to the effect that a box lunch from a restaurant appeared to contain a bomb, they rushed to a downtown building. “It’s making a strange noise like click-click,” the caller said.

Police ordered all the occupants of the building to leave and about 100 anti-bomb experts managed to freeze the box with liquid nitrogen.

After 1½ hours spent on various antibomb precautions, they examined an X-ray of the box. It showed the box held no bomb at all—just a cold pork cutlet. “I told police again and again,” said the boy who delivered the box, “that a hot pork cutlet often makes funny noise.” The pork had been oven-fresh when he delivered it.

1656 Holdup Looks Like Real

Los Angeles (AP)—What does a motorist do when she sees a group of men running out of a bank with machine guns?

Erline Androin ducked. Then she lost control of her car, triggering a chain-reaction crash that injured nine persons, police said.

But the 24-year-old woman’s alarm was unwarranted. The machinegun-toting holdup men were part of a movie cast that had just staged a bank holdup scene.

The guns weren’t loaded and the bank wasn’t even real, said a spokesman for Hollywood’s Penelope Productions, who said a bank-like front had been set up in front of a store.

Police said Miss Androin struck five pedestrians, including several cast members, before her out-of-control vehicle slammed into two other cars. The other vehicles hit three more people, authorities said.

1657 Exchanging Insanity

A man named Acerbo went crazy. A neighbor named Brugna took him in his car to convey him to a lunatic asylum. As they drove along, the car collided with a truck. Both the insane Acerbo and his custodian Brugna were injured. They were taken to a hospital, and there the doctor discovered that as a result of the crash Acerbo had become sane and Brugna had gone crazy.

1658 Voice From Coffin In Truck

Here’s something that sounds like a joke, but it’s a tragedy. It happened in Spain. In Barcelona a truck was rolling along carrying an empty coffin. A farmer who was hitch-hiking thumbed a ride. He was bouncing along in the rear of the truck, which was open, when it started to rain. He examined the coffin, found it empty, and crawled inside to keep dry. There he fell asleep.

Further on, two other hitch-hikers got a ride on the truck. They were going along at a lively clip when the farmer inside the coffin pushed open the lid, stuck his head out, and observed: “Oh, it has stopped raining.” The two other hitch-hikers were so terrified that they leaped from the speeding truck. One was killed.

—Select

1659 Two-Time Loser

From Turin, Italy, came this news: Ernesto Cataldi, age 77, had been found apparently lifeless by neighbors. After a doctor produced a death certificate, the undertakers put him in the coffin. When he suddenly sat up, and asked why the undertakers had been called, he collapsed and died of fright.

1660 From Wasps To Underneath Truck

Far up in the Congo bush country a native road crew was hacking away at the jungle with machetes when they inadvertently stirred up a swarm of wasps. One of the crewmen instinctively dropped his machete with a scream and jumped into the road, right into the path of a truck carrying two Americans from the Disciples of Christ Congo missions. The worker was killed.

—Christianity Today

1661 He Had Feared Crocodiles

Brisbane, Australia (AP)—A man who lived in terror of crocodiles was eaten by one 15 feet long with three legs and no tail near Weipa in far north Queensland.

An investigation into the death of Peter Reimers, 35, bared that he was so scared of crocodiles he never would wade in water more than a few inches deep. But the crocodile was aware of Reimers’ habits and stalked him for days before it took him at the end of a hunting trip.

1662 Land Of Look Behind

Inscribed across an old map of Jamaica is the title, “Land of Look Behind.” The map goes back to the days when there were slaves in Jamaica. When the slaves escaped, they headed for the mountains. The government would send troops after them. So they frequently looked fearfully over their shoulders. This gave the mountainous area the name, “Land of Look Behind.”

1663 Panicking Ships In World War

The greatest mass collision of ships on record occurred off Newfoundland on May 27, 1945. A westbound convoy of 76 Allied vessels was steaming slowly through a dense fog when one struck an iceberg, discovered eight others nearby and gave the alarm. Instantly, the entire convoy swerved sharply with the result that 22 of the ships collided with one another in the following ten minutes. Yet none sank and no lives were lost. Incidentally, it happened on the last day that vessels crossing the Atlantic were required to sail in convoy.

—Selected

1664 Boat In Her Yard

Rosario Murat of Valencia, Spain, saved her earnings for twelve years until she finally had enough to buy her life’s desire—a sailboat. Now she had the boat installed in her backyard. “I’m terrified of the water,” explained Senora Murat.

1665 Fear Killed The Rest

In his sermon “Fear,” Clarence E. Macartney describes a peasant, driving into a European city, who was hailed by an aged woman. As they drove along, the peasant became alarmed as he learned his passenger was the plague, cholera. But she assured him that only ten people in the city would die of cholera. She even offered the peasant a dagger, saying he could slay her if more than ten died. But after they reached the city, more than a hundred perished. As the angry peasant drew the dagger to deal a death blow, the plague lifted her hand and protested, “Wait, I killed only ten. Fear killed the rest!”

—James Hastings

1666 Fasting On That Day

An officer in the Turkish War told his men that if they died in battle, they would sup with Christ in Paradise. The officer fled. When asked why he did not wish to sup with Christ, he said that he was fasting that day.

—Martin Luther “Table Talk”

1667 The Henpeckeds’ Dead President

Ten henpecked husbands formed themselves into a sworn society for resisting the poisonous oppression of their wives. At the first meeting they were sitting, talking over their pipes and wine when suddenly the ten wives, who had got wind of the movement, appeared on the scene. There was a general stampede, and nine of the husbands incontinently bolted like rats through a side door, only one remained unmoved to face the music. The ladies merely smiled contemptuously at the success of their raid, and went away. The nine husbands then agreed that the bold tenth man, who had not run away, should be appointed their president; but on coming to offer him the post, they found that he had died of fright.

—Chinese Humor

1668 Securing Police Protection

As I entered the police station the other evening to pay a parking fine, I noticed that an old lady just ahead of me was trembling all over. I paid my $3 and was about to leave when I saw the lady sitting on a bench in the corner absorbed in a book.

“What’s the trouble? Is there anything I can do?” I asked.

“No, thank you!” she said. “You see, I was sitting at home all alone reading this mystery story, and got so scared that I came down here to finish it under police protection.”

—Selected

1669 Heart Of A Mouse

An Indian fable says that a mouse was in constant distress because of its fear of the cat. A magician took pity on it and turned it into a cat. Immediately it became afraid of the dog. So the magician turned it into a dog. Immediately it began to fear the tiger. So the magician turned it into a tiger. Immediately it began to fear the hunter. Then the magician said, “Be a mouse again, you have only the heart of a mouse and I cannot help you.”

—Maxwell Droke

1670 Full Circle Of Fear

Things are happening very rapidly. It is a bit like this story a friend of mine tells: “My grandmother rode in a horse and carriage, but she was afraid to ride in a car. My mother rode in a car, but she was afraid to ride in a plane. I ride in a plane, but I am afraid to ride in a jet. My daughter rides in a jet, but she is afraid to ride in a horse and carriage.”

—AAUW Journal

1671 Epigram On Fear

•     A sign was seen scrawled on a blackboard during the just-completed final exams at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas: “WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR BUT “F” ITSELF.”

•     Sometimes when I get in a nervous dither over such current problems as inflation, war, taxes, crime, pollution, political intrigue, urban sprawl, population, and whatever, I find myself yearning for 1933, when all we had to fear was fear itself.

—Kiwanis Magazine

•     The man who knows no fear is not only a gross exaggeration; he is a biological impossibility.

—Rotor

•     After buying a $50,000 insurance policy before a plane trip, the traveler stepped on a nearby scale. Out came one of those fortune-telling cards. The message read: “A recent investment may pay big dividends.”

See also: Terror ; Worry ; Isa. 2:19; Rev. 6:15; 11.