The Conquest of Fear

by Basil King

"The Return To Religion, etc. Moreover, in contrast to the dominant thinking of our age, which is materialistic, King's philosophy is spiritual and religious. Indeed, the ideas in this book are so profoundly different from the commonly accepted ideas of our times that they will come as a shock to many readers. One purpose of this introduction is to prepare the reader for such a shock. Twilight sleep, the artificial sleep to alleviate the pains of childbirth, is the perfect expression of the scientific and materialistic elimination of fear. By a chemical blackout of the mind, a dimming of the conscious self, the person is enabled to escape the necessity of facing and conquering fear through his own resources. I am not condemning the physical alleviation of pain or the progress of physical science. I am only describing a trend, and that is the growing emphasis on the elimination of fears by science rather than on their conquest by the individual
"

Genres: Christian, Philosophy

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

'William Benjamin Basil King was born 26 February, 1859, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He had a stormy childhood and strict religious upbringing, alluded to in his The Conquest of Fear (1921), inspired by his fears of becoming blind. As an adolescent who had already for some years been losing his sight along with having thyroid gland problems, the young King was deemed not fit for work. He spent a lonely and melancholy autumn at Versailles in France, unoccupied and alone with his introspection and agonising over his fears of fate dealing him a bitter blow, a total loss of vision.

In 1881 he graduated from the University of King's College in Nova Scotia and two years later married Esther Foote. 1884 saw him ordained as Anglican priest and he served as the rector of St Luke's Cathedral in Halifax. In 1892 he became the rector of Christ Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, yet in 1900 was forced to resign as a result of further failing eyesight. He would devote the rest of his life to literature.

A major turning point in King's life came from a teacher who spoke of the ingenuity and adaptability of the life-principle, which had somehow arrived on earth and for eons had continually met adversity and remained undefeated. King realised he was allowing his own wealth of ability to lie fallow. He rose to the challenge but still struggled with the seeming fate of Nature and his own untapped spiritual faith. He needed to heed his own advice: "Be bold-and mighty forces will come to your aid."'
...

http://www.online-literature.com/basi...

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1921. After Karen Armstrong biography, this another peek into 20th century Catholicism, and catholic “rebels”.

[Harel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes. Basically all the book is about God (like someone wrote on Amazon).
While Basil King tries not to talk about Him in terms of religion, religious texts are quoted frequently. Non-Christian readers might find it of no practical use.
Nevertheless, the author does not write as if his were the very last and true opinion. I am convinced that people who believes this book contains glimpses of truth must meet and try to go further.
It does not matter whether we are Christians or not. Doubtless, everyone can contribute with ideas if we keep an open mind.

The most logical reasoning I found here was that religion (no exception) limits God.
If you agree with the sentence above, surely you will get something useful out of this book.
This one is a good start for the conquest of fear.

[brett e smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly thought provoking read. Challenges much of what we assume.