TALKING IT OVER with Dr. Clyde M . Narramore
Dr. Narramore, graduate of Columbia University, NewYork City, is a psychologist and Consultant in Research and Guidance with one of the
largest school systems in the United States.
G E T T IN G RID OF FEAR Q. I am a man of 65, having been single for some years. I have never seen a psychiatrist nor have I con sulted one. I believe that the Word of God is the final authority on hu man problems. However, since you are a Christian psychologist, I wonder if you could suggest some help for me. 1 belong to a fine evangelical church where the gospel is preached but I receive no inspiration from it, and for many years 1 have been tormented by fear. I would not consult my pastor, al though he is a very fine man, because he would just quote the Scriptures to me, and I know the Bible well, hav ing studied it for many years. I can not believe in God’s love for us, al though I know it is a fact. Further more there has never been a moment of Gods reality or of what Paul calls “peace and joy in believing.” To my knowledge, my only sin is that of un belief. But I do thank God for every thing and praise Him sincerely for His wonderful works. But that does not help. Has psychology any method of breaking through and giving one the power to appropriate the g ift of sal vation? If not, do not trouble to an swer this letter. But if you or anyone should know of some way to change a mental process of desperate torment ing fear, I would be most thankful for such help. A . There are various reasons why you have not been able to achieve the peace and joy in the Christian life that God has intended for you. Of course the starting place is always at Cal vary. In other words, you realize, I am sure, that first of all we must accept Christ as our personal Saviour, asking forgiveness of sins. After we are saved we can expect real Christian growth if we read His Word, pra,y and fellowship with other believers.
It seems reasonable to me that, rul ing out any physical factors, you may have sustained a serious wound in your childhood <— one or perhaps many unfortunate experiences (with out your full realization) to prevent you from devoting yourself unre servedly to our blessed Lord. This could be keeping you from reaping all of the wonderful spiritual benefits that are rightfully yours, if you know Him as your Lord and Saviour. If such is the case, the problem may be resolved through a series of coun seling sessions with a professionally trained person in order to identify these past experiences, to reason them out, to pray about them and to expel them from your life. I do not minimize your attitude toward your pastor. However, I have great confidence in our evangelical ministers. For the most part, they are fine, godly men who are sincerely in terested in people. It is altogether pos sible that your minister or some other evangelical minister, will be able to help you a great deal. I would ser iously suggest you see one. Q. I enjoy your program and look forward to it every day. Recently you read a letter from an overweight wom an who eats all day long whether she’s hungry or not. Her case sounded inore serious than mine, but I’d like to pass along a few thoughts that might help her. Before l begin, what you said about needing someone who w ill listen and understand is very important. For me, this is where my loving husband comes in. Even while I was 10 to 20 pounds overweight, my husband constantly reassured me of his love and devotion. I was terribly discouraged spiritually OVERCOM ES W E IG H T PROBLEMS
as l knew I was not pleasing the Lord. Then one night I looked at myself in the mirror and was thoroughly disgusted with what I saw. Right then and there I determined to hate over eating as the Lord hates it. I told my husband about it and asked him to help me to resist food, especially when I couldn’t resist it alone. He was glad and did promise to help. He also listened to my mental and emo tional problems, fears, and frustrations even when they involved his own fam ily. He was kind and sympathetic and often offered constructive advice and help in a loving way. Always he as sured me of his love and support, and I detected some added respect 36 THE KING'S BUSINESS
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