Friday, March 30, 2012

"As One Devil To Another" by Richard Platt


When I first saw this book, the cover kind of put me off. However, upon reading the summary / synopsis, my interest was piqued. This was to be an adaptation of C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters." It was to be written in a similar fashion by one who is a biographer of Lewis himself and ought to have much knowledge about the deceased author's style. While the writing was a bit circumlocutious and roundabout, as most of Lewis' work tends to be (this is just due to the writing style in that error; people talked differently), I was hoping for a more modern writing style that is easier to comprehend than most of Lewis' former work. However, that aside, there were some interesting points about spiritual warfare--you know, with the whole notion of demons wanting to destroy humans' relationship with Christ and suck humans down to Hell. At times, the notion of how Yahweh operates (called "the Adversary") and several theological points are made. While I could tell these were just shoved in to teach the reader some "good stuff" with the demonic aside, I must say it was slid in in a conspicuous manner that at least makes me appreciate the effort. There were parts where the topic of homosexuality and transubstantiation came up, with questionable remarks on the subject. What I did not like at all was the end. The "client" whom the demons are trying to trick / tempt / deceive eventually comes to Christ and learns Grace...from her dead aunt whom she communicates with. Necromancy is forbidden in the Bible (Lev 20:27, 19:31, Is 8:18, etc). We are not to communicate with spirits of the dead, and we do surely NOT achieve Grace thru departed spirits. We come to know the Grace of Yahweh from Yah Himself.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

"Spirit Wars" by Kris Vallotton


This is an excellent book, if I must say so myself. I find there are not many books written on the topic of spiritual warfare. Or, the few out there discuss the demonic as emotions instead of real entities. In this book, the author shares personal experiences of his own spiritual warfare and spiritual warfare in the lives of others. What was remarkable was the notion that fear is a spirit that can be cast out. I knew demons could be cast out, but I never thought of casting out spirits. That was new. I will not lie, some of Vallotton's stories of exorcism are a bit out there, but that does not discredit him. I feel as though there is spiritual warfare happening all over, but it is just that not many people are comfortable talking about it. What I also enjoyed was how Scripture was quoted and dissected when appropriate to really learn spiritual warfare. Also, there were word studies of the original words, which I liked. Overall, this book flows well and will teach Christians about a topic that is rarely discussed in church. While this book is by no means a final resource (it does not go into how angels fell, where the demonic come in, Rephaim, Nephilim, etc), it is a good stepping stone for those interested in spiritual warfare. I liked how the author noted how evil is out to get everyone and is an "equal opportunity" enemy.