Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Recently, a friend at work asked me if I read much Christian fiction. I admitted that I didn't read much fiction at all. I have a hard time losing myself in stories that don't reflect reality (or at least the deep themes of reality), plus all fiction pretty much fails to meet the bar set by Tolkien in LotR.
My friend went on to suggest that I read a novel called "This Present Darkness" by Frank Peretti. I politely said "ok, thanks" and put the issue out of my mind. The next day I found a $25.00 gift card to Books-A-Million in my dresser drawer. Apparently, I received it for Christmas, stuffed it away, and absolutely forgot it existed. Imagine my surprise at finding it - it truly was Christmas in July!
So today, after work, I stopped in to spend the gift card before I forgot about it again. I moved back to the Christian section and picked up "Death by Love" by Driscoll. It looked really good, but something in me put it back down. Then I grabbed a small booklet by J.I. Packer called "Affirming the Apostles Creed." Then, as I headed for the checkout, my mind flashed to the recent talk with my co-worker about the Peretti book. I went back to the Christian Fiction section (new territory for me) and looked around. I quickly found the book and next thing I knew I was buying it.
I came home tonight, spent time with the family, and then laid down at 11pm to read. I had no idea what this novel was about. However, my first indication of it being good was that it was published by Crossway. I am always pleased with the publishing decisions of the folks at Crossway. In shortly over an hour I had devoured the first 60 pages of this book. 60 pages which have been so powerful for me that I am sitting at the computer at 1am writing this blog.
"This Present Darkness" has started out in the fashion of C.S.Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters." An intense and gripping portrait of the world that lies under our visible arena. A place where angels and demons readily engage each us, entice us, and protect us. Yet, the supernatural characters in the book don't take front stage. The main player is a small town pastor who is unfailing in his proclamation of the gospel and unwavering in his prayer for the community - in the face of much hardship.
Granted I have a long way to go in this book, so my review is incomplete, but the first impression is a great one. I don't see any theological heterodoxes or heresies in the writing, I do see a strong stance by the pastor character for Christ, and the writing is fun and engaging. I would highly recommend this book to friends, even off of the little bit I have read. Has anyone else out there read the book? If so, what are your opinions - please no spoliers!
Reading this also reminds me to give a "shout-out" to my friend William "Doc" Woods. Doc is the author of a book which has similar structure. His "The Warfare of Doubting Thomas" is a great blend of his Catholicism and his years in the Navy. It is a worthy read as well. Plus any book with my name in the acknowledgements must be good right?!?
- OH, I forgot to mention the providence of this find. I am scheduled to teach a seminar to middle school boys at Eagle Ranch on Monday. It is a 6 hour class on physical and spiritual self defense. I am very able to do the physical part off the top of my head, but I have been praying for assistance on correctly discussing the world of spiritual combat. This book will certainly not be my textbook, but it was a good resource for visualization as I prepare. You can check out more about this grassroots venture at:
http://protectthyselfsd.blogspot.com/
I hope to evaluate the endeavour after my first seminar and potentially pitch the idea to local churchs. We'll see what God has in store.
Soli Deo Gloria
I read it (and just about everything else by the guy) when I was a kid. Struck me (even then) as a little fanatical.
ReplyDeleteI've always liked horror, and even horror with religious themes, but I can't say I've got any desire to go and reread anything by Peretti.
Hope you enjoy it!
It's been a long time (and remember, I read tons of his stuff, so this could be more an overall impression and one fogged by memory), so enjoy yourself regardless of my complaints
ReplyDelete...but I remember flat caricatures of human beings. The good guys were good, the bad guys were inhuman in their motives and desires. Evil is largely an external problem (even negative emotions are caused by demons), and the world is rejected uncritically. It all strikes me as very fundamentalist and paranoid.
I don't have a list of any "Christian" horror that I can recommend - I avoid most of it for some of the reasons listed above. But there is some good secular horror out there that delves into religion and gets beyond anthropology.
Take Stephen King's The Stand, for instance. King calls it his story about "dark Christianity" because it presents God as King understands him from his lifetime of reading the Bible - sovereign and unsearchable - and not as the lovey dovey God he sees represented in American evangelicalism. In the book, God does a variety of things that cause pain to all people. He is nonetheless presented as good.
It doesn't have perfect theology, it doesn't need to, considering the source and intent. I'd imagine that sort of thing isn't important to King, and he doesn't let it get in the way of the story.
Compare that to Peretti, who seems to really want to say something about the world, God, humans, and supernatural beings as they are in theological detail - and, in my opinion, fails.
And hey, it's even good literature with nice, realistic characters (if it is a little too long).
Even though Paretti's book is entertaining. His idea of spiritual warfare does go beyond what the bible reveals to us about the war in
ReplyDeletethe spiritual realm. Paretti seems to give too
much power to the enemy and not enough emphasis
on the other enemy -our own flesh. Rom 7 Unfortunately there are some christians who try to find a demon for every problem under the sun and do not emphasize the need for biblical spiritual warfare laid out in Esphesians 6. The unbiblical practice of binding and rebuking demons seems to be the norm among our pentecostal brothers, but is hardly found in the bible. More emphasis should be spent on Prayer to God.