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Beware Satan!

    By Bob and Gretchen Passantino
    
        Copyright 1994 by Bob and Gretchen Passantino.
        
        Permission is granted for non-commercial replication of or excerpting
        from this material, provided (1) that appropriate notice is included of
        its copyright status, as above, and (2) that an appropriate reference
        to the Answers In Action name, address and phone number be included
        with all replicated and excerpted material.
        
   (The Black Mask: Satanism in America Today by John Charles Cooper. Old
   Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Publishing Company, 1990, Trade
   paperback, 192 pages, $7.95.)

   Dozens of lurid, sensational books on Satanism cram display racks at
   our local mall bookstore. The bold covers and screaming titles promise
   blood, gore, mystery, terror, and sinister incantations. The lineup at
   our local Christian bookstore is nearly identical -- the only
   differences being that in the Christian books Satan finally loses and
   God wins by a hair. Book after book promises to deliver facts,
   evidence, sound analysis, and constructive advice. Book after book
   fails, most simply rehashing common rumors and proposing fantastic
   conspiracies. In fact, out of the two hundred book working
   bibliography we developed for our own research on satanism and
   witchcraft, we recommend only one Christian book as a good general
   introduction to contemporary American satanism: The Black Mask by John
   Charles Cooper.

   This short, fast-paced, well-documented book brims with pithy,
   laser-sharp observations about satanism. Cooper is not speaking off
   the top of his head: he has spent thirty years teaching, counseling,
   and observing the American religious scene. With a minimum of words he
   clearly summarizes the causes, development, and current status of
   satanism. Following are excerpts illustrative of the gems scattered
   throughout the book:
   
     Fixation with the occult indicates that our society has neglected
     the human soul, indeed neglected the human being, in pursuit of the
     scientific-technological revolution and the power and wealth
     technocracy has promised and delivered -- to some (p. 25).

     Satanism is political rebellion, ethical inversion, religious
     heresy, and suicidal self-loathing, all mingled in one great,
     taunting gesture of obscenity, thrown in the face of the universe. .
     . . Satanism is the ultimate in deviant behavior, the preeminent in
     perversion (p. 32).

     Satanism, in the modern sense of that concept, began as a search for
     sexual "kicks," sensual enjoyment, and power over others. That is
     what it remains today (p. 38).

     Popular culture, the way we see ourselves and the way we are with
     one another, is the source of satanic activity, not some "organized
     conspiracy." . . . We are the people our parents warned us against.
     We, who call license "freedom," are the sources from which the young
     and the unbalanced draw the elements to create their individual
     "hells" (p. 53).

     [Satanism] is utter selfishness, pure egotism in action, and a quest
     for personal power and unlimited sensual pleasure. Destructive
     occultism represents the triumph of the will and the rejection of
     all authority. . . . (p. 54).

     Satanism blesses and encourages the expression of all that is
     natural to adolescent development -- rebellion, defiance, and
     specialness -- yet it lacks a positive, rational framework and
     totally disregards relational, social, and religious boundaries and
     values (p. 61).

     These feelings of power, the desire to control, and the pathological
     pleasure in hurting others are emotions quite close to those
     expressed in the utter hedonism, the conscienceless pleasure seeking
     of the committed destructive occultist (p. 112).

     After much thought, I believe that the claims of breeders and great
     numbers of MPD [Multiple Personality Disorder] cases are classic
     examples of urban legends. The reality of satanic crime makes
     unthinking belief in unsupported claims unnecessary. I may be wrong,
     of course, but logically there is no cause to accept claims without
     proof (p. 120).

     Those fascinated by the occult and drawn to the practices of
     Satanism are obsessed with the dark, the filthy, the dead, the
     irreverent, and the antisocial (p. 124).
     
   In a personal interview, Cooper explained he wasn't afraid of the
   controversy stirred by some of his more controversial statements
   against conspiracy theories and against the credibility of breeders.
   "Truth is my only motivation. I debunk what is not true because it is
   not true. I have no agenda but truth. As a Christian, I believe you
   can't remain in a state of grace without upholding the truth."

    John Charles Cooper has a broad background in philosophy, theology,
   pastoral counseling, and teaching. Cooper has several earned degrees,
   including an M.Div. from Lutheran Seminary, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in
   philosophy and theology from the University of Chicago. He has written
   dozens of books throughout the last thirty years. Currently Cooper
   teaches philosophy and religion at Eastern Kentucky University and
   pastors All Saints Lutheran Church in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Cooper
   has extensive experience counseling troubled youth concerning cultic
   and occultic involvement, and has consulted with numerous law
   enforcement representatives.

   The Black Mask combines facts, evidence, sound analysis, and
   constructive advice for dealing with the deadly world of contemporary
   American Satanism. Cooper's book shows an intensity of commitment to
   moral absolutes and spiritual integrity that alone rescues the
   Satanist from himself. As Cooper observes, "Ignorance can be overcome
   with instruction, but moral stupidity continues its devastation year
   after year" (p. 41).
   
    Answers In Action
    
    P.O. Box 2067
    
    Costa Mesa, California 92628
    
    (714) 646 9042
----------------------------------------------------------- end of review

The Wide Paintbrush: Review of Painted Black

    Bob and Gretchen Passantino
    
        Copyright 1990 by Bob and Gretchen Passantino.
        
        Permission is granted for non-commercial replication of or excerpting
        from this material, provided (1) that appropriate notice is included of
        its copyright status, as above, and (2) that an appropriate reference
        to the Answers In Action name, address and phone number be included
        with all replicated and excerpted material.
        
   (Painted Black by Carl A. Raschke. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990,
   276 pp., $16.95)

   "At last," we thought, "a book from an academic that both takes the
   religious implications of satanism seriously and actually surveys
   field data." We have been frustrated over the lack of well-documented,
   logically sound evaluations of contemporary American satanism.
   Irresponsible sensationalism abounds, and we're frustrated that
   there's no current book that deals comprehensively with contemporary
   American satanism.

   That's why we eagerly anticipated Painted Black by Dr. Carl Raschke,
   professor of religious studies at the University of Denver. Raschke
   has a good background in formal research methods, familiarity with
   current events involving satanism, and experience in understanding
   religious values, worldviews, and commitments.

   Sadly, Painted Black didn't meet our expectations, but it does have
   its strong points. Foremost in its favor, Raschke has accumulated
   information on a myriad of contemporary American activities, both
   legal and criminal, associated in some way with satanism. For readers
   who are unfamiliar with the widespread power of contemporary satanism,
   the various cases recounted are eye opening and educational. Raschke
   details the Matamoros killings, the Newberry killing in Missouri, the
   protracted McMartin Preschool case in California, the Fuster case in
   Florida, and many others. Raschke's frequent references to social
   values and activities throughout history also bring interesting
   perspectives to contemporary satanism.

   However, the serious shortcomings of Painted Black far outweigh its
   few strengths. The book is from a major publisher, and its flyleaf
   describes the author as "America's leading authority on satanism and
   contemporary occultism," but it's another giant conspiracy theory with
   no more proof than Constance Cumbey's New Age conspiracy, Alberto
   Rivera's Roman Catholic conspiracy, or Tony Alamo's Catholic/Jewish
   conspiracy. Raschke writes like an inflammatory crusader who will put
   his own biased spin on evidence, argumentation, and quotes. He tries
   to prove his conspiracy of satanism plus drug rings plus organized
   crime plus pornography by combining isolated facts and ambiguous
   evidence. Fallacious argumentation abounds. Dismissing contrary
   testimony by implicit tautology is a favorite technique of conspiracy
   hunters. Deny what I'm accusing you of, and your very denial becomes a
   proof I'm right. After all, it's natural for a guilty person to deny
   his guilt! (Of course, the avid conspiracy hunter neglects to consider
   that innocent people generally deny their guilt, too!)

   Satanism is real, powerful, and dangerous. It is enjoying unprecedented 
   success in America today. We can't afford to dismiss its very real 
   threat. But we also can't afford to mishandle our investigation and 
   evaluation.
   
   
    Answers In Action
    
    P.O. Box 2067
    
    Costa Mesa, California 92628
    
    (714) 646 9042
-------------------------------------------------------- end of review

Spiritual Warfare: Designer Weapons for Contemporary Christians

    By Bob and Gretchen Passaintino
    
        Copyright 1991 by Bob and Gretchen Passantino.
        
        Permission is granted for non-commercial replication of or excerpting
        from this material, provided (1) that appropriate notice is included of
        its copyright status, as above, and (2) that an appropriate reference
        to the Answers In Action name, address and phone number be included
        with all replicated and excerpted material.
        
   Spiritual warfare: Images of demonic battle, satanic destruction, and
   angelic triumph spill from the display racks and shelves of our local
   Christian retailers in doctrinal treatments, novels, Bible studies,
   children's stories, prayer manuals, and Christian living handbooks.

   A new awareness of satanic influence in daily life has spurred
   Christians to learn how to combat the unseen evil influences that seem
   to sabotage our growth in Christ. The concept behind spiritual
   warfare, that is, the adversarial relationship between Christians and
   demonic power manifested in the world, is certainly biblical
   (Ephesians 6:10- 20; 1 Peter 5:8; and 2 Corinthians 11:4-14).

   Christians throughout the centuries have grappled with the tension
   between the omnipotence of God and the limited, destructive power of
   the demonic. The ancient church uniformly required candidates for
   baptism to renounce Satan openly, a practice still preserved in
   Eastern Orthodoxy, the Roman church, and other sacramental
   denominations. Martin Luther expressed the tension well in the words
   of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, saying, "Though hordes of devils fill
   the land/All threat'ning to devour us,/We tremble not, unmoved we
   stand;/They cannot overpow'r us./Let this world's tyrant rage;/In
   battle we'll engage./His might is doomed to fail;/God's judgment must
   prevail!"

   Earlier in this century conservative writers such as Jessee Penn Lewis
   (War on the Saints), Donald Grey Barnhouse (The Invisible War), and
   Ruth Paxson (The Wealth, Walk and Warfare of the Christian) explored
   the Christian's struggle with evil. C. S. Lewis framed the battle
   within fictional contexts, including the classic The Screwtape Letters
   and The Space Trilogy.

   However, as a genre, spiritual warfare literature emerged over the
   last four years, owing its explosive popularity initially to the
   fiction of Frank Peretti (This Present Darkness, Piercing the
   Darkness). There is even a fiction series for children, "The Spirit
   Flyer Series" by John Bibee (InterVarsity Press, 1983-1991 -- seven
   volumes), which is actually one of the best and most doctrinally
   conservative.

   Today spiritual warfare has become a label for almost any Christian
   book that has as its theme the Christian's struggle with sin and evil,
   including books on Satanism, dysfunctional families, compulsive
   behavior, immorality, demonic activity, and end times Antichrist
   speculation. Everybody is fascinated with spiritual warfare, and
   nobody wants to be a battle casualty, but clear definitions and
   doctrinal expositions are scarce. Thomas B. White, in The Believer's
   Guide to Spiritual Warfare (Servant, 1990), says to engage in
   spiritual warfare is "to learn to detect and deal with the subtleties
   of Satan." Wrestling with Dark Angels (Regal, 1990) classifies
   spiritual warfare as everything "within the context of this
   cosmic-earthly spiritual warfare dimension of reality." Most spiritual
   warfare books affirm the intensity of the Christian's struggle with
   evil, such as Kay Arthur's assertion in Lord, Is It Warfare?, "I
   believe many Christians live in defeat, because they don't understand
   that once they become children of God, they enter into war with the
   devil himself."

   The current crop of spiritual warfare books often contribute
   positively to understanding Christian maturity in the midst of evil.
   Most of the books encourage readers to rely on the power of God,
   strongly exhort readers to abstain from sinful activities (which make
   one vulnerable to spiritual attack), and affirm the reality of the
   spiritual world.

   Evelyn Christenson's Battling the Prince of Darkness (Victor, 1990)
   opens with a strong focus on the triumph of Christ over Satan,
   
     Two opposite rulers -- but certainly not equal rulers! In the
     spiritual battle of the universe Satan always has been the loser,
     and Jesus always has been the winner.
     And those we win to Jesus are not only rescued from the doomed
     kingdom of the Prince of Darkness -- but are citizens of the kingdom
     of Jesus. Eternal winners!
     
   Quin Sherrer and Ruthanne Garlock, in A Woman's Guide to Spiritual
   Warfare (Servant, 1991), break into three parts how abstaining from
   sinful practices impacts the believer's life: "to become aware of our
   vulnerabilities, to renounce the sins we've yielded to in our areas of
   weakness, and then with the help of the Holy Spirit to strengthen our
   defenses against the evil one."

   Edward Gross, in Miracles, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare (Baker,
   1990), points out the necessity of recognizing the reality of the
   spiritual world and spiritual power, both the demons' and God's:
   
     Paul states that the nature of our battle is spiritual, not physical
     (Eph. 6:12). Therefore, its weapons also are not physical, but
     spiritual (2 Cor. 10:3,4). It is as foolish for a soldier to oppose
     a squadron of bombers with a sword as it is for the Christian to
     fight against spiritual enemies with dependence upon human wisdom or
     strength. Only the spiritual armor that God has provided is
     sufficient for victory in these battles (Eph. 6:10-18).
     
   Along with the good principles gleaned from the current crop of
   spiritual warfare books are, unfortunately, some tares. First, because
   this is a relatively new trend, authors have little previous
   commentary to learn from, and consequently there is more speculation,
   supposition, and sometimes outright error than there would be in
   literature about a subject already comprehensively explored. C. Peter
   Wagner, in Territorial Spirits (England: Sovereign World, 1991) notes,
   "The growing interest among scholars, pastors, missionaries,
   evangelists, and lay Christians in strategic-level spiritual warfare
   cries out for research and teaching."
   Second, readers caught up in the demonic drama of spiritual warfare
   are tempted to attribute to the demonic was is actually due to
   personal moral irresponsibility. "The Devil made me do it" is a
   still-popular clich‚ because, although people recognize its fallacy,
   they believe it anyway. Writers tend to present teachings about
   "territorial spirits," "demonization," "generational sins," etc. with
   the same dogmatism as well-developed historical and biblical theology.
   Neil T. Anderson, in The Bondage Breaker (Harvest House, 1990),
   expresses his belief that personal sin can devolve into spiritual
   bondage, explaining,
   
     Repeated acts form a habit, and if you exercise a sinful habit long
     enough, a stronghold will be established in your mind. Once a
     stronghold is established you have lost the ability to control your
     behavior in that area.
     
   A third vulnerability in this genre is the sensationalism usually
   associated the demonic. Books focusing particularly on Satanism make
   some of the most sensationalistic, unsubstantiated claims. Mark
   Bubeck, in The Satanic Revival (Here's Life, 1991), reports
   unsubstantiated, subjective testimonies of satanic activity as though
   they were documented, officially validated facts. Jerry Johnston, in
   The Edge of Evil (Word, 1989) uses a nationally discredited story of
   supposed satanic involvement as documentation for his sensationalistic
   claims about satanic power and activity.

   Finally, many contemporary books on spiritual warfare, including
   Johnston's, Bubeck's, White's, and Anderson's, promote the
   controversial, minority view that Christians can be controlled against
   their wills by demons. Whether this is called demon possession,
   demonization, demonic oppression, or something else, such a view has
   never been the majority view of the evangelical Church. All of the
   contemporary books advocating the minority view rely heavily (in some
   cases almost entirely) on personal experience rather than
   comprehensive biblical exegesis. Thomas Ice and Robert Dean, in A Holy
   Rebellion (Harvest House, 1990), as well as Edward Gross, support the
   traditional theology, arguing well from scripture that Christians
   cannot be controlled by demons.

   In addition to general treatments on spiritual warfare, there are also
   specialty books. Wagner's book deals specifically with "territorial
   spirits," Arthur's and Sherrer & Garlock's are especially for women,
   and John Bibee's are excellent action stories for children.
   Is the value of studying spiritual warfare equal to its popularity in
   today's Christian market? A survey of the available books shows the
   question can't be answered the way it's asked. Of course whatever the
   Bible teaches, including "spiritual warfare," is valuable for each
   Christian to study (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and to neglect an area of
   biblical doctrine is to be spiritually malnourished. However, today's
   popular, often sensationalistic, and trendy books on spiritual warfare
   seem overall to contain more empty calories than balanced nutrition.

   Read a few of the books, especially the less sensational such as
   Michael Green's Exposing the Prince of Darkness (Servant, 1981) or
   Richard Mayhue's Unmasking Satan (Victor, 1988). Using your Bible as
   your guide, take the nutritional wheat and leave the abundant tares.

   "Enemy-occupied territory -- that is what this world is," commented C.
   S. Lewis, "Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has
   landed . . . and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of
   sabotage." Let's be prepared for the battle, but let's do it with the
   tested and true weapons of biblical armament (Ephesians 6:10-14)
   rather than the untried plastic prototypes of contemporary designer
   weapons.

   Bob and Gretchen Passantino are the directors of Answers In Actions
   and award-winning journalists and authors. See also their book When
   the Devil Dares Your Kids (Servant, 1991)
   
    Answers In Action
    
    P.O. Box 2067
    
    Costa Mesa, California 92628
    
    (714) 646 9042
----------------------------------------------------------- end of review

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