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Gird yourself against the Devil's wiles.
Spiritual warfare is not a new concept. In fact, it has preexisted Christianity by several hundred years. The Egyptians and Babylonians (including all the peoples that name covers) invoked the names of their deities and inscribed them into amulets to wear as protection against demons and evil spirits and to promote health and prosperity. How does this relate to the book at hand? This book serves as a guide to constructing amulets and charms to fend off evil spirits; the name invoked is none other than our Saviour.
Ms. Daniels claims that knowing about the occult and demonology is essential for a Christian, as can be seen in the book's tagline: "Know your enemy, Learn his strategies, DEFEAT HIM!" I thought that Satan was defeated by Christ at the cross, but what do I know. From her introduction, p.xxiii: "...believers are commanded to know the wiles of darkness (Eph. 6:11) and to not be [sic] ignorant of the devil's devices (2 Cor. 2:11)."
These two verses Ms. Daniels uses to bolster her tagline really don't; they are stretched to say things they never said; Ephesians 6:11 does NOT command us to 'know the wiles of darkness', but rather tells us to put on the armour of God that we may WITHSTAND them. There is a great difference. Likewise, 2 Corinthians 2:11 does not urge us 'to not be ignorant of the devil's devices,' but rather Paul acknowledges that we ALREADY KNOW the Devil's devices. Truly, scripture is replete with the Enemy's tactics, and also provides ample information on how to withstand them.
Books like this only promote the borderline-polytheistic dualism becoming prevalent in Western Christianity, the belief that Satan is somehow God's equal, and at the end of time, God will just barely prevail over him to render him powerless. It is interesting to note that this dualism can be traced to Babylon and Persia where people believed that the universe was held in constant conflict between the good Ahura Mazda and his near-equal and wicked counterpart Angra Mainyu; this belief is Zoroastrianism, and its influence on Jewish thought during the Exile is undeniable, whether it takes the form of mysticism such as the Qabalah, or seeping into Christianity, and manifesting itself in the present-day in books like this. It should be noted that angel-worship (handmaiden to amulets and exorcism) received rebuke by Paul in his letter to the Colossians.
Whereas Ms. Daniels urges us to immerse ourselves in the occult and arcane lore of the Devil, James urged us to forsake all the filth of the world and continues to give a picture of pure and undefiled religion; and Paul-- who Ms. Daniels seems to enjoy taking out of context --urged us to flee from the very appearance of evil. John wrote that perfect love casts out fear, but this book's purpose seems to capitalize on the fears and superstitions of unsuspecting believers. Christ's admonishment to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves does not give us license to immerse ourselves in the intrigues of the Enemy. Christ was enraged when he observed the moneychangers in the temple, and I feel this book (one of three!) is blatant proof that the Devil himself has set up housekeeping and commerce on the outskirts of Christ's Church.
If one wants to make a study of demonology as a minor portion in a study on myth and folklore, or Church history, both legitimate fields of ethnology and anthropology, I cannot find fault; however, if one asserts that studying the occult is commanded of believers in scripture, Paul intimated that such a one should be accursed. Nevertheless, there are far, far better resources available for such a study than Ms. Daniels' book; Lewis Spence's An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (Dover Occult) or Gustav Davidson's A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels are both excellent books, reputable and meticulously researched; I wish I could say the same for Ms. Daniels whose bibliography includes Wikipedia.
August 2013 · Books