Reviews
Reviving Old Scratch: Demons and the Devil for Doubters and the Disenchanted by Richard Beck
davehershey's review against another edition
4.0
Richard Beck is an author I wish was more popular in the Christian publishing industry. His books such as Unclean and The Slavery Unto Death are both brilliant works combining theology and psychology. This book takes on a topic that is uncomfortable to talk about, even for those of us who maybe shouldn't be uncomfortable with it: spiritual warfare. There seem two extremes when it comes to talking about this. Traditional conservatives take it at face value, speaking of demons and satan, taking their existence for granted. At worst, bad decisions and sins and illness are seen as happening because of demonic possession which can diminish human freedom and cause people to not seek medical care. On the other hand, progressive liberals are skeptical of the traditional view and jettison the whole idea of demons and satan. At worst though, this leads to not realizing the power that works behind the scenes; we are not as free as we think we are for there are forces that influence us as individuals, and groups as a whole.
Beck's target audience is the latter, though the former would benefit from this. He argues that it is not a question of personal sin OR structural sin, it is not a question of forgiveness or justice, it is both. There is something real in the language of demons and satan and we have a richer understanding of reality when we recognize this. In other words, if we want to overcome evil, whether this evil is human trafficking and poverty or personal struggles with pornography and lying, we need to recognize there is more going on than meets the eye.
I highly recommend this one for progressives who doubt demons, but also for conservatives. This serves as a good book to read prior to the work of someone like Walter Wink. I also have Greg Boyd's new book on Jesus and this seems like a good precursor for that.
Beck's target audience is the latter, though the former would benefit from this. He argues that it is not a question of personal sin OR structural sin, it is not a question of forgiveness or justice, it is both. There is something real in the language of demons and satan and we have a richer understanding of reality when we recognize this. In other words, if we want to overcome evil, whether this evil is human trafficking and poverty or personal struggles with pornography and lying, we need to recognize there is more going on than meets the eye.
I highly recommend this one for progressives who doubt demons, but also for conservatives. This serves as a good book to read prior to the work of someone like Walter Wink. I also have Greg Boyd's new book on Jesus and this seems like a good precursor for that.
aevaughn's review
5.0
Eye opening
Beck reminds us to look for the Devil in our society as well as individuals. How do we respond to the Devil in institutions?
Beck reminds us to look for the Devil in our society as well as individuals. How do we respond to the Devil in institutions?
cjhubbs's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful insights from Beck on what spiritual warfare looks like, and on how we can live to resist the devil by acts of love toward our neighbor. The last chapter was worth the price all by itself.
More...