This companion volume to This Present Darkness offers readers a new perspective on spiritual warfare, prayer, and the seemingly coincidental events of our lives as it follows the lives of a community and church from the perspective of the physical and spiritual realm exposing angels and demons. It challenges us to see the bigger picture and the spiritual warfare that goes on around us every day. An eye-opening read but This Present Darkness would be the one read if there were no time to read both novels.
Piercing the Darkness
APPLICATION WRITTEN BY
Doug Burrier
Key Topics or Truths
Angels
Demons
Spiritual Warfare
Prayer
This Book is Good For...
This book is great for people whose experience has not exposed them to the idea of the spiritual side of things. This book can be dangerous for those who are prone to become “demon hunters.” Not everything is done at the behest of Satan or God. Car wrecks happen because people are poor drivers. People succeed without any spiritual influence from God or Satan.
How I Use this Book to make disciples
I use this as an easy read to prompt disciples to be reminded and talk about the more mystical concepts of the spiritual realm and warfare. We read it over the course of three or four weeks and then discuss it at the end. It can be useful to create a balanced, more mature view of the physical and spiritual worlds.
This book is great to reinforce the truth that there is a spiritual dimension running alongside our physical dimension. It is a fun, captivating novel that provides relief between the tougher readings in Discipleship Two and Three.
Real Life Story
All John (not his real name) did was hunt demons. He looked constantly to place blame or attribute events to Satan and his hoard. During discussions about this book, I was able to push back on his obsession and ask, “Is it Biblically true that every bad thing, every challenge, every temptation is from the enemy?” Our conversations about the book led John to a more balanced view of his interaction with the spiritual realm. You could say that we used this book backward pulling John away from focusing only on the spiritual realm toward taking responsibility for his own actions and accepting the poor decisions of others.
Know Issues or Controversies
This book is not meant to be a theological paper. Peretti does not claim to be teaching theology or a Bible class. Though it does not stand in opposition to Biblical truth, its fiction extends many Biblical concepts into a story. For example, though we know angels communicate, we do not know exactly how that happens or if it happens the way Peretti presents it in fiction.
Some scholars have critiqued this book for focusing on angels and demons instead of on God. Others push back on the concepts of spiritual warfare as presented by Peretti. Knowledgable critics recognize that this is fiction but worry that it might lead some believers to assume that what Peretti presents as fiction is God’s reality.
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Frank Peretti
Book Details
- Phase: Discipleship 2, Discipleship 3
- Book Type: Fiction
- Flair: Eye Opening
- Tags: easy read, Mystical, Prayer
Reading Time
Three weeks
Related Reads
This book pairs well with The Art of War as a fictional work representing some of the tactics of spiritual warfare like knowing your enemy and knowing your spiritual strengths. Obviously, it is a followup to the Discipleship One reading of This Present Darkness.