Religion Books

Very pleased with arrival time of book and the condition. I will not hesitate to use this seller again.

The book was as described, a nice book, but it is a heavy book and needed to be shipped in a box. It was shipped in a softly protected envelope giving the post office an opportunity to do damage to it, and they did.

I gave as a gift, and they seem to use it quite often for Bible study.

We found this book to very interesting even as just a look-through, but also very helpful and colorful for even young students to use.

"Holman Bible Atlas" is an immensely readable book supplying first of all geographical, then rising from it historical, political, social, economic and, most of all, theological foundations to the context of the Bible. Whether a layperson seeking this grounding or a more serious theological student, the reader will find that context here.

This atlas was required reading in a Survey of the Old Testament course I took several years ago. Because an atlas is a book of maps, this book, of course, focuses on ancient topography, agriculture, migrations, and a changing history. All things together combine to tell "the story of God's redemptive work in human history" (2).

The story begins with a land layout of the general area of the Ancient Near East, then the lens closes in on the geographic regions of Palestine, then life in the region, including weather, climate, crops, and what archeology has provided.

Then the writer, Thomas Brisco, pulls his lens way back to focus on the earliest people of this geography, then refocuses closer to the time of the Patriarchs, and specifically Abraham and his descendants through Joseph and his passage into Egypt. An examination of Egypt: geography and the dynastic history as they pertain to God's work that follows.

This pattern, adhering to atlas and map disclosures, predominates through the Exodus, Resettlement, the Kingdoms and kings and judges, rise of powers and loss of powers--all geographically revealed.

How does one use a Bible atlas? You can read it straight through as I did and thoroughly enjoyed. Or you can use the Table of Contents or Index for locating specific topics you are interesting in pursuing. Let's say you are studying the walls of Jericho. The TC gives me pp. 77-78 for information on Joshua and the suspected location of Jericho. I find a picture of Tell es-Sultan, possibly the ruins of Jericho. I don't find the story itself because this is an historical atlas, not a history book.

On page 40 is a map locating the settlement of the twelve tribes of Israel and the Levitical cities. On page 100 is a map showing the possible flight of David from Saul, who was intent on killing David, his God-appointed successor. On page 118 is a map of the two kingdoms: Israel and Judah.
(A side note: According to some sources my name Judy derives from Judah.)

Often colorful, the maps are clear and easy to follow. The photographs enhance the written description. Sidebars provide interesting anecdotes. The flowing and well-written narration is situated amongst a variety of visuals. "Holman Bible Atlas" is an inviting, informative trek through the rocky hills and green valleys into the paths of the past of the Bible Lands. Your ticket is in the book.

Easy to read with good information on leadership in the church. I also like the "reflection questions" at the end of each chapter.

'The supernatural nature of the church demands a leadership that rises above the human.' writes J Oswald Chambers. Let's be clear: he is not calling for charismatic chaos.

'The overriding need of the church, if it is to discharge its obligation to the rising generation, is for a leadership that is authoritative, spiritual and sacrificial.'

As God leads us in the Last Days, it is imperative that we seek to be led by His Word as a church. Current practices should bring glory to God and ensure that our witness to this world is one that reflects our lives submitted to His holy Word, and to the lordship of Christ Jesus. We are called to imitate the faith of others who went before us, remaining faithful to the exposition and adherence of biblical teaching - not the world's. Leaders should be the first to yield to this, humble themselves and teach it with the clarity the Bible demands.

'Paul did not insist on maturity as a qualification to lead the newly established Church at Crete, (Titus 1:5-9) where mature members were not present. In the early stages, we cannot insist on maturity, but every care must be taken that those developing the work be stable in character, spiritual in outlook, and not ambitious for position.' pg 44

'Wisdom involves knowing God and the subtleties of the human heart. Wisdom gives a leader balance and helps to avoid eccentricity and extravagance. If knowledge comes by study, wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit.' pg 57

'Wisdom is nine-tenths a matter of being wise in time, said Theodore Roosevelt. Most of us are too often wise after the event.' pg 57

'The one who acquires good sense loves himself,
one who safeguards understanding finds success.' Prov 19:8

Sanders is a contemporary of CS Lewis in Britain, and thus his book shares some of his colloquialisms.

In addition, he quotes richly from brilliant men, proving further that little else need be written about Christianity that hasn't already been written. It just has to be rediscovered.

I strongly recommend this book if you are looking past what pop leadership books have to offer.

When I most recently picked up this book, it wasn't the first time I had been exposed to it. In fact, prior to reading it this last time, I think I had read the first 8 chapters twice before: once with a group at college and once with my pastor. I can't remember the exact reasons we didn't read the whole book each time; it certainly wasn't for lack of excellent content, that's for sure!

I would often joke with people that it was useless for me to attempt to highlight or underline excerpts from the book because I ended up underlining just about every sentence! Sanders' wisdom and spiritual insight abound and his diligence in study is amazing as demonstrated by the wealth of quotes provided in each chapter. He was certainly a man who exemplified Proverbs 10:14, "Wise men store up knowledge."

Sanders begins in the first chapter by encouraging those who desire to be leaders by maintaining, from Scripture, that ambition is not sinful if if it is guided by a desire to glorify God and tempered by sincere servanthood and genuine humility. Sanders investigates several different aspects of true spiritual leadership through the remaining 21 chapters and even includes highly practical chapters on the leader's use of time (chapter 12) and the leader and his reading and study disciplines (chapter 13).

An especially helpful and heart-searching section is found on pages 36-37 where Sanders poses 27 essential questions a leaders must ask in order to truly investigate his or her leadership potential. For example, he asks, "Have you ever broken a bad habit...Do you depend on the praise of others to keep you going...Are you tactful...Do you welcome responsibility" as well as a host of other excellent questions.

Overall, I found Spiritual Leadership to be very helpful, practical and extremely challenging. It is one to read and reread often!

The authors rely on little more than personal anecdotal experience. Their personal stories take too much space and cut out room for practical advice. They rely little on what mainstream sexology has to say becuase of their unquestioned committment to the sinfulness of "even a hint" of lust after a woman--based largely on an uncritical, literal reading of Matthew 5:28. Their reasoning embodies a perfect example of slippery-slope reasoning that I will use in the future when I teach critical thinking classes: 'if it goes that far, it'll end up going quite a bit farther.' The fact that there is no index helps the case for saying that this book is more like a novel about the consequences of sexual repression on one's emotional well-being and self-control, and a documentary of the bad advice that comes from it, than a helpful guide for young men trying to understand how to handle their bodily needs.

I really recomend this book...i have found it very relavent and challenging giving practical advice i recommend this to any guy (unmarried - otherwise get every Mans battle)to any guy struggling with lust

Excellent book for every dad wanting to instruct and lead his son in how to be a real man!

I ordered Every Young Mans Battle for my 16 year old grandson. It came promptly and in a-1 condition. He is still in the process of reading it and finds it very helpful.

I finally bought this book after reading it through twice after I borrowed if from a friend. This book really gets to the heart of the problem and offers techniques and solutions for beating this up hill battle. I can't wait to finish it so I can read it again. It's nice to know that there are other people with the same problem. I hope that you buy this book, even if your not a 'young man' anymore.

Beth Moore's updated Bible study, "A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place," is a mixture of the material she published 10 years ago and the lessons she's learned since. The exercises are slightly changed - not all for the better. Typos and poor editing make me long for the first member book.

However, as a complete package, the updated video teaching is typical Beth - energetic, thought-provoking, and full of wisdom and humor. You absolutely cannot complete this study and NOT be changed!

The book was in Great shape,I have told all my friends this is the way to buy books.It came to me in just a few days.I also love the contents.thanks

Such a wonderful, in depth look at the tabernacle. My husband and I did the study together over several months and were so blessed by the insight.
Would recommend to women and men !

I received this product promptly, in excellent condition. It is a terrific study - worth the investment! I recommend it highly. :)

I've done half a dozen of Moore's studies and I find them excellent -- except this one. I was really disappointed. Maybe she hadn't refined her style this early in her career, I don't know. One thing that bothered me was the amount of Scripture we needed to look up. It began to feel like school; it got really tedious. It got to the point where it felt condescending to do all the matching and T/F. I think she could have put some of the verses in the margins and had us follow along with the main chunk of Scripture in our Bibles. The second thing was that I didn't really feel any cohesion. She goes through the making of the tabernacle and draws illustrations to our lives, but, in doing so, she seemed to be all over the place. With her other studies, she would go through the Scripture in an orderly manner (occasionally including references to other verses) and draw out meaning directly from what we were studying. Not so with this study. She goes through the building of the tabernacle and draws meaning from other places, and sometimes it's a stretch.

I will continue to do Moore's studies because I believe she is a gifted teacher and discipler. This is just one study out of many that I had a hard time getting through.

This book is a great resource for theology study and research. Alister Mcgrath has written a book that it a step above most theoloy texts.

Even if you know nothing about Christianity, upon finishing this anthology you will know all of the major debates and ideas that have been the foundation of the religion. I would recommend this book to everyone, for all should be educated about the world's major religions, like Christianity and Islam, which have billions of followers worldwide. This book is very easy to read and the selections are short, yet very informative. Their are also study questions and summarizations for extra knowledge. McGrath has a talent for making Christianity understood.

The most impressive part of the context is the laying down a foundation for the readers and students to acquire the necessary backbround of the Christian theology in order for them to have comprehensive understanding of the main part, the Christian theology. By means of attrackting the readers with the Christian history which is related to the main core of this book, the writer of this book gets the reader to challenge to the rest of the parts, that is the goal of the reader to get to the deepest spot of the theology. Thank you.

This book is a compilation of theological writings from the early Church Fathers to the Modern 20th century. The book is systematized into topical categories such as "The Nature of God," or "Last Things," etc.

Each section contains a series of writings which range from early to more recent. However, prior to each segment of writings, McGrath writes a small introduction describing the work, the author, the setting, etc. For instance, from the section titled "The Doctrine of God," there is a section of work by Augustine regarding the Trinity (i.e. "Augustine on the Trinity.") Prior to this excerpt from Augustine is an introduction by McGrath which describes why Augustine wrote, whether Augustine was responding to some current or previous heresy, the date Augustine wrote the material, etc. In fact, the introduction is actually very helpful to the piece that is about to be read.

The book also contains a nice glossary of theological terms, a section titled "Details of Theologians" which gives a brief description about all the theologians/philosophers who are present in the book, details of creedal material, and a nice section called "Suggestions for Further Reading."

This book is very helpful for those who want to get a general or broad overview of the various writings which were written throughout church history. McGrath includes works by feminists, liberals, neo-theists, reformers, Catholics, Protestants, philosophers, apologists, etc. Thus, no one view is highlighted or emphasized. I would recommend this book to those interested in reading historical theological writings.

An Orthodox' Testemonial:
I used this companion book for the last few years, with great satisfaction. A good compendium, with an accessible roaster of carefully selected writings from the early Church Fathers to the contemporary theological acadimia, that exposes the full spectrum of Christian theological thought, from east to west. The book is synchronized with its topically systematized pluralistic coverage of the development of Christian theology. Even if intended as a text book, it is a good ecumenical introduction to theology as was meant by Origen and enriched by the dialogue between the two eastern schools and their allies.

Concise But Thorough!
This companion book is very handy for browser as much as theological students, encouraging a wider view on theological space and time, starting from a united Church and ending with a diversified varieties of dogma that treats the Church main doctrines (teachings). McGrath was very successful to develop this trend of comparative theology for better understanding and more sound belief. He is bold enough to include feminists, liberals, with Catholics, reformers, and eastern Church (Orthodox) Protestants, were represented in all capacities; theologians, philosophers, apologists, dogmatists etc.

Systematic Methodology:
The range of the spectrum of theological topics reflect his systematic treatment in part III: Christian Theology, of its introductory companion. The reader is still dependent on Part I on themes and Personalities, and & II on Sources and method, an integral part of this companion.
The book does not overlook its main function as a text moderating, but also guiding and exposing so it included a helpful directory entitled "Details of Theologians" which gives a concise description on the contributing theologians. An effectively condensed guide to creeds& councils, which precedes a thorough glossary of used theological, philosophical and dogmatic terms. Suggestions for Further Reading, covers in elaboration topically categorized selection, with the relevant reference on each chapter to develop the subjects more elaborately.

A Research Author:
Alister McGrath, a rising star in neo Evangelicals of the via media, is a thoughtful and well informed profuse author of more than sixty books. He introduced many subjects to his students and kept lay readers abreast of new developments in theology exploring from doctrinal issues to Christian Spirituality, probing scientific theology, future of Christianity and renewal of Evangelism

If you use some of the ideas Gary Chapman shares in his "Love as a Way of Life", you will improve the quality of life for yourself and everyone around you. This is self-improvement with the focus on treating other people better, a refreshing switch from many self-help programs.
Mr. Chapman uses short insightful stories about people he has helped as a marriage and family life counselor, to suggest to readers how they can easily apply techniques to improve themselves, and affect family, friends and strangers in an upbeat way.
He discusses seven virtues: kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, and honesty and I imagine all of us can improve in some of these areas.
He gives fun little questionaires including "How patient am I?".
I turned to the chapter "Making love a way of life in the workplace", since I spend so many hours at work Monday through Friday, and I aim to make those hours pleasant, and even joyful at times. He has a lot of focus on marriages and family and tells some sweet stories about long successful marriages, which are great inspirations.
In the chapter on courtesy he offers advice like "Make requests, not demands" and "Once a failure has been confessed and forgiven, never bring it up again." These are good suggestions to keep in mind and to follow.
Everyone I know admits that they are impatient, for example. Forgiveness is another area that many of us can use help in achieving. Every reader will find helpful tips here, for some aspects of their life that can use rejuvenation.
Terra Hangen, author of Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts: Stories to Warm Your Heart and Tips to Simplify Your HolidayA Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts: Stories to Warm Your Heart and Tips to Simplify Your Holidays

This book is from the guy who wrote the 5 languages of love thing. He talked about the 5 ways we want to be loved: acts of service, gifts, quality time, words of affirmation and physical touch. In this book he is doing a sort of "prequel" to the 5 languages. He said that in counseling people he found that the 5 languages was a great revelation, but it did not push people to want to act. They were, in fact, sometimes put off by the fact that they discovered their husband/wife's love language was acts of service. They still weren't going to DO any of that stuff. This book discusses the 7 traits of a loving person, habits we need to cultivate in order to become loving people. Its not enough to KNOW what love language someone desires, we must BE a loving person in order to put that knowledge into action.

The first premise is a relief for me: love is an action, not a feeling. An action can be put into practice, or practiced. Feelings are fleeting and ever changing. I've always heard that love is a decision, you decide to love and this book explains that statement very well.

The seven secrets are: kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity and honesty. Its easy to read that list and think, "well, yeah" but Chapman gives such practical advice mixed with illustrations that you find yourself learning without meaning to.

This is the book that will give you the proper motivation to love others (Christ) and the tools to pull it off better than you are currently. It will give you the tools to being a better parent, co-worker, spouse, friend. Most of all, its a simple reminder that your job here on earth is to love.

Love as a Way of Life by Gary Chapman is a book that could literally change the world. Chapman, who is most famous for his The Five Love Languages, has years of experience couselling couples and uses this knowledge to help us improve our own relationships. He breaks down love into several categories: forgiveness, honesty, kindness, generosity, forgiveness, and patience. He explains why each aspect of love is essential in showing true love in every part of our lives. Not just our marriage, but in parenting, at work, and even in the people we meet every day at the grocery store. I am truly humbled by how little love I show to other people in my life, and I'm working to make serious changes. If everyone read this book and incorporated the changes into their lives, it would change the world from home to city to country and beyond. I can't recommend this book enough.

Love as a Way of Life is another incredible book on love and relationships. It focuses on the true joy of loving others and giving without expecting to receive.
Chapman defines the seven characteristics of a loving person, touching on many aspects of each. He outlines how to become less involved with ourselves and shift our focus to reaching out to others in kindness. We learn patience in all areas of our lives. Chapman explains that justice and love must work together in forgiveness. The chapter on courtesy shows what it means to be `friendly-minded' and helps us recognize the struggles of others. He demonstrates true humility and sacrificing for others. Generosity is portrayed as the giving of oneself in all aspects of life. Finally, he discusses honesty and expressing it in a loving manner.
Chapman begins these seven chapters with a checklist and ends with ways to apply it to your own life. The final section of the book shows how to apply these characteristics to specific areas and relationships in our life, including marriage, children and work.

Love as a Way of Life is similar to The Five Love Languages in that it encourages us to seek ways to enrich the lives of others, but it goes much deeper. You cannot know the Love Language of every person you meet, but you can learn to treat them with love. Chapman breaks these principals down to everyday living, from complex family dynamics to situations such as driving or shopping. Love as a Way of Life is relatable to all ages and walks of life, as the principals are universal.

Chapman makes you think about doing the small things that really do matter. The checklists are thought provoking - when you find a characteristic that is one of your weak spots, it really makes you pause. The author offers practical solutions, as he understands that we all possess weaknesses and strengths, which elevates this beyond just another "you can do it" book.

The storytelling aspect keeps readers engaged. It demonstrates that we are not alone in our struggles and gives us a sense of community. Chapman outlines potential problems and people who have encountered these challenges, and his solutions give you actual things to try.

The Apostle Paul comes to mind as someone who truly adopted love as a way of life. While we may not be able to follow his incredible example of loving sacrifice, through Love as a Way of Life, we can all strive to do a little better!

I hadn't heard of the author before today, but this book drew my attention immediately.
This book isn't just a collection of platitudes, it is packed with 'how to' written from more of an ethical-moral standpoint than 'religious' POV, IMHO.
this book has the potential to upstage the Bible in a world that's nearing terminal burn-out over 'religion' (at least 'Western Civilization').

Unless you're hopelessly cold-hearted or overcome by cynicism, this book will brighten your ability / abilities to cope & be a positive influence.

The Power of a Praying® Parent Deluxe Edition
The Power of a Praying Wife - Book of Prayers by Stormie Omartian is an excellent book for wives. I believe that when a woman prays for her husband, the marriage will be blessed and so shall the two of them.

If you find yourself praying redundant prayers and want to expand your prayers to be specific to your marriage, husband, and self...then this is a must have book for you.

The author stays consistent to the outline of her other books by including awesome prayers, scripture to support the prayers, and space for personal prayer notes. I like the design of the book. It is one that you will be able to use over again and also encourage others by being able to minister on temptations, health, fears, finances, priorities, jobs, forgiveness, and love language for spouses.

Anyone that has been married for a number of years and have experienced the highs and lows of married life will benefit from this book. I love the book and give it 5 stars. I highly recommend it. Who would not want to expand on God's wisdom and blessings in their marriage?

Reviewed by:
Pamela Jarmon-Wade

This is a good book with short chapters that are easy to read and apply. It helps you to focus of praying for your husband in every aspect of his life such as his mind, reputation, safety, health, etc. It has definitely stretched me and help me pray specifically for aspects of my husband's life that I never prayer for in the past. We are using this in a women's small group Bible study in conjunction with the workbook (but not using the videos).

This is a great book! It features several chapters with teaching on each facet of a husband's life and suggested prayers at the end of each chapter. It goes a long way to demystify a man's world for a wife and help her break out of interpreting his behavior in the light of her own context instead of his.

I recently purchased this book finally after being told by several of my friends that it's an awesome book. I have really enjoyed it so much and I especially love the prayers it suggests to pray. It's definitely worth your money because it's a book that you will always have at your bedside.

Stormie has an incredible gift of explaining the wife's place in a marriage as well as how to enhance our husbands by prayer. Her gift of words during prayer have taught me how to have more powerful prayers, but more importantly put a greater priority on prayer in my marriage.

Since reading this I have purchased a half dozen or more to hand out to friends. We almost have a club going for down times! Sometimes the book gets put away when given...then out of the blue the person sees it on the shelf...after years of having it, RIGHT WHEN THEY NEED IT their eye catches it.

I highly recommend this as a gift to yourself to your friends or even as a study for a women's small group. It has put a happy face on many of a cranky lady ... perspective, ya know!

"It was predictable, in hindsight. Everything about the history of the Society of Jesus bespoke deft and efficient action, exploration and research. During what Europeans were pleased to call the Age of Discovery, Jesuit priests were never more than a year or two behind the men who made initial contact with previously unknown peoples; indeed, jesuits were often the vanguard of exploration. . . . .
The Jesuit scientists went to learn, not to proselytize. They went so that they might come to know and love God's other children. They went for the reason Jesuits have always gone to the farthest frontiers of human exploration. They went ad majorum Dei Gloriam; for the greater glory of God.
They meant no harm."

The Sparrow is about a group sent by the Jesuits to make first contact with an alien race which has been discovered in Alpha Centauri. The book has been criticized for its lack of scientific detail and the illogic of the Jesuits in choosing these particular emissaries, but the moral questions it raises and the spiritual struggles endured by Emilio Sandoz are more the point of the book, in my opinion.

Sandoz returns to Earth, the only survivor of the first mission to Rakhat, a man broken in both body and spirit, return to Earth accused of several crimes, prostitution and murder among them. Sandoz is brought to Rome, where an inquiry into the mission begins. The story goes back and forth between the past -- the discovery of Rakhat and the mission itself -- and the present -- Sandoz' recovery and the inquiry. It's quite an effective structure. Even though we know how it all turns out in the end, Russell builds tension by allowing us to get to know her characters as Emilio does in a way that a simple remembrance of them wouldn't accomplish.

While the mission itself is fascinating, particularly for those of us who grew up watching Star Trek and Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica, it is the spiritual and theological questions the book raises that were far more interesting to me. Is God really "putting turtles on fenceposts?" and leading us along through our lives simply to get us to a certain point?

"For some of them, there had been a turning point that now seemed justified, no matter how painful the decision might have been. For Sofia Mendez, a way to make peace with what, even now, she could only think of as "the days before Jaubert." For Jimmy Quinn, the end of worry that he was wrong to leave his mother, and right to claim his life as his own.
For Marc Robichaux and Alan Pace, there was a sense that they had lived their lives the right way and confidence that God had recognized their artistry as the prayer they has always menat the work to be, and there was hope that He would let them serve Him now.
For Anne and George Edwards, for D.W. Yarbrough and Emilio Sandoz, this voyage had given meaning to random acts, and to all the points where they had done this and not that, chosen one thing and not another, to all their decisions, whether carefully thought out or ill conceived.
I would do it all again, each of them thought."

It's a very good book -- well written, thought provoking, and thoughtful as well. It left me with more questions than answers, but in this case, I think that's a good thing.

SPOILER ALERT IN REVIEW!!
I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last. The character development was perfect, though if there was any drawback, many of them were snuffed out too quickly, but most people don't die over 10 pages, anyways. Emilio Sandoz is a great character - the preacher who goes into one of the greatest challenges ever dealt to the human race (albeit in 2019) with complete unquestioning love of God and comes out of his first extraterrestrial experience with a very different view of the "man upstairs." Can't wait to read "Children of God" to continue with his adventures. Thank you, Ms. Russell, for this book.

Only two-thirds thru, I cannot wait to review it.

Normally I do not care for stories that jump constantly between timeframes, but in this instance, I am grateful for the relief. Starting at the far ends of the situation, the author builds to an intensity in one part of the story and then skillfully switches to the other end, usually just at the point I would have had to put the book down to take a breather from it. As it is, now I can hardly bear to put it down.

Another reviewer questioned, as I did, do I really want to expose myself to the horrors that destroyed the crew of this mission to a strange planet; I have reserved the fifth star for this review because of that, as I am still on the edge of wondering, do I go on or should I stop before I am simply to aghast to continue. The author, however, builds the suspense in such small increments, I hardly realize that I am becoming inured, and my need to know what happens next keeps drawing me farther.

I do know a couple of things about what is going to happen because I stumbled upon a couple of spoilers for this story in the review of its sequel, so anyone who really doesn't want to know more than the author intends, I suggest NOT checking out Children of God -- which I am still undecided whether to order, depending on how Sparrow unfolds.

But I am definitely adding the author to my list of favorite writers. I really do not care what genre a book is determined to be, or when or where the story takes place; the most important thing for me is character development. I have to like, or at least be able to relate to, the people in the story in order to give a darn what happens to them. I have put more than one book down halfway through it just because slogging through all those pages for people I don't care for is too big a waste of my time. No danger of that here; Russell writes people so clearly and so sympathetically that I want to meet them in real life.

I am a Protestant. If I were a Catholic, I would be highly insulted by this book. I really hope that the later part of this century doesn't find priests drinking like fish and cursing like sailors. For that matter, I hope they don't act like that now. It's not that these things are the worst imaginable sins, it's that a believer -- especially a member of the clergy -- should seek to be an example, to be holy as Christ is holy.

Although I am not a Catholic, I find the main character, Emilio Sandoz, plenty insulting enough to the Christian faith in general. To anyone, Catholic or Protestant, who has a true relationship with God, Sandoz' faith crisis isn't hard to understand: he isn't a Christian, so naturally the role of being a Christian minister chafes him in certain areas, including chastity.

Sandoz does a lot of good works. Through much of the book, before the mission to Rakhat leaves Earth, he cares for the poor. He tends to those people who many believers, Catholic and Protestant both, would walk right by and not help. Certainly, Jesus said that anyone who helps people like these really does their service to Him.

Having said that, the New Testament also makes it clear that works without faith is dead. So, Sandoz is only operating with half a loaf. What happens to the human body if you only give it half of its needed calories, day after day? Starvation eventually sets in and the person gets sick and weak. Similarly, it is no wonder that Sandoz is so spiritually undernourished -- half of his spiritual diet is missing. He has no personal relationship with God.

When Sandoz' childhood is revealed in the book, it's easy to see why he became a priest: he greatly admired the man, also a priest, who saved him from a life of crushing poverty in the slums. So, his chosen path is understandable, but wrong-headed. The priesthood is not like any other profession. You don't choose it, it choses you. And since Sandoz had no such calling, he would have been better off becoming a secular social worker. Then, at least, he could have had a wife and a family and been relatively happy.

I don't know any Jesuits, but I'd like to think that they wouldn't be so quick to judge one of their brothers before getting the full story. Sandoz is treated with suspicion, impatience and contempt when he returns to Earth before the full story comes out. The Jesuit who judges him the most seems like a cartoonish foil set up to make Sandoz look more sympathetic.

Sandoz and the rest of the crew seem like they are full of bonhomie and goodwill in their desire to reach out and know the people of Rakhat and their (seemingly) beautiful music. Actually, they are full of hubris. They do go about the mission with the puerile enthusiasm of -- as one previous poster so aptly put it -- Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland putting on a show in their backyard. Hey, kids! Let's go to Alpha Centauri!

They emphasize linguistic and musical knowledge and completely ignore the need to bring psychology and diplomacy into the mix. Considering how they upset a large portion of Rakhat society even in the first book, they would have done well even to look at DVDs of the old "Star Trek" series for guidance.

Well, folks, this group has no Prime Directive. They jump into Rakhat society with both feet and start meddling and the results turn out to be tragic.

Anyone who's read a good bit of science fiction will see the set-up between the two sentient species from a mile away. It's not hard to guess their relationship. It's also not hard to guess what happened to Sandoz while he was in prison on Rakhat.

The naivete and intellectual arrogance of the characters makes it very hard to feel sorry for them. It's like a three year-old who complains of a stomach ache after you told him not to eat all the cookies in the jar. I told you to only have one cookie, didn't I?

Of course, the Jesuits share some of the blame. They should not have let the mission go off half-cocked like that any more than a parent should stand by and let a toddler gobble down a whole plate of cookies. The Father General himself commented on how Jesuit missionaries were greeted over the centuries by indigenous people when first contacted -- and these were all humans we're talking about! Here, we are dealing with aliens. Or, rather, the people from Earth are the aliens. It's a wonder they weren't all clubbed to death the first day.

I'm not giving anything away to say that every person in the Rakhat mission, except Sandoz, dies in one way or another (or is assumed to be dead). It's clear from the opening of the book that he's the sole member to make it back to Earth. This may seem tragic for a group that, while extremely naieve, was basically harmless and well-meaning, but I don't see the deaths as tragic. In a strange way, I believe that each character, except Sandoz, whose story continues, gets their own happy ending before their death. Yarborough, another Jesuit who never should have become a priest, gets to be the patriarch of the mission's makeshift little family when he never thought, because of his vows and his homosexuality, that he would ever be a father to a family. The Edwards find new purpose and die within a short span of each other, the way they would want. The musical expert gets to hear Rakhatian music first-hand but dies before the music he cherishes is exposed as profane. The priest who has a long-standing problem with his flesh finally renounces the flesh in an altogether different way and finds redemption in that choice, even though it's a choice that leads to his death. Jimmy Quinn (the character I most despised; I wanted to read through the pages and smack him) finally marries the love of his life (although I would call Sofia the object of his relentless, stalkerish obsession) before he dies. And, finally, Sofia finds empowerment by leading a rebellion of the natives on Rakhat. In this way, she is able to rise above the victimization of her childhood and take a sense of personal control.

As I and many others have mentioned, the book drags on in places. You have to fight the urge to scream at the author, "Oh, just get on with it already!"

In the end, I can't say, despite all my frustrations with the plot, theology, dialogue, characters and pacing of the book (you know, the little things) that I didn't find the book moving. After all, the author has chosen the time-honored Shakespearian framework of killing everyone at the end.

I also applaud the author for trying to do something different. I never read Blish, so I can't say how closely she copied his plot. But, at the very least, this book tackles questions of faith and science for this present generation, and that's important in its own right. More SF should take on matters of faith. What will faith look like in the centuries to come?

I just hope that the authors who examine these questions will take the time to accurately portray the faith they are writing about. In the end, Ms. Russell really doesn't know what she's talking about.

It's been a long time since I was so completely irritated by a novel. Even for a sci-fi novel, the plot contrivances are a bit much (systems analysts who can maneuver a retrofitted asteroid without any flight experience, etc.). Notwithstanding the interesting premise, the novel is for me fatally flawed because the "test of faith" experienced by Emilio Sandoz is so outrageous, so over the top, that it overshadows any nuanced or complex discussions that can be had about the nature of faith and an individual's relationship to God. *SPOILERS AHEAD* It is not enough that Sandoz suffers the loss of his spiritual father and mother in a brutal attack at the hands of a strange race on an alien planet (which alone could be the underpinnings for his crisis of faith); the Jesuit then sees the rest of his friends murdered, manages to partake in cannibalism, is savagely raped, unwittingly consents to ritual mutilation for himself and the only other surviving crew member (who then dies), and to top it all off, mistakenly kills the alien child he had come to love like a daughter. Back at home, he suffers great emotional and physical pain, is treated as a pariah by a society that is quick to jump to judgment without having all the facts, and is subjected to a humiliating inquest at the hands of his peers. All this to support the author's contention (from the conversation at the back of the book) that "even if you do your best you can you can still get screwed." For this brilliant insight, and presumably to punish Sandoz for daring to imagine a personal relationship with his God, the author eviscerates the Sandoz character physically and mentally. The "seduced and raped by God" trope was sophomoric on a literary level, and tasteless on every other one. As for character renderings, the author Mary Sue's herself shamelessly in the smug character of Anne Edwards, and has the aforementioned super super brilliant systems analyst recoil from Sandoz because he has, in the 21st century, a goatee that reminds her of the Spanish Inquisition. Ultimately, I am most troubled by the fact that I skipped studying for the bar for this. I am hopeful I will still pass, I even have faith that I will. I suppose I will be decimated sometime soon.

Twenty-five years ago Dr. M. Scott Peck (author of "The Road Less Traveled" series of books) threw down the gauntlet, challenging the psychological and scientific communities to subject human evil to the same rigorous study as other human behaviors. Only within the last very few years has anyone had sufficient courage to take up that challenge.

Ever been relentlessly lied to - or about - by someone? Ever been stunned to realize that someone in your life somehow behaves as though he's the center of the universe and everything and everyone else is somehow LESS? Ever come face to face with virulent narcissism? This book will help you understand. But beware: such knowledge comes at a cost. Gone forever will be any vestage of naivete.

This book is a must read for anyone experiencing grief or unsettling issues from any relationship whether it be professional, familial or other.
I had a boss from my previous corporate job at OfficeMax. This guy was hired as a Sales Manager after I had served two years. This man turned out to be the epitome of evil as characterised and described in this book. The guy exhibited all the ghastly personality traits of the definitive evil person described in Peck's book.

To recount the true essence of the personality; the man was pushy, bellicose, abusive and often belittling in the presence of coworkers. Unfortunately he was somehow able to elude scrutiny or corrective action due to a incompetent Personnel system misguided by indifference and poor management.

The reason why we need to make parallels of the evildoings described in this book is to draw our own personal experiences in order to understand the essence and manifestation of evil in our everyday lives. Peck also discusses the banality of evil in which ordinary and seemingly good people passively ignore the evil in front of them. Ultimately the true travesty of evil is allowing it to persist. Read this book, it will help you cope when faced with the adversity of evil people.

Psychiatrist, Dr. Scott Peck, defines human evil. After working with thousands of patients, Dr. Peck finds that there is a common thread between many of them; a life of lies along with complete & total self-absorption. To realize that there are people among us that are truly evil is unsettling, to say the least. However, the ability to recognize evil people is critical and crucial to human self-preservation. The reader must be careful, however, not to "diagnose" all liars and narcissistic people as evil. This is an eye-opening book, but "sheltered" readers may have trouble believing that their fellow humans can be capable of the evil that Dr. Peck identifies with such detail.

After reading, enjoying, and becoming inspired by The Road Less Travelled I had to take Dr. Peck's writing seriously. People of the Lie was a wrenching departure from his first book, a "nice book", as he says. Even tho I am no longer a Christian and in spite of the Christian overtones of POTL, I found it to be not just fascinating but helpful. It is a thought-provoking book, to say the least, and even "over the top" in parts. Still, to this day, perhaps 15 years after reading it, I think about evil in terms of Dr. Peck's principles. Whenever I encounter chronic confusion and pervasive lies I begin to think about the possibility of an evil personality. There are people I have known whose influences and actions struck me as evil, but their destructiveness was not evident at the time, when they seemed completely normal in every way. And that's one of his main points: we tend to think of evil as "back then and over there", not in the mother of three next door or the church deacon across the street, but that's exactly where it can be. And so often that destruction is visited upon children, so that the results are only apparent after years of awfulness, of crushed and crippled spirits, of destroyed souls. And he cautions us: it's all too easy to hate the evil person, but all of us are capable of evil. I believe he's right. This book is indeed an excellent beginning of a more scientific examination of the nature of evil.

M. Scott Peck is a psychiatrist who's definitely a renegade among his peers because of his thesis behind People of the Lie. Peck argues that Evil is not only palpable, but also even something that can be scientifically measured, analyzed and even classified as a bona fide, legitimate illness alongside cancer, TB, etc.. So certain is he of Evil being an indisputable reality and an actual term for actual illness in men--not merely a concept as the moral-relativist crowd professes--that I will in fact designate "Evil" as a proper noun for the length of my review.

Most of Peck's observations will resoundingly strike a chord with many a reader because of the easy understandability of his explanation of Evil as it manifests among everyday, seemingly average people including you and I. In People of the Lie, peck unmistakably identifies certain, idiosyncratic behavioral traits which define a person as Evil. His arguments for what defines a person as Evil are very persuasive since he lays them out in a severely meticulous and well-reasoned manner, which includes much logical foundation.

The focal point of Peck's thesis (Evil is a measurable quantity in people) is based on the fact that Evil people are people who never, ever, ever accept blame for their own misdoing and simultaneously reject personal responsibility, making them remorseless. Just by that definition alone, Peck clicks with so many readers because so many readers, in turn, do know all too many people who precisely fit this incriminating classification!!!! This only gets worse because, Peck reasons, Evil people don't just stop there; they also hurt others in a manner of lashing out instead of facing their own shortcomings. As the last, main piece of this trio, Evil people are also harshly narcissistic, for the purposes of Peck's definition, insisting that everyone else submits to their will and their will alone in an ideology of utter selfishness. Again, this behavioral trait is so very, very easy to identify in far too many people today that it's just a loathsome sign of how conscienceless society's become.

Peck then somehow hijacks his own line of thinking by making a sharp, left turn by insisting that the aforementioned, Evil people are just clinically sick and need professional help. While this book is praiseworthy due to its incorporation of morals to understand the "science" of Evil, if you will, this is one of Peck's many, unpalatable conclusions which actually take his well-founded thesis and misdirect from it. Peck gravely veers off into the proverbial deep end of making an impossibly difficult assertion when he actually writes--presumably with a straight face!--that the best way to fight Evil is by loving it!!!! WTF?!?! Yes, you read that right and in fact should proceed to pick your jaw up off the floor now. This argument is one of Peck's most seriously faulty ones because it guiltily reads exactly like an ultra-idealistic, emotional liberals' methods for tackling anything: just love it! Whether you're an Al-Q*eda terrorist, or merely a ped*phile who preys on kids, or how about just a regular, old serial killer who hunts for fun...Peck's radically liberal "solution" is to just "love" the Evil out of you, bad boy!!!!

Inarguably, Peck's credibility suffers irreparable harm with this totally imperfect assertion because in reality--something liberals have a terminal problem with--it's unworkable and impractical. No amount of idealistic "love" will cure the Islamofascist who's hellbent on killing infidels; the ped*phile who relishes in misusing kids for his own perversions; or the serial killer who has a predilection to kill. Owing to the fact that Peck himself knows how disgustingly idiotic his own conclusion is, he even admits that the only way to fight Evil is essentially by being just as, if not more so, evil as it. In other words, fighting fire with fire, which is 100% true! However, then, rottenly, Peck's liberal idealism seizes hold of his delusional mind again, and he argues that it's better not to take this "risk" as one supposedly becomes the Evil he's fighting if he adopts its tactics to fight it. Good God...here, Peck sounds just like every other Democrat out there who opposes America's right to self-defense through Bush's War on Terror. You know, the widely discredited argument that the US should just be "nice" and change its foreign policy and maybe, just M-A-Y-B-E, the misunderstood terrorists (I mean, "freedom fighters) will leave the US alone.

Peck's thesis also endures harm with the examples of patients of his through the years whom he's diagnosed as Evil. The examples are, quite frankly, asinine bordering on the ludicrous. Judge for yourself: in one case, a fifteen-year-old called "Bobby" had an older brother who committed suicide by shooting himself with his shotgun. His parents--apparently not in merely a sadistic and tasteless joke--then seriously went and saved the suicide weapon and "regifted" it to the younger, remaining son, "Bobby," as a Christmas present! While this can be more reasonably termed "unsympathetic" or "cruel," Peck crosses the line by branding the parents as "Evil." Now, the parents argued that "regifting" was merely practical, and in a sense it is!

Another case involves another teen boy, "Roger," and his parents. "Roger's" dilemma was that he was underperforming in school and getting into trouble. As Peck investigated, he suspected the parents were really the culprits behind the son's outbursts--as Peck apparently finds from time to time--and the "Evil" ones. Peck based this unwarrantable denunciation on the fact that the parents rejected his suggestion to encourage one of "Roger's" only interests--helping disabled or underprivileged kids, or something--because "Roger" hadn't cleaned his room properly. At most, this is an overreaction by the parents and quite vindictive and possibly selfish, too, but for Peck to brand the parents as "Evil" over this is stretching even asininity. If these are who qualify as "Evil" people for Peck's purposes, then what in the hell does he call Islamofascists, child rapists, murderers, etc.?

Another example involves a couple, "Hartley and Sarah." Their relationship to each other was so twisted that it--among all of Peck's' examples--was really the only one that plausibly could be termed a case of human Evil. Their relationship involved a corrosive co-dependence, a symbiotic relationship. The man, "Hartley," was basically such a whipped, liberal girlie-man that he was the submissive one in the relationship while "Sarah" was the overbearing boss. This involved "Sarah" berating "Hartley" constantly to the point where he basically needed to "grow a pair" in the worst way, and it manifested itself through repeated suicide attempts on "Hartley's" part. The absolutely sick part was that "Sarah" would continually get help for "Hartley" merely so she could continue her purpose in life: have him exist as her whipping boy!!!!

One of the final cases involves a completely out-of-control and promiscuous young woman, "Billie." This girl was such a case of damaged goods that her mother actually ENCOURAGED her to sleep around with older men!!!! Further, the mother completely deteriorated the girl's remaining morals by shamelessly discussing with her her own infidelity to her husband, "Billie's" dad!!!! "Billie" was in her early 20s and despite having her own apartment, had a hard time sleeping there for the night; in fact, she'd go back to her parents' home to sleep. In fact, every time the daughter would insist it was time for her to leave, the mother would make excuses to keep her daughter at her home longer. Through therapy, Peck concluded that the mother was "Evil" for this action and also for encouraging her daughter to have trysts, as the net effect of her promiscuity would be to feel cheated by men and come running home to her mother. Now, this is manipulation by the mother and selfishness, but, again...real Evil?

Peck's already badly injured believability takes a further downturn when he impudently strays into the territory of, I kid you not, exorcisms!!!! Reading People of the Lie, I perceptively suspected that Peck was the oxymoron called a liberal Christian, and this comical chapter on exorcism confirmed it!!!! I take as my all-purpose guide to exorcism Malachi Martin's seminal Hostage to the Devil; conversely, the kind of foul BS Peck writes regarding exorcism is so asinine that it's factually wrong. For instance, he claims to have encountered two patients of his whom he believed to be genuinely possessed, yet their behavior and the ritual of exorcism they underwent completely violate what Hostage to the Devil describes in bona fide possession cases. Moreover, what he asininely conjectures in a theological context about God and Satan is pure fantasy/wishful thinking. In example, Peck theorizes--in keeping with his overall liberal motif of loving the heck out of Evil to cure it/beat it--that one way Satan could be decisively beaten is by reaching out to it and trying to "love" it. Seriously. He goes on that Satan--being a creature of absolute impurity--would then reject the offer of love and simply retreat, or something completely ludicrous like that.

Despite the overwhelmingly many trends-of-thought that make Peck guilty of some serious misjudgments, his absolute, most unpardonable chapter is the second-last one entitled: Mylai: an Examination of Group Evil. Shrewd readers will perceive that Peck's plot here is to arrogantly condemn the entire US military in Vietnam of massive, institutionalized Evil. This chapter is beyond the pale, anti-American, vicious and should earn Peck a complete boycott just for the audacity alone of dragging the institution of the US military through the mud as he does! This chapter was so difficult to get through because it's about 40 pages of Peck lobbying bitter broadsides at the US military and soldiers! Here's his censurable "reasoning": what occurred with the Mylai massacre wasn't merely the isolated incident sane Americans all know it to be, but, rather, was only one of many, other, undocumented massacres in Vietnam. Peck further exposes how liberal and anti-American he is by misusing the same old liberal accusations against the military: he alleges that the way the military is established with its specialized training among different soldiers means it's predisposed to breeding a culture of Evil. Peck alleges that soldiers are dehumanized in war zones to the point where the vast majority of them forget their training and/or conscience and are more likely to commit atrocities. Peck alleges that the US involvement in Vietnam was one of the WHOLE COUNTRY being in bed with the concept of Evil, and accuses the US of being the aggressor there! Doesn't this sound familiar to Democrat/lib thinking in this post-911 world, where libs charge the US with being the killer, the aggressor and the instigator of violence against the Arabs?!?! Of course it does! Predictably like the good, little, typical lib Peck is, he then insanely and idiotically offers retarded, liberal "solutions" to the "problem" of Evil caused by having a national military. Are you ready for what the hell he proposes? He proposes disbanding the whole US military and creating something like a Peace Corps which wouldn't fight wars, but just help out in trouble spots around the world. MY F***ING GOODNESS! When I read this, I basically blacked out from the understandable outrage. Again, also note how scarily close Peck's vile thinking is back when this was published (early 80s) to the Democrats/libs of current times.

The conclusion is that People of the Lie starts out with a very interesting and demonstrably true thesis: that Evil is real and exists and manifest in people. However, as I've incontrovertibly outlined by the use of nothing but hard facts and airtight examples from this book, Peck irreconcilably destroys his credibility with asinine examples, totally false, theological conjectures, and the worst of all: absolutely liberal, elitist scorn and hatred of the US military as an institution which breeds the very epitome of Evil itself. For that chapter alone, his book deserves a widespread boycott and nothing but condemnation because he's ruined any and all semblance of respectability.

This book was very well written and kept my interest. It is terrible that such brainwashing in the name of religion is going on. It was a miracle that she and her chldren were able to escape. I enjoyed this book very much.

I loved this book! I couldn't put it down. I took it with me on vacation and found myself buried in the book on the beach instead of buried in the sand. Being a fan of the HBO show Big Love I wanted to do some reading and research on the subject of polygamy to shed some light on certain things in the show I could not understand. This helped tremndously. I even began reading it out loud to my husband.

A very interesting and sad side of false religion and how easily Scripture is twisted to fit man's rules, not God's commands. It is really sad that people actually think pologamy is what God wants anyone to participate in. It is sad as well as disgusting how cults work and have their way with women and men alike. Just because some man thinks he is hearing God when all he ever heard were demons giving him false facts.
To start a whole religion on lies is NOT GOD and certainly not the JESUS who is the TRUE SAVIOUR! And as if that isn't bad enough, then more men come along and start more lies and another cult branched off the first cult of the LDS movement which robs even more people of eternal life in Christ and in heaven reigning with Him!

Read this along with "Shattered Dreams" to put together pieces of the puzzle of polygamy. They were both married to the same man but had different experiences. I would advise reading "Shattered Dreams" first as chronologically this is how it took place.

I kept asking that question as I turned page after page after page. This book is an excellent read, both for the wonderment of how such a young girl could expose herself to such wickedness of treatment and how such a young girl finally found the courage to leave. It is a book that is difficult to put down.