Making Sense of Spiritual Warfare
Eddie Smith
Bethany House, August 2008, 208 pp., $14.99, www.bethanyhouse.com
The Dark Side of the Supernatural: What is of God and What Isn’t
Bill Myers and Dave Wimbish
Zondervan, 2008, 240 pp., $12.99, www.zondervan.com
Making Sense of Spiritual Warfare is heavy on anecdotes and light on objective theological research. Smith writes to an audience likely to be skeptical about healing, deliverance and occult activities. Although he includes biblical texts, the weight of his subjective argument is his personal experience. I was challenged by Smith’s statement: “we have elevated spiritual gifts above spiritual fruit.” His book challenges and entertains (but maybe does not convince) those who have little exposure to spiritual warfare.
On the other hand, The Dark Side of the Supernatural was hard to put down. This book is a catalog of supernatural topics such as talking with the dead, UFOs, near-death experiences, ouija boards, mediums, Wicca, vampires, and angels. Unfortunately, with the number of topics addressed, depth on any particular one is limited. This book is a biblical push against the Hollywood’s perspective on these topics by authors who have been inside that culture. It is well researched and written so students who have become curious about these topics can understand.
