Growing Up Amish—Wagler

Growing Up Amish
by Ira Wagler
Tyndale: 2011,271pp.

Down through time many a teen has packed his bags and run away from home. Not often has running away proven to be the idyllic solution envisioned. And so it was with Ira Wagler, only his story is compounded by the complexities of growing up in an old-order Amish community where one’s unquestioned destiny is to remain Amish and damnation is the sure fate of any who leave the shelter of their Amish upbringing. Ira does run away, not once, not twice, but four times before he can escape the tentacles of obligation and guilt that seem always to insure his reluctant return.

This is his home-spun tale of what it is like to be Amish—the good, the tough, and the stifling aspects of such a ‘world’. And it is his testimony of overcoming the impossible expectation and burden of ‘just decide what’s right and then do it!’ It is a story of struggle and dogged determination and finally of relief coming from an unexpected source.

The story is an easy rambling read, with moments of suspense but mostly of the commonplace details of life in a community where horse and buggy are standard transportation, and courtship is a strictly structured affair. Gossip takes the place of telephones and hymnsings the place of radios. Although not an especially riveting read it is an unusual insider’s view of what it means to be Amish. There is always a sense that the story is building to something, but only in the final two chapters is the angst resolved, this angst of longing for freedom and something more but always returning to the disappointingly tried and true.

Freedom comes after a desperate one-sentence prayer to the God Ira has never addressed without the use of a little black prayer book. An unexpected friendship with someone who has found forgiveness and life in knowing God personally, turns Ira’s life around. Then suddenly with Ira’s discovery of the real key to freedom from the oppressive guilt and obligation that have dogged his life for ten years, the story is over and the reader is left wondering how Ira’s new-found faith in a personal God really played out. How did he find his way in the big wide world outside his Amish heritage? This abrupt two chapter finish after thirty-two chapters of lead-up leaves the book feeling unbalanced and mildly dissatisfying. But its rare glimpse into the world of the little-known Amish makes the read worthwhile, and news is there’s a sequel in the works.

In addition to giving insight into Amish culture, this book offers any parent an opportunity to look at life through a coming-of-age child’s perspective and to consider: how are values best passed on? Ira is quite candid in reflecting on his parents’ virtues and vices and on the values that stuck despite his chafing to be free. So if you’re looking to slow the pace of life for a bit, try Growing Up Amish.  I found my copy at the local public library!

--LS

Called to Controversy—Rosen

Called to Controversy:
The Unlikely story of Moishe Rosen and the founding of Jews for Jesus

Thomas Nelson: 2012, 307pp

“Christ-lover” was the worst insinuation Moishe’s uncle could use to discredit him. To believe in Jesus as the Messiah was to be a traitor to one’s Jewishness. But once Moishe believed he never turned back. When he prayed for God to send a modern-day Paul to bring the Gospel to contemporary Jews, God’s answer was to call Moishe to full-time ministry. His daughter here details the circumstances surrounding his upbringing in a cynical but loyal Jewish home, his conversion to Christianity, his marriage and schooling and then the years of ministry with ABMJ (American Board of Missions to the Jews) which both prepared and propelled him to found “Jews for Jesus” in the early 70’s. His innovative strategies revolutionized Jewish evangelism and what started as a radical independent group of free-thinkers geared to reaching the Jewish hippie subculture of the 60’s and 70’s has grown to become a well-respected international organization committed to introducing Jews to Jesus.

Moishe was an opinionated visionary with a passion that inevitably polarized not only his target audience, but those who ministered with him. Delicately his daughter writes from multiple points of view to give a balanced perspective of Moishe’s strengths and weaknesses. While his life story compels the reader to acknowledge that God uses flawed people, it also inspires and challenges. There is clearly also an agenda here to make peace with those who were rubbed the wrong way by Moishe’s personality and leadership style. The attendant details are often lengthened beyond the average reader’s interest but that is no reason to miss this remarkable story of a man with a single-minded passion to make Jesus known in his lifetime.

This book will be of particular interest to mission leaders and to believers interested in Jewish evangelism. It also lends a counter-perspective to Christian ministries seeking to revive Judaism in the church. A short appendix written by Moishe strongly cautions believers against promoting Judaism at the expense of bringing the Gospel to the Jews.

Not to be missed are Moishe’s sage aphorisms heading each of the thirty-two chapters. The final one being: “Death can be a friendly nap when you know you’ll awake to see your best Forever Friend, Jesus.” (Moishe died in May of 2010.)

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via the BookSneeze blogger review program in exchange for an honest review.

--LS

The Word and Power Church—Banister

The Word and Power Church: What happens when a church seeks all God has to offer?
by: Doug Banister
Zondervan, 1999, 208pp.
                *****
[Highly recommended read guaranteed to challenge your dearly held suppositions, in a good way!]


Pastor Doug Banister draws for the reader an outline of what the ideal church would look like if it were to adopt the emphases of both the classic Evangelical and the Charismatic traditions-- of the Word and the Spirit. My own experience of having been reared in a denomination that was an odd cross between the two and then spending all but the last eight years of my adult life in ‘Evangelical’ churches has brought me to a unique readiness to consider Banister’s wise peacemaking perspective. For the past eight years I’ve been privileged to know a warm Pentecostal tradition from the inside. I’ve witnessed the same strengths and weaknesses (in both traditions) that Banister so aptly puts into writing. His well-reasoned and candid approach will help both sides to get past token tolerance and begin to understand and even welcome each other’s strengths.


A word regarding the labels: As Banister himself explains, both ‘evangelicals’ and ‘charismatics’ belong to the broader classification of ‘evangelicalism’, born out of the Protestant Reformation. These popular labels are used loosely, to differentiate the two camps based on whether or not they emphasize a distinct ‘second blessing’ of some sort; thus Pentecostals are lumped into the ‘charismatic’ camp. As one quickly discovers even scratching the surface of church history, our forebears are not so distinct. Banister devotes an entire chapter to ‘Our Common Heritage’ noting how both sides claim ‘as one of us’ people and movements such as: The Pitetists, the Puritans, Jonathan Edwards, Wesley, Finney and Moody, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and The Keswick Movement.

This is not, however, a dry history or theology book, but a very readable and personal entreaty to recognize the ‘genius of the AND’, that is, to figure out a way to incorporate the strengths of both traditions into a single church, thus the title of his book: The Word and Power Church. Banister vulnerably weaves in his personal transformation from stoically teaching and defending sound doctrine minus passion to encouraging a broader, more experiential faith and practice yet not at the expense of ‘rightly dividing the Word’. In two key chapters he lays out the legacy brought to the Body of Christ from each of these divergent camps, encouraging each side to tap into the strengths of the other for a more robust and effective church.
Evangelicals are noted for their thoroughgoing expository preaching, their emphasis on the authority of Scripture, their already-but-not-yet view of the Kingdom which gives them quiet power in the face of suffering, their emphasis on the process of spiritual growth as opposed to a crisis-driven spirituality, and their use of small groups for Bible study and accountability.

Charismatics, on the other hand, are exemplary in the priority and expectation they bring to prayer, to the power of the Kingdom being here in part now, to actually hearing from God through prophecy, words of knowledge and tongues, to participatory worship, and to the use of spiritual gifts in a small group setting.

The second half of the book is devoted to unpacking these ten distinctives to show what a “Word and Faith church” might look like in practice. Banister speaks from his own experience of implementing these priorities in his own Evangelical Free Church. These are decidedly the toughest chapters to read charitably. One wonders, for instance, how differently the book might have been written if the author had not himself unexpectedly received the gift of a ‘prayer language’. There is no doubting that our experiences influence how we interpret doctrine. Having said that, Banister does an excellent job of navigating the ‘mine fields’ of doctrinal disagreements to extract the truth that often lies between two extremes. The chapters in this section were not of equal strength. Some were weak, others excellent. For instance…

The chapter on discovering spiritual passion, (“We Need the Caboose”) fails to effectively distinguish between emotionalism/feelings and genuine spiritual passion. It hints at the nature of genuine passion: “Genuine passion always results in an obedient life” but fails to differentiate if from emotion. This chapter is based largely on an interpretation of Jonathan Edwards’ writings and driven by the author’s own ‘quest for spiritual feelings’. He seeks to pair “a principled, obedient faith and a deeply emotional spirituality.” (126,127) Yes, faith is more than intellectualism and obedience. But is it of necessity ‘deeply emotional’?

The following chapter on worship evangelism is the weakest in terms of having Biblical precedent. It speaks of church models and cultural studies and experiential results more than Scriptural reasoning. The felt presence of God is spoken of as though it were ‘on tap’ for churches that elect to use it for evangelism. Sadly, in making a case for its effectiveness, the author denigrates churches with more staid forms of worship to less effective status.

Banister redeems himself in the final chapters-- one on healing, the other on fillings of the Spirit. To each he brings a broad perspective and invites a stance that sees God as bigger than any one experience or dogmatic doctrine. ‘God is God. He does what He chooses.’ (151) He suggests that growing spiritually will be marked by different experiences or processes for different people. It is not needful or effective to try to emulate another’s experience. Should we pray for deeper works? Certainly, Paul did (Eph.3:16-19). But we cannot control the way God chooses to answer those prayers. “Some may experience God’s power, love, filling, and fullness in a dramatic, crisis-type event. Most will experience these blessing in a gradual but ever-increasing measure.”(175)

Final appendices cover 1) key arguments against cessationism, 2) a defense of personal prayer languages, and 3) advice for leaders desiring to implement changes in their churches

Due to the controversy inherent to the topics under discussion this book will not be 100% agreeable to most readers but that is precisely why it needs to be read! Doug Bannister’s gentle conciliatory style in evaluating non-essentials coupled with his uncompromising commitment to the written Word will challenge you to evaluate your own convictions. His writing is well worth a careful and prayerful read in hopes that God will use it to begin to strengthen and knit us all into a more loving and co-operative Body for His greater glory.


--LS

Unshaken—Woolley

Unshaken *****
by Dan Woolley with Jennifer Schuchmann
Zondervan, 2011, 238pp including mid-section color photographs




Unshaken is the personal narrative of Dan Woolley’s 65 hour entrapment in pitch blackness under the rubble of a collapsed hotel after the Haiti earthquake. Although it details his survival methods in gripping detail this is much more than a Reader’s Digest survival drama. With life threatening injuries and little hope of being rescued, Dan learned what it was to really have to trust God, to serve Him even here, and to worship. When he was nearly losing his grip out of physical and mental exhaustion, he felt compelled to sing songs of confidence in God. Having heard Dan speak in person, this part of his testimony still resonates as the apex of his story—finding God worthy of praise in the midst of destruction and before his rescue was executed. But this is no tale of trite and easy faith. Dan’s transparency lets the reader really enter into his struggles and face the hard questions with him. Could God really bring anything good out of this?

The story’s suspense is not spoiled by foreknowing the outcome but is actually drawn out by the interwoven narrative of Dan and his wife’s courtship and early years of marriage. Persevering with his wife through years of clinical depression is a story all its own of faith tested and triumphant. The telling of the stories in tandem is very effectively and realistically done and will be an encouragement to anyone who has faced onslaughts of discouragement or depression. The latter chapters include the earthquake disaster as seen from his wife’s perspective, not knowing whether her husband was dead or alive. The outcome for Dan and his wife is more than a mere physical rescue. Their faith and marriage have been reignited. Likewise, the reader is given a fresh appreciation for life and the God who can be trusted, when all else is shaken, to work for the good of those who love him.

--LS

Azusa Street—Bartleman

Azusa Street
by Frank Bartleman
[orig. published as Another Wave Rolls In (1969) also as, Another Wave of Revival(1982)]

Whitaker House, 1982, 171pp. with epilogue by Arthur Wallis

The roots of the world’s fastest growing religion lie in the revival that came to Azusa Street, Los Angeles just over 100 years ago—in the wake of the San Fransisco earthquake. If you’ve ever been curious what that revival looked like from the inside, this is the book for you! The ‘Azusa Street Revival’ spawned the Pentecostal movement and its many modern day off-shoots. Azusa Street is the eyewitness account by Frank Bartleman,of this revival in the Los Angeles area from 1905-1911. Bartleman was an itinerate holiness preacher who wrote many tracts and hundreds of articles. He drew from his own and selected others’ written accounts to roughly piece together this unusual time in church history and to preach to the reader his views on revival in general and the various manifestations of this revival in particular. By his own profession (and the book is replete with the “I” word) Bartleman was very involved praying, preaching, and overseeing various groups during these fervent times.

The book may not deliver all that the back cover promises—an explosive faith, a transformed prayer life or a personal experience of God’s presence for yourself—but it is worth reading for the historical first-person perspective it brings to a movement that has been very controversial from its incipience. It was this movement that brought the ‘tongues’ issue to the foreground as the primary evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit, and as the means for evangelizing the world quickly. It was believed that this manifestation of ‘tongues’ signified the imminence of the Second Coming and would greatly hasten cross-cultural evangelization. Though ‘tongues’ did not after all eliminate the need for language learning, this movement did provide impetus for foreign missions that continue to impact the world, making Pentecostalism in its various forms the world’s fastest growing religion.

I appreciate Bartleman’s admission of the pitfalls and vices that attended the revival. He cites rivalry between churches, much counterfeiting, interference of spiritualists and hypnotists, religious pride and quackery, quasi-spiritual ‘mental intoxication’, power-seeking, and carnal controversy. But despite all the negatives he sees God at work to restore His church to the state of the early church in preparation for Christ’s soon return.

Meetings were held daily, all night Fridays and all day Sundays in some places during this time. Bartleman describes these meetings as ones where prayer was not formal. There was true worship, often ‘singing in the Spirit’ and tongues… Conviction of sin was strong (at least in the initial years) in these meetings. People would fall to the ground and lay unconscious for long intervals. “We had no human program, platform or pulpit” (no ecclesiastical hierarchism). Bartleman describes the presence of the Lord as being so real at times, he felt it two blocks away and he professed: “I would rather live six months at that time than fifty years of ordinary life.” (58)

Bartleman’s account of events raises some disconcerting questions regarding the effectiveness of this revival.

· For one, it is not clear whether many people were actually saved or whether the ‘revival’ consisted in church folk flocking to whichever building housed the most dramatic services. Thousands from all over the country (and the world?) came to see what was happening, but only a small corpus of church folk seemed to be constants in the movement. How many new believers were actually added to the churches?

· Another item, the Body was splintered from the very beginning into separate groupings under distinctly favored leaders. This seems to defy the nature of the Spirit’s work, which is to create unity in the Body.

· The revival was opposed by many local churches and well-known theologians. This was largely due (according to Bartleman) to the manifestation of ‘much slaying power’. Opposition was viewed as rebellion against God rather than taken as a caution to avoid extremes and verify scriptural precedent. This led to additional divisions in the Body.

· Bartleman viewed any hierarchy in leadership or adherence to creeds as corrupt and enslaving, attributing the early church’s loss of power over time to her ‘theories, creeds, doctrines, schisms, issues, movements, blessings, experiences, and professions’. He said: “We need no more theology or theory. Let the Devil have them. Let us get to God. Many are cramped up in present experiences. They are actually afraid to seek more of God for fear the Devil will get them. Away with such foolish bondage! Follow your heart! Believe in your own heart’s hunger, and go ahead for God”100) While appearing spiritual this stance lacks accountability to the Word of God and to those called to shepherd and protect the flock from error.

Overall, I found the narrator, Bartleman, to be a curious combination of sage insights on revival and personal ambition cloaked in self-castigation. His judgmental attitudes toward fellow preachers and his boasting of all he said and did run contrary to his own best sermons. Alas, he too was human but his book stands as a testimony to this very unusual time in human history, when God worked despite the weakness and failings of men. As Bartleman himself said: “God’s perfect work is brought about in human imperfection.”

----------------

No book review is complete without a sampling of morsels from the author himself. I leave you with these favorites of mine, to which I add only a hearty ‘Amen!’…

“A body must be prepared, in repentance and humility, for every outpouring of the Spirit.” (40)

“Nothing hinders faith and the operation of the Spirit so much as the self-assertiveness of the human soul, the wisdom, strength, and self-sufficiency of the human mind.”(76)

“A true Pentecost will produce a mighty conviction for sin, a turning to God. False manifestations produce only excitement and wonder. Sin and self-life will not materially suffer from these.” (91)

“Any work that exalts the Holy Spirit or the gifts above Jesus will finally end up in fanaticism.” (91)

“Men must come to know their own weakness before they can hope to know God’s strength.” (105)

“We are determined to fight nothing but sin and to fear nothing but God.” (110)

“Error always leads to militant exclusion. Truth evermore stoops to wash the saints’ feet.” (127)

“When…the church becomes 100 percent for God again, we will have the same power, the same life—and the same persecution from the world. The reason we have so little persecution now is that the Spirit cannot press the claims of God home on the world through us. When that happens, men must either surrender or fight.” (132)

“Heaven was real to the early church—far more real than earth…. This present life, after all, is the true saint’s purgatory. It is the sinner’s heaven—his only heaven—and that is sad beyond words to express! But, glory to God, it is our only hell!”(133)

“When an individual stops going forward for God, he begins to go in a circle, just as a man when lost in a forest ceases to go straight forward but wanders in a circle.” (134)

“…a movement is no longer a movement when it stops moving—be it the Holiness Movement, the Pentecostal Movement, or any other movement. It may continue to increase both in numbers and in wealth, but that is not necessarily a sign of life and power with God.” (137)

“We must work for the kingdom of God as a whole, not for some pet individual party, organization, or movement…We have worshipped certain doctrines, party standards, partial experiences, and blessings, all fine as far as they go, but abnormal in themselves and only a part of the whole. Most of these have been unbalanced, exaggerated misstatements of truth at best. In the end, they have generally brought bondage in place of blessing. They have broken fellowship, divided the children of God, and put the church in bondage to men and their ideas, standards, understandings, and opinions.” (138)

“We have been recovering the whole in parts, without seeing the whole—thus we so often distort and overemphasize the truth or experience that our particular movement has recovered. I trust you grasp this, for it is very important.”(141)

A great word picture!...

“Each oncoming wave of the sea toward high tide must fight its way through the last receding one. So it is with the different movements toward a final restoration of the church. The immediately receding one especially hates and opposes the next oncoming one.” (142)

And a chuckle!!!

“Hymnals today are too largely a commercial proposition, and we would not lose much without most of them. Even the old tunes are often violated by change, and new styles must be gotten out every season for added profit. There is very little real spirit of worship in them. They move the toes, but not the hearts of men.” (55)

The Grace Effect--Taunton

The Grace Effect: How the Power of One Life Can Reverse the Corruption of Unbelief

 by Larry Alex Taunton

(Thomas Nelson, 2011, 254pp. including Discussion Guide)

Larry Taunton, a seasoned Christian apologist, uses the story of his 10-yr. old daughter’s adoption from the Ukraine to underline his conviction that Christianity not only creates a different and better society but is essential to the maintenance of such a society.  Drawing on specific encounters with heartless officials and corruption in the adoption process he draws a contrast to ‘the grace effect’, the tangible benefits granted to a society that is shaped by Christian beliefs.  Personal narrative alternates with didactic sections on the religious history of Ukraine and the Soviet policies underlying its orphanages.  The objective throughout is to challenge the premise of New Atheism that society would be better off without Christianity.

The book is a unique intermingling of Christian apologetics with corroborating personal experience.  I enjoyed the storyline and Taunton makes many valid conclusions about a grace-based vs. a godless society.  However, I found his own impatience and disgust with corrupt bureaucracy to be lacking in ‘the grace effect’.  How would he expect the pawns of such a harsh and corrupt society to act otherwise?  His chapter titled: “Atheists don’t do Benevolence” is a needlessly offensive generalization, as is his ‘write-off’ of Greek Orthodoxy as ‘not very Christian’. 

While his story serves to expose the plight of orphans in the Ukraine, his accusation of exploitation and ‘selling children’ may reflect an oversimplification of the complex problem the Ukranian government faces.  If it was easy and cheap to acquire a child from such an orphanage, these children would most certainly be exploited for evil gain.

One of my favorite aspects of the book are the author’s conversations with one of new atheism’s leading proponents, Christopher Hitchens.  Their amiable relationship is an impressive expression of the grace effect, and makes me willing to overlook some of my other objections to the book.  I would recommend it to those interested in apologetics, foreign adoption, or just a good solid case of Christianity in action.  I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes via their Booksneeze program.

 --LS

The Three Battlegrounds—Frangipane

The Three Battlegrounds
by Francis Frangipane
(Cedar Rapids,Iowa: Arrow Publications, 1989) 151pp.


I bring this review with some serious reservations.  I would only guardedly recommend this book for the following reasons:

Though Francis Frangipane obviously comes to the subject of spiritual warfare with a wealth of life experience and wisdom, (a long-time pastor and church planter) he fails to separate clearly between issues of straight Biblical teaching and those derived from experience, tradition or personal interpretation. He writes with a matter-of-fact fatherly style that further compounds the reader’s difficulty in discerning absolute truth from conjecture--a dangerous brew to the unwitting reader.  For a believer well-grounded in the Word of God, there is much spiritual wisdom here however, thus my mixed review…

--------------------------------------------------

The Three Battlegrounds is a book about spiritual warfare with an especial concern for equipping the church to fight from a position of both wisdom and purity of heart, with boldness but never presumption. While greatly appreciating Frangipane’s obvious wealth of wisdom and of experience, and his sincere intent to equip the church in the arena of spiritual warfare, I offer this review with serious hesitation to recommend the book’s overall content. The reason for my reluctance will be soon evident.

The three battlegrounds, chosen for their relevance to most believers, are: the mind, the church, and the heavenly places. The book is divided into three parts accordingly, with the final section regarding the heavenly places, being the longest.

The first section, on the battleground of the mind, is in my opinion the most trustworthy and least controversial part of the book. Recognizing and overcoming personal strongholds is essential groundwork in spiritual warfare. Particular emphasis is given to the need to be conformed to the character of Christ rather than merely using His name in battle. Our calling is primarily to Christlikeness, not to warfare—

“Satan is tolerated for one purpose,” Frangipane suggests, “the warfare between the devil and God’s saints thrusts us into Christlikeness, where the nature of Christ becomes our only place of rest and security”(46)

He goes so far as to say: “The Father is more concerned with the coming forth of His Son in our lives than He is in defeating Satan” (47) and that many of our spiritual conflicts “simply are not going to cease until the character of the Lord Jesus is formed in our hearts” (46). Frangipane strongly cautions against letting warfare and the devil become our focus rather than Jesus. Turning to Him and appropriating His nature are our best preparation for any further battle.

The middle section of the book touches on issues relevant to the battleground of the Church. While the tone of writing here continues to be authoritative, it often lacks actual substantiation from the Word of God. There are plenty of references to passages and verses but the application is often based on a personalized or allegorical interpretation rather than the actual teaching of the passage-- on impressions and convictions rather than actual exegesis of the passage in question. Frangipane’s tone becomes prophetic and contexts are used loosely to support his impressions. The line between Frangipane’s impressions and interpretations and the actual teaching of Scripture becomes dangerously blurred. I would therefore not recommend this book to anyone not solidly grounded in the Word of God and prepared to read with critical discernment, filtering actual Bible doctrine from human interpretations.


Despite that disclaimer, this section does cover some hard-hitting and relevant issues for the church. Frangipane calls the church to re-discover the unity Christ intended us to have--based in genuine love--and to beware of bitterness and unforgiveness crystallizing into what he calls “a stronghold of cold love”.

Two excellent short chapters give careful attention to identifying true discernment, which stems from a motive of love, from its counterfeit--a critical spirit that judges in order to condemn.

Additional chapters emphasize replacing criticism with intercession when faults are seen in the church, becoming a true worshiper in affliction and in plenty, and avoiding becoming an ‘accuser of the brethren’.
I can heartily agree with many of Frangipane’s emphases but find his exegesis of Scripture and loosely defined applications to be disturbing, particularly because of the authoritative style in which he writes. In most cases he fails to distinguish between his opinions based on logical reasoning and the actual teaching as it stands in Scripture. The reader should not be misled that content is entirely Scriptural just because references and quotes are given. Context and orthodox principles of interpretation should be applied to all teaching.

The final section of the book is the least orthodox in its teaching, perhaps because it deals with ‘the battleground of the heavenly places’ regarding which we are given so little detailed teaching in Scripture. I found this part of the book to be based more in allegorical ideas and interpretation of experience than in actual Scripture. The chapter on what constitutes reality (“The War over Reality”) is seriously flawed from even a standpoint of basic logic. Yes, there is such a thing as subjective reality, but it is not necessarily in conflict with actual reality, nor does a society have the power to define its own reality. The concept of ‘worldview’ is needed to clarify this discussion.

I would also object to the statement that merely imagining and believing a thing is sufficient to accomplish it. Believing is a start but there must be the ability and the will to accomplish it. When we believe in what God has said we have both the ability and the will to accomplish it on the side of our belief. If we merely believe in idle fantasies or lies, or on our own interpretation of what God has said, we may or may not experience their accomplishment. Man is not omnipotent. God has defined reality. Once again, this chapter is a mixture: flawed reasoning, inaccurate statements, but also important truths. I concur with Frangipane on the necessity of knowing and using the Word of God when engaging in any kind of spiritual warfare, even that which happens in our own thought processes!

Additional chapters in this final section deal with ‘exposing the Spirit of Antichrist’, and discerning and warring with the ‘spirit of Jezebel’ and the ‘spirit of Babylon’. Though these chapters do contain perceptive insights regarding areas of spiritual darkness in the church, they are awash with questionable premises, faulty exegesis of Scripture and ambiguous use of language. They put undue emphasis on identifying a ‘spirit of…’ behind every ‘bush’ resulting in a focus on conjectured realities rather than a simple God-ward focus of repentance and faith, submitting to God and resisting temptation by His power.

As I see it, the spirit world is real and the heavenly realms are real. (Believers are in fact said to be ‘seated in the heavenlies’), but most of the workings of these realms are not revealed to us, likely because it is not necessary for us to know everything in order to ‘do’ spiritual warfare, and might, in fact, distract us from a God-ward focus.

I appreciate Frangipane’s own humble disclaimer at the close of the book. He considers his book to be primarily a tool to inform believers of their need for training in spiritual warfare while providing some teaching by way of insights and guidelines. At the same time he affirms that it is only in being actually led by the Lord that we will be trained in warfare, and cautions against putting confidence in this book, rather than the Lord.(145)

It is useful to re-read the Preface at this point as well, in which Frangipane encourages readers to let him know of their disagreements with the text. He acknowledges that spiritual warfare is an ‘ever unfolding’ subject fraught with ‘present inadequacies’ but that in relying upon the Lord ‘all things become adequate’.

I would prefer to regard God’s Word as a sufficient guide for life and warfare and steer away from any idea of ‘unfolding’ revelation, however, I do respect and appreciate Frangipane’s wisdom and intent in offering this volume on spiritual warfare, and I offer it to you tentatively, with this review’s disclaimers.

--LS