Glimpses of the Devil : A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption

Rating:
Summary: A Towering Work of Love and Redemption...
Review: A Towering Work of Love and Redemption: M. Scott Peck's Psycho-spiritual Magnum Opus!

I have waited over 15 years for this book to be written. It is simply a gift.

GLIMPSES OF THE DEVIL supplements his previous, classic work on the topic of evil PEOPLE OF THE LIE, which itself scientifically expanded on--in psychological depth and breadth--father Malachi Martin's pioneering masterpiece on demonic possession HOSTAGE TO THE DEVIL, forming a trilogy of hope, healing, and redemption. These works have also greatly shaped my personal understanding, as well as that of countless others, of the reality of evil, providing a clearer road map with which to better navigate through the trials and travails of existence, ultimately saving me time and suffering in my encounters with evil in everyday life.

Dr. Peck pays particular attention to the process nature of exorcism, and the utilization of deliverance as a prerequisite means of uncovering the demonic within before finally employing the more formal, drastic measure of the ancient rite itself. Even through the darkest moments of finally uncovering Satanic interference as the motive force of self-destruction in the lives of two of his patients, and their subsequent deliverance and exorcisms, Peck's courage and humanity--in psychospiritual and even physical combat with preternatural evil--radiates like a beacon of love, shattering not only the "Pretense" of the devil's victims, but also the cold silence of a largely disbelieving world, exposing the raw nerve of man's ultimate freedom to choose absolute good or summary evil.

I expect this book to be met with resistance across the medical and religious spectrum, and it already has, but, as with any ground-breaking and important work that threatens complacency and post-modern belief structures, also with significant acclaim. GLIMPSES OF THE DEVIL rises above much of the confusion and hyperbole surrounding this rarefied topic, dares to make judgments on the limits of personal behavior, and offers no apologies for what it says. For it merely speaks the truth: Evil is real, the devil is real, and real prices are paid in suffering by the victims of possession and those heroic exorcists who must brave soul-scathing demonic attacks to free people from temporal strangulation and eternal damnation.

If secular, corporatized medicine ever evolves out of its existential, limiting belief structures and affirms the condition of the human soul as the ultimate foundation for the formation of a healthy mind-body-spirit paradigm, only then will the science of exorcism finally be codified by the mental health establishment and both human evil and demonic possession recognized as the debilitating, psycho-spiritual pathologies that they truly are. Medicine will have Dr. Martin and Dr. Peck to thank.

For, if Malachi Martin is truly the father of modern-day possession and exorcism, then M. Scott Peck is its godfather. Already hundreds, if not thousands, have chosen to renew their contract with God and life, and have discovered true liberation from the shackles of the devil through the work of these daring men of compassion, as, undoubtedly, many more will do in the future.

As always, keep an open mind and heart & proceed with caution; however, do proceed...and buy this book!


Rating:
Summary: Alarmist , lazy, and narcissistic.
Review: For those of you who think this might be a worthy follow-up to "People of the Lie, " you will be very disappointed. People of the Lie is one of my favorite books. The author makes a compelling case for evil and narcissism as being a real, living, co-existing force. Glimpses of the Devil has the quality of an extremist, which sees a devil in every corner and a demon in every soul. Scott's new book focuses on two exorcisms he performed many years ago, which he mentions in "People of the Lie." Unfortunately he does not have the writing ability and the life experience with evil to make these cases interesting , unlike Malachi Martin's "Hostage to the Devil." His cases are bland and his assumptions are bizarre. For example, Mr. Peck speculates that a young woman might have been possessed because she did not believe her father was fondling her at 12. The father who was a pyschologist, called himself a "doctor" and wore a white medical coat, thought it was neccessary to "examine" her. The girl,now an adult who loved her father, believed him until psychotherapy with Mr. Peck revealed the lie. Because this girl "lied to herself about the abuse" she somehow opened a door to the demonic world to let something in. Now I believe in God, demons, and the devil, the same as Mr. Peck. But I can't believe that God would allow a little girl to become possessed for this reason. Also, Mr. Peck comes off as being somewhat smug and arrogant. After only a few years of conversion to Christianity and a brief rapport with one expert on possessions, Malachi Martin, Mr. Peck becomes the exorcist in charge with these two cases. Sounding alot like Christian extremist Dereck Prince, he says things like, "I just cast out the demon of confusion." Scott also paints himself above the fray. He finds fault in nearly everyone he consults, people who have devoted their whole life to being Christian but might not believe his quest for deliverance is sane and sound. He even sullies the reputation of his mentor, Malachi Martin.

Perhaps what bothers me the most about the book is that I feel its lazy. The two cases he presents are simply not a compelling arguement for demonic possession, and he does little more than describe these cases.

If your looking for something scholarly on the subject of evil or possessions, forget it.This book has the feel of a vanity project. Just re-read "Hostage to the Devil".

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Summary: A different take on "Glimpses"
Review: I read M.Scott Peck's "Glimpses of the Devil" over a 24 hour period, something I don't do with books that aren't "interesting." I could hardly put it down. Anyone who read "People of the Lie" will remember one of the final, gripping chapters on possession and demonology, in which Peck makes brief mention of his attendance at two exorcisms. This book is the long-awaited (in my case, at least) in-depth description of those two exorcisms. We meet the victims, learn about their lives up to and following Peck's work with them, and - as far as this skeptical "wanna-believer" is concerned - quite possibly meet Satan. When a doctor as committed to the scientific method as Peck - who initially interviewed the first victim with the intention of proving to himself that there was no Devil - states unequivocally that he felt the presence of something inhuman in the room where he and his team were treating the victim, I find myself inclined to believe him.
The prior reviewer criticizes Peck "for failing to make his cases interesting by weaving personal histories of the victims" with an analysis of why an evil spirit would be interested in them in the first place. I frankly don't know what this reviewer is talking about; Peck spends a great deal of time speculating (which is all one can really do when it comes to a matter such as possession) as to how his two patients became possessed, why they were chosen, why, in fact, some people become possessed and others don't. As far as his being smug and arrogant for taking on the role of exorcist after only a few years as a Christian, the previous reviewer fails to mention that Peck ASKED Malachi Martin to do the exorcism, but Malachi refused; and he then searched for as long as he could to find an experienced exorcist. When no one was available, and he felt the situation was critical, only then did he take on this role.
As far as sullying the name of the late Malachi Martin, my memory (I don't have the book with me as I write this) is that, while Peck does write about Martin's apparent tendency to stretch the truth about certain things, he also goes out of his way to express his love and respect for Martin.
This is a fascinating, and frightening, book, and a more than worthy follow-up to "People of the Lie."

Rating:
Summary: Not so hot...
Review: This famous author isn't quite up to (old) scratch with this awkward book. Although it dragged on, I perservered, and was surprised when towards the end he refers to another book that is a pivotal part of his story.
The problem is that he states the author of said book must have been very depressed or possessed himself. The author of the book he refers to is Lynd Ward, one of America's foremost illustrators, and the book itself is a simple story of a man who sells his soul to the devil and pays the ultimate price. Perhaps Scott Peck needed to extend his research a bit wider on this one.


Rating:
Summary: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread........
Review: Was expecting another 'People of the Lie' and was greatly disappointed. Dr. Peck's sadly pathetic lack of knowledge of exorcisms, christianity, possession and even the bible was evident throughout. There were so many errors I eventually stopped counting. His shameless use of association with Dr. Malachi Martin, coupled with his criticism of the man was most unprofessional. The stories of the two women he supposedly exorcised were so boring they were difficult to read. His 'analysis' of each would put anyone to sleep. I'm sure he was sincere...but in this area....he is way out of his league. Dr. Peck may be a bright psychiatrist....but he has a lot to learn. Much more research should have gone into this book. Unfortunately because of his name many will read this book and be left with a host of imcomplete knowledge and misleading impressions.