This Present Darkness

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Summary: Greatest book I have ever read!!
Review: This is a wonderful, heart-stopping thriller that caught my attention. With every page the truth slowly unfolds of the problem. Ever though no one knows about angels or demons, Peretti puts it in a great perspective. I read this book a year ago and have read it many times. Frank Peretti is a great detailed writer, and I look forward to many other books that he will make. This is a MUST read for anybody that hasn't.

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Summary: The Way Life REALLY Is
Review: Peretti shows what really happens eeveryday. The book really opens your eyes to your surrounding. A must read. Go For It.... NOW

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Summary: Excellent!!!!!!
Review: Very well written. The characters are vivid and thought provoking. The storyline is fast paced, action packed and based on truths that anyone can read in ANY bible. Must have stuck a nerve with someone out there to obtain a response from an educator or educator's?? Interesting how the hit dog hollers the loudest. Great book would like a third one with the same characters. Should be a movie I'd pay good money to see this on the silver screen. Keep up the good work.

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Summary: Good book for anybody
Review: This book is a suprisingly thought-provoking, and at times scary, look at demon and Angelic warfare. Highly recommended.

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Summary: Excellent book!
Review: I felt that Peretti made a masterpiece when he wrote this book. The reality of what he wrote is amazing.Demons do exist and so do angels. They battle and God will prevail. Very well written. Each character had depth and a certain roll that made them an important part of the book.Way to go Peretti!

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Summary: Couldn't stop listening!!
Review: This was my first audiobook I have ever bought. I thought it was fantastic. I couldn't stop listening. I strongly recommend it. It really makes you stop and think.

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Summary: A MUST READ!!!! You can't put this one down
Review: This book literally comes to life in the mind of the reader. The words come to life and you find yourself a part of the story. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll Praise His Almighty Name!!! There aren't enough words to impress upon you how much I encourage you to read this book and also "Piercing The Darkness" which is very much like this one including the same powerful Spiritual Warfare Angels such as Tal. Mr. Peretti's other books are fine but not on the level of enthusiasm as these two. HEY MR. PERETTI IF YOU READ THIS HOW ABOUT A THIRD IN THIS SERIES PERHAPS ONE LIKE "OBLITERATING THE DARKNESS"! Hint Hint

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Summary: Tremendous example of the need for passionate prayer
Review: Like so many other reviewers, I found this book hard to put down. The concept of spritual warfare is a difficult one for most of us, and this work provides a unique perspective, a story about 'real-life' in middle-America, and how Satan works to destroy all things good. I found it a real encouragement to my prayer life. A must read!

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Summary: Spiritual Warfare or New Age Conspiracy?
Review: After I read this book, I met several people who were very enthusiastic about it. They absolutely loved it! All exclaimed that this was a fabulous portrayal of spiritual warfare and the power of prayer. It was a great insight into the unseen conflict between the agents of God (angels and "prayer warriors") and between Satan and his minions. Having read the book, I could certainly agree that it portrayed spiritual warfare and the struggle between the angelic and the demonic. However, when I asked these readers about the overarching theme of the New Age Conspiracy which defines the book, they were at a loss. These readers loved the action, the positive portrayal of the power of prayer and the triumph of the good; however, they missed the supposed great evil that motivated the wicked characters portrayed in the book. They missed the fact that all of this was written as a warning cry against something that has come to be known as the New Age movement. I see that many reviewers of this book in other places have also lost sight of this fact. Peretti's book is without doubt an action-filled account of the battle between spirtual good and evil. However, what is the nature of the evil portrayed? The evil lies in a deviant spirituality that uses meditation, that uses the guise of psychological methods, that is influenced by Eastern religious ideas and practices, etc. This is the evil. Really? The angels of God have come to this small town to fight against the insidious influence of some akin to Yoga, deep breathing exercises conducted to the chanting of Hindu mantras, and Tai Chi? This dubious battle gives the book an overwhelming feeling of unreality. The bad guys in this book--- the city officials, the "liberal" minister, the Psychology professor--- are unrealistically evil. One may claim that the meditative practices that flow from Hinduism and Buddhism and theologically in error and should not be followed by Christians. But to portray them as evil, as demonic? Do many people really believe such things? Or are pettiness, intolerance, and ignorance of the wider world suddenly now positive traits for Christians? One larger point to the success of this book is how little fundamentalist and conservative evangelical Protestant Americans know and want to know about the larger Christian world.

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Summary: How to Practice What You Despise
Review: Frank Peretti's work is a good example of what we Christians accuse the New Age movement of being. It is a book that is mostly derived from experience and not Scripture. Most of the spiritual warfare themes are those that were developed by well meaning Christians who had had experiences, and do not necessarily reflect the teachings of the Bible. Frank has gone out of his way to defend himself by saying that he meant the stories to be symbolic, but one cannot help but wonder if this was true when Frank wrote the story. The whole idea that angels actually gain some sort of empowerment from our prayers is pure theological hogwash. The idea that we need to pray and pray and pray and pray and pray or the angels will lose their power and the devil will get us is spiritually unhealthy at best, and almost downright demonic itself at its worst. Satan would love for Christians to become fixated on the devil and occultism, believe that they need to pray every second or the devil will get em, and see a demon under every rock. It is the classic strategy that says "If you can't get them to go off the path on one side, push them until they go off the path on the other". This is not the best Christian book ever written. It might be good if you are practicing the occult, and need to have a fire lit under your tush, but basically it is an unbalanced pseudo-christian story that is full of culturally acceptable christendom, but perhaps not much true Christianity.