Average customer rating:
- Just one more book in the all-encompassing, enthralling, and utterly absorbing Left Behind Series
- Kingdom Come - worth reading
- Potter is Hotter!
- Final Stand
- great transaction
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Kingdom Come: The Final Victory: The Final Victory (Left Behind #13)
Tim LaHaye , and
Jerry B. Jenkins
Manufacturer: Tyndale House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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| Lahaye, Tim
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The Rapture: In the Twinkling of an Eye--Countdown to the Earth's Last Days (Before They Were Left Behind, Book 3)
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Glorious Appearing (Left Behind)
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The Regime: Evil Advances (Before They Were Left Behind, Book 2)
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Armageddon (Left Behind #11)
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The Rising: Antichrist Is Born (Before They Were Left Behind, Book 1)
ASIN: 0842360611
Release Date: 2007-04-03 |
Book Description
The horrors of the Tribulation are over, and Jesus Christ has set up his perfect kingdom on earth. Believers all around the world enjoy a newly perfected relationship with their Lord, and the earth itself is transformed. Yet evil still lurks in the hearts of the unbelieving. As the Millennium draws to a close, the final generation of the unrepentant prepares to mount a new offensive against the Lord Himself--sparking the final and ultimate conflict from which only one side will emerge the eternal victor.
Customer Reviews:
Just one more book in the all-encompassing, enthralling, and utterly absorbing Left Behind Series.......2007-09-13
From the very first letter of the alphabet that my eyes looked upon inside this series of books, until the very last period of the very last sentence, I was hooked. Each one of these books absorbed my attention like no other book has ever done in my life. Biblically sound, theatrically entertaining, and brilliantly written, the Left Behind books will inspire you to dig into God's word and take the pieces of news from your T.V. screen and match them right smack-dab up with the prophecies of the Bible. Your hair will stand up, your heart will race, and you will find yourself helplessly caught in the suspense. Once you finish one of these books, you will desperately race to your computer screen or your local library to pick up the next one!
Carrie Lynn Jones
Author of It All Began... When Jesus Gave Me Sneakers
Kingdom Come - worth reading.......2007-09-11
I enjoyed this book. I read the entire series over the past few months, and this was the way to end it. It's more of a bible study than the other books in the series. Not as exciting, but if you read the story up until now, you should read this. Gives a good description of the last days.
Potter is Hotter!.......2007-08-29
As a work of fantasy, the Left Behind series is third-rate. It lacks the humor and exuberance of the Harry Potter books; the magical acts it portrays are quite simply boring. It lacks the sparkling darkness of language that makes the His Dark Materials books a delight to read. It lacks the sweep and grandeur of the Lord of the Rings series. Note please that I'm reviewing Left Behind merely as escapist fantasy literature. As theology, it's too contemptible to need reviewing. As a morality tale, it's even more contemptible, an interminable drone of bigotry, sexism, self-righteousness, and exploitation of the decent folk who congregate in America's churches.
Final Stand.......2007-08-18
The entire series was written in such a way that every new book had its own plot. A series well done. Thank you for the eye opener.
great transaction.......2007-08-14
My husband loved the book and has already finished it. The item came quickly and in great condition as promised
Book Description
the challenge every man faces...the fight every man can win
From the television to the Internet, print media to videos, men are constantly faced with the assault of sensual images. It is impossible to avoid such temptations...but, thankfully, not impossible to rise above them.
Shattering the perception that men are unable to control their thought lives and roving eyes, Every Man's Battle shares the stories of dozens who have escaped the trap of sexual immorality and presents a practical, detailed plan for any man who desires sexual purity-perfect for men who have fallen in the past, those who want to remain strong today, and all who want to overcome temptation in the future.
Includes a special section for women, designed to help them understand and support the men they love.
Customer Reviews:
Wow. I felt like these authors were looking into my soul........2007-09-23
Wow. I felt like these authors were looking into MY soul as they were writing. At times, it frightened me. It was amazing how well I could relate to what the authors were writing.
This book, which is written to Christian males, is all about winning the war on sexual temptation. It gives great advice on how a man can win this battle in as little as 6 weeks. It explored the natural tendencies of men and how our very maleness can lead us down the road of sexual impurity. The authors then turn the focus toward recognizing theses male tendencies and being "on guard" against them so that sexual purity can be obtained.
Some men have been quoted as saying, "It's natural for a male to look [at an attractive woman]." Is this [looking] stealing something that doesn't belong to you? The book answers this question. Also, if you want to be more captivated by your wife (and you may not think it's possible because you are already enamored by her), then I strongly encourage you to read this book.
I believe this book will enable you to win the battle on sexual temptation as well as strengthen your marriage (if you're married).
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. I plan to read it multiple times.
Real.......2007-09-19
This book gives men an accurate perspective of lust. It provides reasons why lust is wrong by quoting scripture. It provides stories by the authors' personal lives to show that lust attacks all men and in a variety of ways. The book provides real ways to stop lusting. Finally, it provides expectations of the struggle.
This One Pulls No Punches.......2007-08-28
We're living in an age of unbridled sensuality and desire, when almost nothing is taboo, and ideas such as morality, purity, sanctity, and respect are considered highly subjective concepts. Though temptations of the flesh have always been with us - and always will be with us as long as we have the old sin nature inside - it has never before been harder for men and women alike to control their thoughts, minds, and dare I say it ....hormones.
The battle for purity of mind, thought, deed, and heart has escalated to a fever pitch, and countless of men and women alike have hurt others and been hurt by others in the areas of sexual purity. Television ads, billboards, magazine inserts - even in the once harmless Ladies Home Journal - promote life-styles and standards of living that open even the best person to thoughts and desires that, if left unchecked, can run roughshod over good intentions and the way we'd like to live.
Men, in particular, have suffered greatly in this area; and though it's not entirely their fault, the rising numbers of divorce and extramarital affairs inside the church - even among those who have served long and faithfully in the ministry - speak very loudly and clearly that something is wrong.
"Every Man's Battle", by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker, is one of the best devotionals targeting men and the battle for purity that I've come across in quite some time. It's practical, down-to-earth, and both authors "roll up their sleeves" and get right to the nitty-gritty details. It has a two-pronged approach: though it affirms men struggling with purity that they're not monsters, mentally ill, cursed, or alone in their fight; it also pulls no punches when it comes to their admonition to clean up their thought lives and behavior patterns.
"Every Man's Battle" also goes into great depth analyzing the male perspective and thought process - even going into biological detail as to why it's so hard for many men to keep pure - without succumbing to the age-old excuse, "boys will be boys". Much of what they discuss makes a tremendous amount of sense on a simple every day level, but at the same time they back everything with Scripture from God's Word.
It's very practical, and it doesn't just talk about the struggle for sexual purity and give enthusiastic exhortations and admonitions, it lays out and devises easy-to-implement action steps for any men to clean up their lives and obtain purity. In the battle for sexual purity, this isn't just a "Recon & Intel" report, it's a battle strategy aimed at one goal: to win, under the power and strength of God.
Finally, the best part about this book is the fact it's been written by two Christian men who have fought long and hard against the very beast troubling so many men. Other devotionals and books I've read about sexual purity and temptation have been on the ball and scripturally accurate, but they always read a little flat because you got the idea that though they were well researched and written, none of the authors really spent "time in the trenches". These guys have, and they aren't only recommending "good practices they've researched", but battle plans that saved their purity and marriages.
Great Book!.......2007-08-27
Another new bestseller which I highly recommend - The Exclusive Layguide: When Dating and Having Sex with Incredibly Hot Women is No Longer Mirage Even If You Don't Look Like a Model or Don't Make a Fortune
A Must Read for Every Christian Man.......2007-08-01
I just finished reading this book and found it very informative and enlightening. It is biblically based and a fun read. I believe it will help me both in my walk with Christ and in my relationships with my wife and family.
It's a MUST READ for any man who wants to grow spiritually with God. And when you finish, ask your wife to read it as well.
Book Description
In this world you’re surrounded by sexual images that open the door to temptation. They’re everywhere–on TV, billboards, magazines, music, the internet–and so easy to access that it sometimes feels impossible to escape their clutches. Yet God expects his children to be sexually pure. So how can you survive the relentless battle against temptation? Here’s powerful ammunition.
Steve Arterburn and Fred Stoeker, the authors of the hard-hitting best-seller Every Man’s Battle, now focus on the temptations young single Christian men like you face every day–and they offer workable, biblical strategies for achieving sexual purity.
The authors examine the standard of Ephesians 5:3–“there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality”–in a positive and sensitive light. And they explain how an authentic, vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ is the key to victory over temptation. Every Young Man’s Battle will show you how to train your eyes and your mind, how to clean up your thought life, and how to develop a realistic battle plan for remaining pure in today’s sexually soaked culture. As a result, you’ll experience hope–real hope–for living a strong, pure life God’s way
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-08-13
I recommend this book to any young man who may be struggling with sexual purity.
Good book, I thought one thing was missing, things parents should know about the book.......2007-08-07
I think this book has a lot of wise advice that in my experience only very few young men don't badly need to hear. The thing that I thought was lacking was an explanation of how the rules set forth in the book must be followed in a response to ones relationship with Christ. Many young men could misunderstand the importance of this and only focus on the rules proposed in the book. This might cause them to focus on doing works alone and become very law/works oriented, striving to fulfill the "laws" in their power. Hopefully we all know the danger of that. The law kills... Also parents thinking of getting this book for younger young men, should know that sexual examples are made in the book that might put thoughts in a young mans mind. If you don't want your son being exposed to sexual examples that are given in this book eg. oral sex, "getting under a bras", (used as instructive tools in the book) then you will have to censor it.
The Book With Straight-forward Answers.......2007-07-11
As a 24-year-old single man, I debated between getting this book and getting the other one ("Every Man's Battle"). I went with this one because it is geared more toward young single (non-married) men. This book discusses the temptations that every young man battles every day. The authors pull out all the stops to let young men know that there are temptations out there and they give detailed, thoughtful, biblical instruction on how to minimize their impact. This book was difficult to set down, with biblical quotations and stories from the authors' lives. Their candor and non-judgemental views can help any young man who is fighting sexual temptation.
Healthy straight forward guild to discuss what all young men are facing........2007-07-06
The world is conning young people into believing that indulging all sexual desires will bring the ultimate happiness. This author is an expert in dealing with the 'cost' of sexual addiction and it's victims. (See his book EVERY MAN'S BATTLE).
In this "young man's version" of the book he is able to take his expertise and put it in a language and format that is easily understood by young people. I feel this book is a great piece of armor for my son. He is first affirmed that he is "normal" in this struggle and then given some practical suggestions for dealing with it in a healthy manner. The book addresses healthy and appropriate attitudes towards girls and women. It is a major tool in helping him to have a wonderfully fullfilling sexual life later in it's God given context: marriage. The language is frank, but not crude. The book is based on healthy biblical principles without being too "preachy".
Because our children are being bombarded with unhealthy sexual messages on a daily basis I think it is critical that this type of book be given to a young man early in puberty. The book provides a great foundation for parents to build upon and an opportunity for future conversations.
Interesting.......2007-04-04
I purchased this book for my grandson who is 14 - I reviewed the book before I gave it to him. I hope it will help him understand alot about sex and will give him respect and honor for girls. We will only be able to tell what effects this book will have as he grows older. This book is very explicit about manhood.
Customer Reviews:
everyday victory for everyday people.......2007-07-21
This book gives positive reinforcement to those persons participating in the First Place weight loss program. I recommend ths book to anyone who might be considering participating in the Christian based program.
Spiritual warfare--coming to a refrigerator near you.......2007-02-02
Wow! This is an excellent study--the second I have done in this series. The first was okay, but this one addressed issues in my life and in the life of the rest of the group that we all needed to work on. Working through each day's section of the study only took half an hour, but it dealt in refreshing ways with the topic of spiritual warfare. The accompanying memory verses were very relevant. The first one kept me going throughout: "What I am asking you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach." This study is not so much about transforming your waist line as it is changing you from the inside (heart, attitude, thoughts) outward. Everyone in our group, without exception found these studies to be outstanding.
good, but similar to other FP studies.......2006-03-09
So far, I'm enjoying the First Place program and the Bible Studies. This is our second study, and while it's easy and keeps me focused on my goal of keeping Christ first place in my life, the second study is not that different from the first. They aren't real deep studies, so they're perfect for someone who's just starting a new routine of daily Bible study. Others might want to get something deeper to use alongside the First Place studies. EVfEP is a great follow up to Giving Christ First Place.
Everyday Victory for Everyday People.......2005-10-15
This is the second of the First Place Bible studies that I have done. I find it easy to use, not consuming too much time, but providing MUCH food for thought. I especially love the CD's that accompany the studies that help with scripture memorization.
Another Victory in the First Place series!.......2005-03-29
They've done it again. The First Place bible studies continue to be my favorites. I love them because studies are easy to do, each lesson takes about 5 to 10 minutes each day. But they keep you thinking & learning all day long! Plus the Scripture Memory CD helps you learn 10 verses throughout the study. This one had a bit more hokey-sounding music, it was still good though. I highly recommend ordering this study & looking into joining an actual First Place group.
Customer Reviews:
Jesus and THe Victory of God.......2007-06-27
It is a very comprehensive and informative book. Apart from all the critics, Wright has provided a much needed balanced overview of recent writings re the Historical Jesus and outlines a challenging pisture of the Central message of christianity.
Jesus and the Victory of God.......2007-01-10
A most detailed and excellent work, probably too technical or detailed for the ordinary reader but required reading for anyone studying the life and ministry of Jesus.
Scholarly Myopticism assures Obscurantist Results.......2006-05-10
This author, N.T. Wright,has a theory which develops into an agenda.Instead of sound historical study, he presents a work of speculative revisionism with arrogant presumpion on the reader to come out of his benightedness into Wright's new insight: "The new pattern that WE find fits into the prophetic profile of Jesus that WE are building up." He claims, "it is not going beyond the evidence to suggest..." when the only "evidence" is the basic theory he has devolved, spun in lacy cobwebs of his mind and not based on historical reading of the Scriptures. Thus, the Last Supper becomes for Wright a "metaphor". Dealing with Christ's miracles is awkward for Wright. Call them "mighty works" that might well have been "magic". "Few serious historians now deny that Jesus, and for that matter many other people, performed cures and did other starting things for which there was no natural explanation." Christ's resurrection from the dead Wright does not mention ...except to imply some symbolism. The cures attributed to Christ "and many others for that matter" (sic)he does not care to engage. Just ignore. History or terribly flawed research? "But Christan apologetics has moved on as well: 'miracles' are not advances as 'proof' of anythng much. What matters far more is intention and meaning." And Wright will tell repeatedly how we "credibly reconstruct". (I love the "apologetics has moved on" line. Moved on to what? Where?) Miracles prove nothing? Only to the irreconciled skeptic with a bad theory.According to the author,Jesus was a deluded messiah , and if you follow his theory of Christ's life and existence you know He had a "strange vocation", "spoke in riddles",that the "symbolism and story-telling of Jesus makes sense only..." as it fits into Wright's tortured and abberational scenario.Skepticism, not honest history calls miracles 'mighty works" that were "supposed events" that "friend and for alike believed him to be doing such things....and they were more or less true".
This book is NOT scholarly history. It reflects an author whose interpretation is authentically his own, yes, and devastating far from honest history. He ignores the strongest testimony: people who were present and wrote what Jesus said and did contemporaneously. They didn't fit his bald theories of interpreted "intent". Jerome A Urbik
Jesus is King - of Israel and of the world of the gentiles.......2006-05-05
In this book Wright tells us that Jesus is presenting himself as leader of the people of Israel, the real king David. This kingdom of Israel has been set up by its God to show all nations how to live, and to do so in relationship with their Creator. Israel has to demonstrate the rule of God as the standard against which all human life can be compared, to make sure that no one is getting less than they should. The kings and gods of other nations do not look after their people and no longer under proper control. Only the God of Israel can bring these gods and rulers back under control, and either make them good rulers, or remove them from office. The gospel is the announcement of the arrival of this king who challenges and deposes all other pagan kings and gods. So the proclamation that Jesus is messiah, Christ, is the announcement that God has sent his man to be leader and ruler of the world. Pagan idolatry has been publicly defeated, in the cross of Jesus, and all peoples are summoned to give allegiance to the king of Israel, the umpire and arbiter of all other political authorities.
Wright's work relies on a good fifty years of NT research that has slowly been reuniting Jesus with the people of Israel. Wright's particular contribution is to reunite Jesus and the Old Testament, the agenda of the people of Israel. He shows that Jesus sets in motion what the patriarchs and prophets have been looking forward to. The revolution here is that this account of the Christian people does not cut out the people of Israel, but says their loyalty to God is a function of God's loyalty to them, and the only way to get to God for us is through these people, the people named in the Scriptures, the people of Israel.
For a long while the Church tried to have Jesus without Israel, to have the king without his kingdom and all its subjects. But it also knew that this was to try to separate the New Testament from the Old Testament, and so to divide what God holds together. The agenda driving part of the critical scholarship of the last 200 years has been to show that the Church were wrong about Jesus. It wanted to show that he was either himself mistaken, or misrepresented by the Church, being a moral champion who achieved a merely moral victory against institutional religion. All this was a way to protest at the Church, particularly in its cosy alliance with the state, and a way to say that the state does not have the authority it assumes, and is wrong to deny us our part in the political process.
Wright has put Jesus back with his people, as the one who establishes their identity as the people of God. Now to push this little further than Wright himself does, we can say that their king establishes their diversity and their unity. The Western philosophical tradition is always trying to simplify things by filtering out all the complexity, the crowds, the people. But you can't have Jesus except with Mary, and Martha, and James and John, and equally with Abraham and Moses and David. Christ is their man, and remains their man. Only because this communion and plurality is permanently established can we know that there is a life for the whole people of God into which the Gentiles - that is the Christians - are now included.
One of THE best books on Jesus.......2006-04-22
I first read NT Wright's Jesus and the Victory of God as an undergrad who was extremely interested in the historical Jesus and his message and in the contours of biblical theology in general. Since then, I've come back to this book again and again. In fact, it has done more to shape my personal views and personally impact me than any other book aside from the Bible. It is literally one of my favorite books ever written and NT Wright has quickly become one of my favorite authors.
The book is Wright's second in his magnum opus Christian Origins and the Question of God and follows on the methodological and historical foundations laid in the first volume, The New Testament and the People of God. One need not read this first volume to successfully wade through JVG but it certainly helps. In particular, many of the methodological or historical questions that might arise when reading JVG could probably be answered from a reading of NTPG. The diagrams he uses in JVG are also very confusing and not very well explained If one wants to understand them thoroughly, a look at the sections in NTPG where these diagram types are introduced will be necessary both to interpret them and learn of their uses. That said, JVG stands on its own fairly well (I myself did not read NTPG until several years after I had first read JVG).
Jesus and the Victory of God is definitely not for the casual reader - it is dense, scholarly, extensively foot-noted, and thoroughly argued. Those looking for a light read, brief apologetics arguments, or instant theological gratification will not find this book to their tastes. This long book is itself just the second part of a multi-part series building one big, long argument about the origins of Christianity (hence the title of the series). Wright is incredibly thorough in his arguments, careful to forestall as many objections as possible, whether good or bad, and marshall the full weight of the historical and textual evidence in favor of his views. This of course makes the book rather long and the arguments, for someone of limited attention span, hard to follow and therefore not as convincing as if they were laid out in summary. If one can keep one's eye on the thread, however, you can see that the many words are there for good reason and put to good reason - this is a scholarly work after all, not a book for the novice. Anything shorter or less nuanced in a scholarly work of this sort on a subject like this would be unthinkable. In fact, the book and its arguments could easily have been made much longer and the evidence in favor of traditional christology been supplemented even more. But of course that would have made a long book even longer. If you want a shorter version of Wright's views and arguments I recommend some of his shorter, more popular works on Jesus.
In this book, Wright distinguishes three periods or strands of scholarship on the historical Jesus - which he calls the First Quest, the Second Quest, and the Third Quest respectively. The First Quest is most ably represented by Albert Schweitzer, the Second by folks like many in the Jesus Seminar, and the Third by Wright, Dunn, Witherington and others. The Third Quest Wright links with the First Quest in taking Jesus' Jewishness seriously (though disagreeing with much of what the First Questers have said). Wright ably refutes the otherwise convincing arguments of Second Questers like Crossan and others and shows how their methodologies and therefore their conclusions are inherently flawed, no matter how nice they may have sounded at first blush.
Having argued against other approaches and laid the groundwork for his own, Wright sets about constructing his own version of Jesus' message, ministry, and self-conception. For one unused to such things, Wright's Jesus will seem both intimately familiar and yet unabashedly foreign to us with our twentieth century pop-versions of the Man from Nazareth. Wright presents us with a Jesus who is unmistakably and thoroughly Jewish - this is not a European, Catholic, or Lutheran Jesus but one who is firmly set in his own time and culture and yet who, in both continuity and discontinuity with the Jews of his day, lays the groundwork for what would become Christianity, itself both continuous and discontinuous in various ways with Jesus.
Rather than presenting us with a divinity who walked around pretending to be a human or with an uber-spiritual Jesus whose only interest is in getting to the dying part of his life so he can provide people with spiritual fire insurance, we find an apocalyptic, eschatological Jesus at the center of whose message is the Kingdom of God, the coming of YHWH to reign, and the return from exile and complete restoration of Israel as reorganized around his Messianic person. This is a prophet preaching the end times and the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophets and other scriptures in his person, ministry, and followers - a representative for God's People whose job is to restore Israel from the curse of the Law by taking its punishment on himself in its stead.
Wright masterfully draws on the Old Testament and Jewish background of the time to probe into what Jesus really meant, what he really said, and what he really thought. I found this particularly compelling and mind-blowing when I first read it - suddenly much of the New Testament and Old Testament and the relations between them started to make sense.
If you use this book for nothing else, then looking up individual verses from the gospels in the index and reading Wright's compelling exegesis is well worth the cost of the book. I found it to be more valuable in leading a Bible study on Mark than most full-length commentaries.
Some caveats:
1. Though Wright has set out an amazingly strict methodology, there are a few places in his interpretation of specific verses where he doesn't seem to follow them to a T and you get the feeling that he's stretching a bit. Thankfully, these places are not super common and his arguments are such that even if some of his individual interpretations are questionable, the weight of the evidence he brings and the multiplicity of sources on which he draws makes this almost irrelevant for the strength of his arguments and the validity of his reasoning.
2. Since this is only the second volume in his series, there are many topics where he just leaves us hanging wanting to know more or expecting a fuller development. This may at times lead to grave misunderstandings of Wright's position on the divinity of Christ, the Second Coming, and the Atonement (among other things). A casual reader, for instance, may easily get the impression that Wright thinks of Jesus as divine but that Jesus did not know that he was divine. While Wright does support the idea of the trinity (see especially some of his other works) his position on Jesus' knowledge of his own divinity is more nuanced than a simple 'He didn't know'. What Wright says, in fact, is that, in a sense, he did know, but in a sense he didn't. Wright makes a distinction between at least two different kinds of knowledge and affirms Jesus' knowledge in one sense and denies it in the other. What those two kinds of knowledge are supposed to be is incredibly unclear and that people misunderstand him here is probably inevitable. Another easy misinterpretation is to think that Wright thinks that the Second Coming happened in AD 70. If you read carefully, however, (and if you have read anything else by him) you will see that he does believe in a still-to-come physical Second Coming that will usher in the consummation of God's Kingdom. He just doesn't think Mark 13 is about the Second Coming and for some very good reasons (though I'm still debating in my head whether he is right about the 'Son of Man' verse). Another easy misunderstanding is to think that Wright's position is that the Atonement did not provide forgiveness for individual sins. It's purpose, according to Wright, is to provide atonement for Israel's national sins but he also thinks that by doing this it also provides atonement for individual sin (though, unfortunately, he doesn't say this in this particular book).
3. Wright does not use John's Gospel very much. This is not because he thinks it is less trustworthy than the other gospels or because he wants to suppress it or its evidence. Instead, his attitude seems to be that he is not ready to take it into account or work on it - given his academic background, the synoptics are a much easier place for him to begin and if his conclusions or arguments need to be changed later to take John into account, then so be it. I believe, though, that he personally thinks that his views are all compatible with the evidence from John even if he doesn't always explicitly argue as such.
All this being said, I would heartily recommend this book for the person who:
1. Is able to read scholarly works.
2. Wants to do so.
3. Is interested in any topics like Jesus, the gospels, the origins of Christianity, Christianity's relation to Judaism, theology, the Bible, history, etc.
4. Is open-minded and willing to read and think carefully.
Book Description
Ten years ago a breakthrough book launched a ministry that has helped more than one million people overcome this world and win the battle for their hearts and minds. Now Neil Anderson has revised and expanded Victory over the Darkness for a new generation of readers, outlining practical and more productive ways to Christian growth based on Christ's promise: "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Victory Over the Darkness emphasizes the importance of believing and internalizing the cardinal truths of Scripture as a base from which to renew the mind and fend off Satan's relentless attempt to convince us that we are less than Christ empowers us to be.
Customer Reviews:
Serious Problems Enervate the Few Good Points.......2007-08-17
Neil Anderson is the author of several books related to spiritual warfare, Victory Over the Darkness and Bondage Breaker being the foundational works. Te continuing presence of his works on Christian Bookstore shelves is any indicator, Anderson's popularity has not waned significantly since 1990 when VOD was published. There is much to commend Anderson's writings, but underlying these are several flawed principles.
Anderson generally avoids the most sensationalistic attributes of the deliverance movement by stressing truth over power encounters: He recognizes that Satan's power is (mostly) in deception. He puts emphasis on personal responsibility for sin. He focuses on Christ's work in the believer's life as our source of strength. He attempts to derive his theology from the teaching epistles rather than historical gospel stories. He also stresses the importance of forgiveness in a believer's life. There is also a lot of good theology and practical wisdom throughout.
It is precisely all these good points that make it so difficult to notice the occasional error. When all of those errors add up, they lead to big problems. As one author has stated, it is like steak laced with arsenic. It tastes the same, looks the same, smells the same - and it's mostly steak. But that little bit of poison is enough. There are several problematic teachings that under gird Anderson's teachings such as: A faulty view of human nature regarding the flesh, the "old man," the "new man," and the spirit. Acceptance of pop psychology's view of self-identity. An unhealthy emphasis on demonic activity. Confusion of spiritual warfare and demonic possession. The belief that Christians can be demonized (essentially synonymous with possession). Acceptance of a widespread satanic network, territorial spirits, sex demons, generational curses, etc. Ritualistic methods of avoiding spiritual problems. A misrepresentation of Scriptural passages to support these teachings.
The biggest problem with these errors is that they not only lead to false conclusions, but tend to counteract the good teachings of Anderson as well. This sometimes has the appearance of "balance" but only when one ignores the obvious implications of Anderson's total teaching. For example, Anderson's emphasis on personal responsibility is abdicated by his insistence that Christians can reach a point where they lose control over their actions to demons that take over their lives because of past sins.
Anderson's problematic view on human nature, faulty view of sanctification, unhealthy focus on the demonic in the life of a believer, his view on what constitutes occult involvement, his uncritical acceptance of urban legends and subjective experiences to validate his claims, his poor handling of the Scriptural text in several areas, his misunderstanding of the authority of both Satan and man, his fusing of two different concepts regarding demonic influence, and the other problems listed here lead this author to the conclusion that Anderson's writings, while full of truth, contain enough error that they should not be trusted for good theology.
WONDERFUL.......2007-08-15
This book is awesome!!!! I loved every page.. helped me understand who I am in CHrist Highly recomend it to all ages!!!!
Good info but safe for mentally ill/emotionally unstable?.......2007-07-24
I read the book until I got to a story with a person with schizophrenia that had no hope of getting better and such. Yes there are lots of solid teaching and examples. Emotionally unstable/mentally ill may find this book to add frustration to their minds. I have been diagnosed with a thought/mood disorder and I found some of the material helpful but some of it to add to my frustration. This book has lead me to believe my illness is emotional or my perception and not chemical. I believe the author has no business of putting such stories without knowing or having current state of the character's/person's mental being. Those who suffer from voices, such as myself can be lead to believe they are really suffering from spiritual battlement when it really is a faulty brain.
I personally think this is a good book, all in all. I have trouble, if it's true, that my illness is from a lack of spiritual knowledge or plain knowledge of spiritual truths.
Know who you are "In Christ" .......2007-07-15
Neil Anderson has provided the Christian community with a great resource that will help the believer realize their identity in Christ. There are two particular charts in this book that are of great help. The fist is on page 51-52, it answers the question of who a person is once they are in Christ. The second chart is on page 64-65 and it describes who a person is, "since I am in Christ."
One of the things that I liked was that Anderson expressed theology before practicality. This is nice to see since many people only want practicality, as if careful practice requires no through to direct it, this is not the case in this book. All and all, you will learn a great deal from Andersons' book.
Worth reading a couple of times.......2007-05-26
While this book lacks academic and emotional depth, it is an excellent and practical book for people who are new to Christianity, who are struggling in their walk with Christ (ie. are in crisis), or who have been longtime nominal Christians and want to make their relationship with Christ more personal. And I recommend reading it twice.
Anderson has a tendency to blatant self-promotion that you will need to see past to get to the truth of what he is saying. His methods are somewhat superficial when dealing with a long-term day-to-day walk and the deeper needs of the human soul, but his ideas are sound. So I do highly recommend this book as a beginner or stepping-stone to deeper works.
Book Description
Many books have been written about the success of the West, analyzing why Europe was able to pull ahead of the rest of the world by the end of the Middle Ages. The most common explanations cite the West’s superior geography, commerce, and technology. Completely overlooked is the fact that faith in reason, rooted in Christianity’s commitment to rational theology, made all these developments possible. Simply put, the conventional wisdom that Western success depended upon overcoming religious barriers to progress is utter nonsense.
In
The Victory of Reason, Rodney Stark advances a revolutionary, controversial, and long overdue idea: that Christianity and its related institutions are, in fact, directly responsible for the most significant intellectual, political, scientific, and economic breakthroughs of the past millennium.
In Stark’s view, what has propelled the West is not the tension between secular and nonsecular society, nor the pitting of science and the humanities against religious belief. Christian theology, Stark asserts, is the very font of reason: While the world’s other great belief systems emphasized mystery, obedience, or introspection, Christianity alone embraced logic and reason as the path toward enlightenment, freedom, and progress. That is what made all the difference.
In explaining the West’s dominance, Stark convincingly debunks long-accepted “truths.” For instance, by contending that capitalism thrived centuries before there was a Protestant work ethic–or even Protestants–he counters the notion that the Protestant work ethic was responsible for kicking capitalism into overdrive. In the fifth century, Stark notes, Saint Augustine celebrated theological and material progress and the institution of “exuberant invention.” By contrast, long before Augustine, Aristotle had condemned commercial trade as “inconsistent with human virtue”–which helps further underscore that Augustine’s times were not the Dark Ages but the incubator for the West’s future glories.
This is a sweeping, multifaceted survey that takes readers from the Old World to the New, from the past to the present, overturning along the way not only centuries of prejudiced scholarship but the antireligious bias of our own time.
The Victory of Reason proves that what we most admire about our world–scientific progress, democratic rule, free commerce–is largely due to Christianity, through which we are all inheritors of this grand tradition.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Reason?.......2007-10-03
"Professor Stark is still a lonely voice in the academic wilderness, calling for us to embrace reason ... and honor the faith that has supported it for 2000 years." - reviewer
The tenets of Christian faith are antithetical to reason. The Bible as THE word of God, a fall from perfection in Eden that necessitated the death of a divine savior centuries in the future, the virgin birth, vicarious atonement by a divine savior resulting in the redemption of sinners from punishment required by the commission of original sin, resurrection from death of both savior and believers, and ascension into heaven of a living being are not the products of reason, but of melting-pot traditions of ancient tribal worldviews. The embrace of reason is a terrific idea; such tenets, however, aren't the products of reason, so it's difficult to see how belief in them as the basis for Christian faith could have led to a triumph of reason in the world at large---except through creative minds leaving them behind, and/or personally reinterpreting them in modernist ways while institutional creeds are left intact. As for the triumph of capitalism, its ultimate accomplishment may well prove to be the destruction of the planet.
Defense of Western Civilization.......2007-09-30
In an era of post-modernism and cultural relativism, Rodney Stark's thesis that because Christianity accepted reason and logic, commerce and freedom were able to take root and flourish in Western Europe.
The Christian God was not like Zeus sitting on Mt. Olympus ruling the world based on a whim. He is immutable or unchanging. Because the Christian God was immutable, its adherents saw coherency and consistency in their world. Think of it this way. The world's other great belief systems emphasized mystery, obedience, or introspection. Their world view did not include a perfect, unchanging God. The world could change on a whim. Science can not take root in a universe without coherence and consistency. That's the difference with the Christian God. As a result, the people of the Middle Ages began to become forward-thinking and predicative. Science was able to discover immutable laws that control the physical universe such as the Laws of Thermodynamics. The world was rational.
This rationality and reason also fostered the development of democracy and capitalism. Stark correctly points out that St. Augustine approved of commerce. In this world of rationality, the recognition of natural rights such as life, liberty and property occurred. This formed the basis of Western Civilization. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson essentially borrowed from John Locke's Second Treatise on Government (1690)--the rights accorded by "Nature and Nature's God." In the Declaration, these are described as "unalienable" rights. Western Civilization's sense of individualism would not exist without Christianity.
While post-modern, secularists will decry Christianity and all the evils they contend it portends, the reason they can is because of it. Stark makes the case eloquently and logically shattering myths along the way.
Outstanding description of the role of rational theology.......2007-08-02
Professor Stark, a Baylor University social sciences professor, has written a book that should complement recent works by men like Jared Diamond or Victor Davis Hanson, in explaining why the West, and especially why particular forms of Christianity have led to unique successes for its adherents around the present world. Stark has written to especially critique ideas in the famous book, the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Instead he argues that Christianity in general has led to forms of government and capitalism that have met with rounds of worldwide success.
Stark backs up his thesis with example and statistical analysis to show why western Christianity's core beliefs, that man knows God by further investigation and expanision of knowledge and that diversification of ideas and roles led to spin off ideas among industry, the family and government throughout Europe.
Reason for Stark is a direct child of Christianity. Greek philosophy may have had a lot to say about reason, and with the rise of Islam, much of Greek thought may have been preserved, but it was the special combination of Christian faith using reason, which led to things unforeseen in the world. In actuality, Irish monks had more access to ancient writings, often by a ration of 8:1 than did Islamic scholars. And what the Middle and Far East may have had in raw knowledge, they were able to do less with more because there was not application for reason in their faith, unlike western Christianity.
Two areas of history receive excellent examination by Stark: the middle ages, which according to his analysis, proved to be more rational and better equipped to handle the world than the later Renaissance, was the creator of international finance, multiple practical technological inventions and free institutions which later faded away as the high middle ages embraced reason without faith.
Finally, Stark compares and contrasts British North America with Latin America to attempt to show why these two regions are so different in wealth, general freedom and technological innovation. Probably the book uses statistics at its best with its comparison between feudal Latin America and capitalistic Anglo America. Because Christianity was separated from the state, the church flourished in ways it never did in the south, in active members and in influence on society. Stark attirbutes the economic output of Anglo America largely to the embrace of rational theology that began centuries ago, that ran through northern Italy, the low countries, Britain and later America and the rest of the Anglo nations.
Stark does not cheer lead for any particular side, but is very effective to show through his research that reason, Christianity, democratic reforms and capitalism are usually inseparable from each other. The author closes by asking if capitalism needs Christianity in today's world, and whether globilization has made capitalism's reliance on rational theology relevant. The conclusion is that they are forever linked, as evidenced by the explosion in the growth of the Christian faith and rational theology as the same time as globilization has spread the blessings of capitalism and freedom.
Great book that places many opinions in one package........2007-07-29
The book has few original ideas or beliefs, but it takes many opinions of many authors and places them in a book that appeals to people in today's society.
I would recommend it to anybody that wishes to educate themselves. The book takes common misconceptions to Western dominance of the modern world and reveals the true roots of western dominance.
It is a great tool useful in understanding how the economic and religious history of the Western world were and are related.
The Bright Ages.......2007-06-10
In the Acknowledgments, Rodney Stark says he intends this book for the general reader. If he means the casual reader, I'd say not quite. It's a bit too textbooky. I found myself engrossed by his thesis, and then kept reading to find evidence of it, of which there is plenty. Once he actually got into the nuts and bolts of Capitalism, and the history thereof, I got somewhat bogged down.
What I mainly learned from this book, to quote a Firesign Theatre record title, is that everything I know is wrong. I'm one of the few who learned the wrong things almost from their original sources, having read them in classes at college. These wrong things are generally believed, but most people never actually read these sources. One of them is that Capitalism arose from the Protestant work ethic after the Reformation. The other is the sustaining myth of the modern world, the Enlightenment (who named it that?) invention of the Dark Ages. What else didn't I know? That slavery was virtually wiped out of Europe by the end of the tenth century, and that when it returned in the New World, the pope excommunicated anyone who trafficked in slaves. The Enlightenment writers didn't mention that fact, since they were slave owners.
For me, the word "Capitalism" summons up the sort of abuses that Chesterton was always arguing against. But Stark, in very lengthy passages, explains its theory so that even this reader, with zero economic prowess, can grasp it. He shows that it can only flourish in a relatively free society, hence the "Western Success" of the subtitle. He also considers the paradox of "religious economies", concluding that state- established churches stagnate, while religious belief thrives in an environment of freedom and pluralism. The common core underlying that belief in the West is that the Creator has made a reasonable world that can be discovered by reason, a radically liberating idea that led to "Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success" in the Bright Ages.
Customer Reviews:
Still Good.......2007-01-05
This volume of the First Place series was not as moving as the others I have used; however, it is still a good study and you will be blessed with at least one revelation throughout the book - makes it worth the price and time.
Victory.......2007-01-03
This bible study is excellant in showing how we must remove those things that keep us from enjoying the victory that faith in Jesus guarantees.
Average customer rating:
- Good follow up!
- Graphic SF Reader
- Glorious!
- If you don't got it...Get it!!
- Great Story for any Bat Fan
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Batman: Dark Victory
Jeph Loeb , and
Tim Sale
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Batman: The Long Halloween
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Batman: Haunted Knight
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Batman: Hush, Vol. 1
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Batman: Hush, Vol. 2
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Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
ASIN: 1563898683 |
Customer Reviews:
Good follow up!.......2007-09-27
This was a great follow up, and quite possibly the 2nd best read for all batman readers
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
More post Year One Batman, as the Dark Knight and Commissioner Gordon struggle to solve the mystery of another bout of Holiday killings, this time of police personnel that used to be associated with Harvey Dent.
These killings spark off a battle between the supervillains of Gotham and the mob bosses, with Batman, the police, and a bent District Attorney in the middle.
When Batman takes in a young orphan boy, his skills start to help with the case, and the mystery that Loeb has skillfully created begins to be uncovered.
Glorious!.......2007-08-03
Like THE LONG HALLOWEEN before it, DARK VICTORY is a thoroughly enjoyable tale about the Dark Knight. A kind of "Year Two" story, Batman dives into the remnants of the Falcone crime organization and into the criminal activities of Harvey Dent, now the disfigured Two-Face. This has it all...great character development, lots of action, mystery, and beautiful art. Loeb is a master storyteller. If you like Batman, you'll love this book.
If you don't got it...Get it!!.......2007-06-12
This is definately a must have for any bat-fan bar none. This one has it all. Rich storyline, great art, and most of all a great Batman. This novel continues the epic stories of "Batman:Year One" and the follow-up "Batman:The Long Halloween." If you Haven't read Long Halloween, you should read that first or else you won't get the same excitement plus you'll be a little confused as to what in the world is going on. Anyway, here's my critique for some of the main characters.
Batman: Great. He is definately all the Dark Knight you want him to be. Skilled, Emotional yet Disciplined, while throwing some nasty punches. Gordon couldn't make it without him.
Robin: His story is told perfectly here. But I warn any robin fans (which are probably few) don't expect to see him in costume till near the very end.
Jim Gordon: Keeps the fantastic story of the Commissioners life in Gotham City that was started in Batman Year one. He knows that to get anything done, he's gonna need some help.
Harvey Dent/Two-Face: His story, also started in year one and mainly in Long Halloween, is excellent. It's the story of a District Attorney's fall from grace, and the roller-coaster-ride of an impact it has had between the relationships of Harvey, Gordon, and Batman. A valued friend has now become a dangerous and deadly enemy.
Catwoman: She plays a major role in this. Her relationship with Bruce/Batman is shaky for both of them in and out of costume. I love the surprise finding at the end where you finally see why she's been hanging around the Falcone family since Year One.
Overall, this is one great story and like I said in the title, If you don't got it...Get It!!!
Great Story for any Bat Fan.......2007-05-17
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have done it again. "Dark Victory" begins where "The Long Halloween" ended and creates a new intriguing murder mystery where once again, the obvious answers are the most unlikely and no one can be trusted. It continues to pay homage to the late 30's/early 40's noir style and madness that lurks on (and beneath) the streets of Gotham City.
The Gotham police force is slowly being annihilated by a killer known as "The Hangman" while the mafia families have united in a war against the crazed rogues of Arkham. Unfortunately, they've all escaped and established Two Face as their leader to control the city. Commissioner Gordon's security efforts are strained by the new no-nonsense district attorney, Janice Porter. Despite her prim and firm manners, her intentions are just as vague as the other "Dark Victory" characters.
Batman toils to discover the Hangman's identity but the memory of Harvey's demise still haunts him. Blaming himself for his friend's tragedy, Batman distances himself from close allies and gradually loses his identity as a human being. His relationship with Selina Kyle and Catwoman is a strained romance while his work life becomes a heavy toll worn on by Gordon's frustrations. "The only problem with being alone, Master Bruce, is being alone," Alfred notes.
As the Hangman's noose tightens around Gotham's finest, as the criminal war continues to devour sane and insane men alike, as both Bruce Wayne and Batman slip down the void of despair, he finds himself akin to a feisty but extraordinary person: Dick Grayson. A tiny but determined boy with piercing blue eyes and an adorable pout, Dick is tragically orphaned and finds his destiny interwtined with the Dark Knight. The origins of Robin make this story enticing for any big Bat-fan.
This story isn't about the transition from darkness to light as much as it is about finding inner strength and comfort by finding (and trusting) a friend. There are terrible loses and sacrifices for both Batman and Commissioner Gordon but they find respect for one another. Gordon is reunited with his family just as Batman constructs a surrogate family, a comfort to ease his troubled mind. The Hangman's reign terror cannot stop Dick from his want of justice and opportunity to become a better person. When he chooses to ally himself with Batman, both orphans emerge from the darkness wiser, determined, and no longer alone.
Book Description
The publication of The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road in 1972 marked the birth of the "new military history", which emphasized military organization--mobilization, pay, supply, morale and, above all, logistics--rather than military "events" such as sieges and battles. Constantly cited since its first publication in English (with translations into Spanish and Dutch), this revised updated second edition includes new sources and references but otherwise remains faithful to the original edition. First Edition Hb (1972): 0-521-08462-8 First Edition Pb (1975): 0-521-09907-2
Customer Reviews:
Spain at War.......2006-02-06
This is an internationally-renowned study of Spain's Flanders Army during the 80 year effort to suppress the Dutch Revolt. And justly famous it is too - due to the depth and care with which the anaysis is done, as Parker covers all the logistical problems encountered by early modern Spain, inlcuding finance, supply, recruitment, morale - pretty much everything you would need to know about the difficulties of military organisation in the period.
As such, the book opens a window on the problems mounting any type of large-scale operation by the early modern state: far from being a modern professional fighting force the Flanders Army was a collection of nationalities with which the Spanish government more often than not had to coax or encourage to fight on its behalf - a task complicated by the distance of the Netherlands from Spain and by the constant financial strains faced by the Spanish treasury.
Given such problems, it was a considerable achievement to keep the struggle going for so long, especially bearing in mind other challenges faced by the Spanish Empire, and it does give a lesson on how difficult it was (and remains) to maintain an effective military presence in a country far distant from home and whose inhabitants do not wish you to be there. A lesson which it seems is repeatedly forgotten.
G Rodgers
The last hurrah before Rocroi.......2002-06-13
This is one of those magnificent books for the specialist that stay below the radar of a general readership in History. The short narrative of the attack on the fortress of Maastricht is the stuff of martial legends, and worth the price of the book. G. Parker has become the foremost historian in English of Spain in 16th & 17th Century and specifically of the 30 Years War. This splendid monograph is the gold on the background of the Tercio's banners.
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