Your Story Has a Villain: Identify Spiritual Warfare and Learn How to Defeat the Enemy

While cast in popular culture as a “chubby little red guy with horns and a pitchfork,” Satan—along with other evil spirits “whose sole mission is to oppose God and his plans”—constitutes a pressing threat to believers, according to this overzealous guide. Pastor Pokluda (Why Do I Do What I Don’t Want to Do?) characterizes “the Enemy” as a pervasive force with “an active plot to cause you pain and suffering” that particularly enjoys “enslaving” believers to “sin, addiction, and anything else” that distracts from their faith. Much of the author’s advice comes down to living a life so suffused with faith that the devil can find no way in—a “constant, daily process” of “filling your mind with truth” via scripture, religious podcasts, and worship songs. Unfortunately, Pokluda’s passion too frequently shades into hyperbole and fearmongering (“When you are scrolling through social media comparing your life to others, [Satan] is involved. When you want to buy something you hope will make you happy, he is involved.... You are at war”). To make matters worse, the book’s explanation for why God created Satan in the first place—namely, that his temptation gives believers an opportunity to cement their trust in God—feels insufficient. This fails to convince. (Jan.)