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The Influence (2012)
Matthew John Slick
StoneHouse Ink
If have read the previous posts on this blog, you’ll know
that I am a fan of Frank Peretti.
Despite some very real and important theological problems, his books are
fun and generally point to an important issue in Christian life.
So when I heard about this book by Matt Slick, I was pretty
excited. I like Slick’s radio show and
articles, and while there are still some definite differences in my theology
and his, he has considerably better footing than Peretti does. In fact, the continuation of the charismatic
gifts is really the only major area where I differ with him that I can think of
off the top of my head, though I’m sure I’d think of something else if I tried.
So I went into this book with great excitement, and I was
generally not disappointed.
The Writing
First of all, the book itself is somewhat of a combination
of The Shack and This Present Darkness, though with better theology than
either. Which is good, because This Present Darkness had a couple of major
problems and The Shack was a major problem
from start to finish.
But this is a story that follows the angels and demons,
their battles and plots, and their interaction with the world, which is very
Peretti-like, but primarily it is the story of a man trying to find answers
after the death of his son, and he is given the chance to discuss those very
questions with an angel.
The connection to the previous two books cannot be
overstated, and to the point where I wonder if it was not intentional
(especially the connection to The Shack,
since it was more recent and very popular).
As a writer, we have our influences (pun intended), and we cannot escape
from them. Nor should we try to escape
from them. But we also shouldn’t have
them so prominent that we wonder if we aren’t reading a different version of
the same book. Or perhaps I should say a
direct response to The Shack, which
was honestly something I considered writing myself, but never got to.
But as we get through the first few chapters, we start to
see that it is not at all the same book.
There is a plot here – a real attack on a family and what happens
there. We see the schemes of the demons
unfold and take form, and how it plays out to God’s glory.
And in that there are some powerful moments. Spoiler alert – this paragraph only. The main character has a death experience and
finds himself condemned to hell. Despite
the fact that he is the protagonist, he comes to recognize that his sin is great,
and that he deserves that fate.
Additionally, the angels allow one woman to meet her aborted child, who
is now in heaven. The humanizing effect
of that scene was really wonderful. You
saw this child as a person, and the woman comes face-to-face with the murder
she once committed.
The writing is descriptive and good, and despite the fact
that there isn’t a ton of plot here, the pacing is very nice, creepy at parts,
but keeps you reading.
It is clearly the work of a new writer though, and sometimes
the scenes don’t come together quite as well as they should. (I’m thinking particularly of the scene
toward the end – spoiler alert – where husband and wife are both trying to tell
each other that they have become Christians.
It was just clunky.)
That being said, the whole of it is intriguing and well
done.
Prophecy and visions
On the theological side, almost everything the angel says is
something that I would Amen, and it is good to see it in story form, played out
like that. There is good discussion of
God’s goodness and holiness, of sin and punishment. The Gospel is clearly portrayed, and not merely
in the evangelistic postscript to the story (which I don’t necessarily think
was needed, but I’m okay with), but in the story itself. There is a sense sometimes that the theology
is narrated separate from the story itself, but it does come together and is
important to what is happening there.
But my problem with it is exactly where Slick and I disagree
– prophecy and visions. The plot here is
driven by these elements, not so much in the appearance of the angel, but also
in the way the pastor deals with everyone around him.
As an example, the pastor suddenly blurts out to a woman
that her husband is being attacked by demons and they are trying to kill him. He then calls a good portion of his
congregation in the middle of the night on the basis of a dream. They constantly make important decisions
based on “feelings” of what they are supposed to do. Most of the decisions that the Christian
characters make in this book are because of these feelings.
Can you imagine life under this sort of theology? I can!
I was there once! Trying to
interpret ever emotion, telling people that you are having a “feeling” about
them, etc. It’s a life of fear and
paranoia. It’s a life where the secret
things of the Lord, things we are not privileged to, become matters of Law and
sin. I’ve been in many conversations
where I am expected to do something because someone else had a “feeling” about
it, like God was speaking to them that I’m supposed to act in a certain way. It’s not a life of freedom, but of
oppression, and this is something that I wish our charismatic brothers and
sisters would realize. Their bad
theology on this point has real consequences.
Frankly, this pastor would drive his congregation
batty! I mean, what happens when he has
some pizza too late at night and has a crazy dream because of that. Does he call everyone and tell them that
demons are after them? What makes him
decide whether to scare people about demonic activity that he has a feeling
about and when to keep it to himself?
And this happens all the time! It’s constantly going on, with people telling
others about crazy things that are happening and will happen and all because “I
think God is telling me this about you.”
We all believe in the guidance of the Spirit, but this is
not what the Bible talks about when it’s referring to the guidance of the
Spirit. If you think you are a prophet
of God, then hold yourself to the standard of a prophet, which is 100%
accuracy. If you mess up once, the
sentence is death. I really wish people
would consider that, because maybe then there would be less of nonsensical
talk.
Making proclamations about what God says when he did not say
that is a horrible sin. It’s called
blasphemy. This is not something we
should be brushing off. It’s not
something to toy with. When you equate
your own feelings and emotions with declarations from God, you are doing a
horrible, horrible thing, and you need to repent!
So let’s please quit scaring women in hospitals or waking up
everyone just based on a dream until you have more information.
Conclusion
My criticism out of the way, I think it is a worthwhile
read, especially for those gut-punch moments where the story really makes you
consider your own life and sin. It is a
good tool to have some theological discussions or consideration in a fiction
format, and Christians as a whole have done a very poor job in using fiction to
discuss good theology. Christian fiction
is normally used for Amish romances and really off-the-wall stuff, so I’m happy
to see Slick trying to move things in a good direction here.
Please support him in that effort! I think you will enjoy the book.
