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January 1972 · Vol. 1 No. 1 · pp. 40–41 

Book Review

Demons

D. Jacobs. Scottdale, PA: Herald, 1976. 55 pages.

Reviewed by Vern Ratzlaff

At the MB Youth Conference in Banff, 1971, a workshop on {41} “biblical authority” drew six participants; at the same time, over 150 crowded to hear a lecture on “The Occult Today”. In this Focal Pamphlet #22, Jacobs (Mennonite missionary in East Africa) traces the theology of “demons” in the biblical text, makes reference to churches of the third world who have experiences similar to those in the biblical accounts, and suggests that the awareness of demons (i.e. a non-mechanistic interpretation of human behaviour) may well constitute the basis of some of our own society’s disorientation.

Matties outlines the basic approaches of the occult—astrology, tarot, numerology, etc.—and suggests that the popularity of the occult is a reflection of man’s emotional and psychic needs. To the extent that the church offers only rationalistic frameworks of expression, and does not adequately provide opportunities for celebration, play and community, to that extent the occult will detract men from the truth which the Spirit seeks to make them aware of.

Vern Ratzlaff,
MB Bible College.

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