{"id":7619,"date":"2006-10-22T19:45:31","date_gmt":"2006-10-23T00:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=7619"},"modified":"2019-08-17T19:48:38","modified_gmt":"2019-08-18T00:48:38","slug":"is-it-wrong-to-read-books-about-how-satan-operates-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-read-books-about-how-satan-operates-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it wrong to read books about how Satan operates in the world?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>Thank you for your website. I enjoy reading the articles as well as the questions and answers. You have helped me in several areas of research. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find Christians who speak from a biblical perspective. I appreciate your candor and adherence to Scripture.<\/p>\n<p>My question relates to demonic warfare. Is it wrong to read books that outline details of how Satan operates in today&#8217;s world? More specifically, I have a book written by a former Satan worshipper. Is it wrong to read books like this (I haven&#8217;t read it yet)? Is this covered in Ephesians 5:11? Is reading about it the same as &#8220;fellowshipping&#8221; with it?<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>If it was wrong to read about how Satan operates, then we would be hard-pressed to read the Bible since it contains passages like &#8220;<em>Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour<\/em>&#8221; (I Peter 5:8).<\/p>\n<p>Paul wrote, &#8220;<em>And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light<\/em>&#8221; (Ephesians 5:11-13). By this, we learn that we are not to participate, or have a share, in the evil deeds being done. Thus, I wouldn&#8217;t buy or read a book that advocates sins, such as Satan worship. I don&#8217;t want my actions and money supporting things that are wrong. In speaking of the decay of the Gentile society, Paul said the wicked, &#8220;<em>who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them<\/em>&#8221; (Romans 1:32).<\/p>\n<p>Since you state the book is written by a former Satan worshiper, I assume that it is an expose&#8217; of the evils done by these people, as such it may be of use in noting the signs of people getting caught up in the practice or it might help you understand the reasons people become involved. This knowledge can be useful in preparing ways to bring them out of the sin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: Thank you for your website. I enjoy reading the articles as well as the questions and answers. You have helped me in several areas of research. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find Christians who speak from a biblical perspective. I appreciate your candor and adherence to Scripture. My question relates to demonic warfare.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[253,235],"class_list":["post-7619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-fellowship","tag-satan"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8325,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-jude-9-linked-to-zechariah-32\/","url_meta":{"origin":7619,"position":0},"title":"Why is Jude 9 linked to Zechariah 3:2?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about the book of Jude. In particular, verse 9. It talks about the archangel Michael and the devil in a dispute about the body of Moses. I had not read this before, or at least don't remember it. At the bottom of the page, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35742,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-read-books-like-fifty-shades-of-grey\/","url_meta":{"origin":7619,"position":1},"title":"Is it wrong to read books like Fifty Shades of Grey?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. I have a question about books like Fifty Shades of Grey. Though I have no interest in reading them, I have a few friends and family members who do. I was wondering if reading things like that would be wrong? and if so how could I tell them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9186,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-satan-hear-our-internal-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":7619,"position":2},"title":"Can Satan hear our internal prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 31, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Who can hear our silent prayers -- those prayers that are thought in our minds but not verbalized? Isn't God the only one who can read our minds and hearts? Satan cannot hear our thoughts, can he? Answer: In dedicating the temple, Solomon prayed, \"whatever prayer, whatever supplication is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45356,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-satan-female-in-hebrew\/","url_meta":{"origin":7619,"position":3},"title":"Isn&#8217;t Satan female in Hebrew?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding your post,\u00a0Is Satan female?: if you were studying Hebrew you would know that Satan is a woman, so why is does your answer cite the English? If an early translator took a Hebrew word that means \"she who bears many children\" and chose to translate it as \"set\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83119,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pagan-ways-transferred-to-christians-looking-for-signs\/","url_meta":{"origin":7619,"position":4},"title":"Pagan Ways Transferred to Christians: Looking for Signs","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton On the Isle of Malta, Paul found some friendly natives. When a viper bit Paul, these people read that as a sign. They were wrong, and people who try to read events as signs today are borrowing from paganism. In Acts 28:1-4, the natives read the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3725,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-answer-some-questions-about-satan-and-hell\/","url_meta":{"origin":7619,"position":5},"title":"Can you answer some questions about Satan and Hell?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: As I understand it, Satan was an angel who was cast out of heaven into the depths of hell. Did God create hell? Does Satan rule hell? Is hell a place? Is Satan just one person, or being, or are there many who help him? If Satan was cast\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7619\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}