The reign of terror in the Anabaptist Kingdom.
596145
This is a good, original story of radicals in the Reformation movement taking a town over and transforming it into a theocracy.
Munster had a uneasy alliance of Catholics and Lutherians who tolerated each other.  The radical Anabaptists took over the town
and forced Catholics and moderate elements to leave the city.  The Prince Bishop which ruled Munster opposed them.  Two Jans
transformed the city into a Nazi like state.  I agree with the review that the final chapter was a stretch in how it related to modern movements.  Arthur wanted to say that history repeats itself.  The final chapter could have been cut down.  Also in the beginning, more focus could have been given the Anabaptist beliefs.  A good short read.
1192339
This book is a #1 thriller.  An eclectic group of people coming together to fight evil with God as their leader. Believers and non believers both will enjoy this exciting battle.
4939887
This is one of my favorite books.  Anabaptists appeared to be a genuine movement of the Spirit.  The Spirit didn't stay with the name "Anabaptists" but God is raising up men and women today as well.
1529129
"On every side the wicked prowl
 as vileness is exalted among the children of men."
 (Psalm 12:8)

It's a crying shame what is happening to the ekklesia these days, however the discerning believer knows that apostacy is inevitable.  So we find ourselves on the one hand lamenting the proliferation of evil in the world, but on the other hand  rejoicing in the Word of God and the irrefutable reality of prophetic fulfillment.
3690926
Spiritual terrorism is one of the most overlooked abuses, putting paralyzing fear into intelligent well meaning Christians believing their acceptance of eternal torment is obedience to the word of God.
Boyd Purcell exposes the damage of this heresy passed down through generations using scriptural facts to back up his findings.
"Spiritual Schizophrenia" one of the chapters speaks of the impossibility of worshipping a God you cannot trust. You could not fathom doing to your loved ones what you've understood God will do to those who haven't had the fortune to know Him or chose not to believe.
Boyd does not present questions without answers. This is not a book with only a hope and a wish that God were only half as loving as us. He gives us sound evidence from scripture and with the wisdom and mind of Christ I hope this book serves as a means to bring peace to the many in despair for their unbelieving loved ones and those they've lost.
1595892
We lived in Bismarck, ND at that time and I remember the "goings on" with the cult activities. The cult frequented a park a couple miles from our house where young people gathered at night. My children saw them across the street at the top of the hill in a ritutal around a bonfire. They were scared and came running home. I remember the dead dogs and cattle with no blood in them but otherwise the bodies were healthy. The place they met south of town and close to a Univerity (more young people). You saw them walking with red vests with their Priestly garb and upside down crosses. We also know the young lady killed in Stanford University chapel and her husband (now a Dr in Child Paycology). Maurey covered it well and I can not imagine all the time and energy he has put into the update. Wonderful!! A must read!!
1119445
The year 1538 in Dinfoil, Germany. This is a dark time in history. It is a time when the Bible wasn't as available as it is today. There was no readily available translation of the Bible in a commoner's language. So most relied on whatever the church taught as truth. Most commoners couldn't read anyway.

It is a time when women were specifically banned from reading the Scripture. They were denied a voice in the church and persecuted for their distinct gender differences, so women frequently turned to folk magic for help.

Thus the book, Wolves Among Us by Ginger Garrett begins. We find ourselves in the small town of Dinfoil, Germany where we meet Stefan, the local priest of the church, who has a particular disdain for women. He truly believes all problems that befall a woman or her family is the result of her undisclosed sin. He insists that all of his people attend Mass daily and makes confession a requirement. He favors the men of the town and often overlooks their indiscretions once again blaming the women for men falling away in lust or getting drunk in town. The women must confess and repent.

Here we meet Mia who is the outcast of the town. She is the sheriff's wife and has no friends among the women. She is the only one who will not visit the "healer" on the outskirts of town in hopes of finding a cure for her daughter Alma who can't breathe most days and has a cough that will claim her life if Mia can't help her. The priest claims it's her sin of pride that is preventing her from getting well. However Mia will continue to pray as often as she can for God to heal her child. In addition, she cares for Marguerite, an ailing and deaf mother of her husband Bjorn.

The events in the story will lead to a crossroads of good and evil when two local townspeople are found murdered on the steps of the church. The priest believes that an unseen evil of witches has afflicted his town and sends for the Inquisitor who will reveal where the evil witches live and restore the town to holiness no matter what the cost.

I was captivated by this story that Ginger Garret has woven in the pages of Wolves Among Us using the details from the early days of church history to tell a heart pounding story of witch hunts in a small town and how the town will eventually turn against itself until Mia reveals the truth in her past. I received the book compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review. This one hands down scores a 5 out of 5 stars. This is the second book I've read of Ginger's and she truly has a master talent for weaving a story that will capture your attention and your heart.
2885838
This is book #2 in this series. The first book was about the political corruption in the area. This was about pioneering missionaries settling and starting a new life. Their struggles with racial prejudging and their faith was expressed so vividly by the author. Some of the locals had greater faith than the. Missionaries, but hatred and bitterness was the source of many of the confrontations. I felt like was living amongst them while reading this tale.
1645106
I am a totally Tudor fan - obsessed with the concept of divine power.  "Tudors" is highly readable, well researched and scholarly.  Henry the VIII's fiddling with the "true" religion was ultimately the downfall of a powerful monarchy.  The book describes the mores of the times, clothes and the violent, horrible and clearly un-human punishment visited on those whose views were considered traitorous or treasonous. I do disagree with Ackroyd as he brushes off Tudor brutality with the comment that one century cannot judge the actions of a past century.  If so, what is the point of history? The cruelty of the rack and the bestiality of burning at stake unleashed animalistic behavior and a circus atmosphere that cannot be pardoned.
572287
This movie will open one's eyes to see what the insidious manner in which the Word of God is being attacked.
17098
Having spent forty years in this warfare (physical and spiritual), I find this is the book for people to really understand the demise of our great nation. The quote of Luke 4:1-13 in the beginning of the book -- tells it all!
The occult Temple of the United Nations with it's political-economic-religious globalization hope  could well be the initial slithering into Revelation 13 - 19.
4005676
This book offers a forest of info on the many groups of so-called barbarians, who transformed to Roman Empire into Medieval Europe. To counter simplistic stereotypes of these people, Randers-Pehrson goes in for almost overwhelming detail on the particular histories and cultural contributions of many groups. She shows they were civilized in their own ways, and were more hungry for culture than destroyers of it. They were more often mercenaries for the Romans than invaders, and wanted jobs more than loot. Also, they could not be typified as pagans against Roman Christians. For example, the Goths of Alaric were mainly Arian Christians, and the Berber rebels in North Africa were largely Donatist Christians.

The situation she describes in North Africa was especially fascinating to me. There, the economic and social inequality of ethnic groups led to revolt, and the colonized rebels claimed to stand for an alternative church. Perhaps naturally, these rebel Christians and loyal supporters of the state-backed church labeled each other as servants of Satan. In the countryside, angry young men, thirsting for vengeance on an unjust world, rallied to bands of terrorists known as the Circumcellians (or "prowlers"). These gangs were loosely associated with the Donatist cause, perhaps like the Irish Republican Army claimed to fight for Irish Catholicism. But the Circumcellians grew exceptionally indiscriminate in their attacks. For many of them, any persons of authority or wealth served as symbols of an evil system, be they tax collectors, slave holders, Catholic priests or successful merchants. Any of these, with their families, were fair game for God's wrath. The terrorists cited scripture, that Jesus and the God of justice would serve every oppressor a fittingly horrible end. Some rebels claimed that in God's kingdom all payment of debts must cease. Slave owners must change places with their slaves, and run like beasts of burden before their carts. So the revolt against corrupt clergymen joined hands with a more general rebellion of African plantation workers and slaves.

In many episodes, Randers Pehrson's confusing bizzard of names and battles gives way to fascinating stories. The stories illuminate shifts in people's lives and thinking, which marked an emerging new civilization. In the new post-Roman Europe, the thrones of almost every nation would be occupied by "barbarian" royal families.

author or The Gardens of Their Dreams
3875070
Interesting tale of a cult's attempt to remoraluze the world.
4521080
Molly Neely has given us a historical look into a battle between evil and faith that spans millennia. This is a well written novel that introduces the reader into events of the past along with her views on the Savior, Saint Peter and the Arch Angel Michael.

Malachi is the half breed son of a demon and a human that fights within himself which half to covet. He knows he wants to be human, but the constant intimidation and pressure provided by Lucifers minions make it difficult to obtain as they constantly eliminate his allies.

Father Caleb is a modern day priest that struggles with his faith due to his past. He has a successful church and promising flock. Then he is suddenly thrust into the Malachi dilemma.

This is an exciting read.
4042934
Good read that lays out the history of the attacks (war) the christian community has endured over the years, as it relates to our current evil culture, it has inspired me to go out in the full Armour of God's which he promises us to fight the spiritual battle between good and evil! Great Read
2897406
Little Ronald Earl Pettway's childhood was a harrowing tale that would bring anyone to tears, but it was all part of God's Will to lead him to his fiery anointing as a disciple and preacher of God's Word. People have lined up to hear his blistering preaching and see his miraculous healing since he was only 10 years old and reborn by the Holy Spirit in Texas --- Little Texas. Now at 16, Little Texas is facing adolescence and some nagging doubt about whether or not he's still cut out to fight the wicked and injustice of the world.

At a usual tent revival of The Church of the Hand, people are led forward by Miss Wanda Joy, Little Texas's aunt and head of the whole operation, to be healed by Little Texas. After sore hips and bad back problems are healed, a family pleads with him to heal their daughter Lucy, a girl in a blue dress who is in agonizing pain. Little Texas fumbles, however, and while he does place his hands on her, the whole situation just doesn't feel right. He turns to his mentor, 87-year-old Sugar Tom, for help. Sugar Tom and Certain Certain, a South Carolina slave descendant, tell Little Texas not to fret and remind him that he has been chosen by God to spread His Word.

The show must go on. The Church of the Hand continues their tent revival in the South, and people continue to come to hear the amazing preaching of Little Texas --- especially a girl in blue. At first Little Texas is relieved to see Lucy healed from her malady, but when she starts popping up in his dreams, he questions his sanity and falters in his preaching. After one particular revival meeting gone bad, Miss Wanda Joy presents Little Texas with the ultimate preaching challenge: Devil Hill. Located on an old Southern plantation, Devil Hill is home to the legendary ill-fated revival where it is rumored that evil itself swept over the meeting and gobbled up the last preacher.

To make matters worse, Lucy is now a ghostly form that continually haunts Little Texas when he is awake. Somehow she is connected to the evil presence on Devil Hill and will stop at nothing until he confronts what lies in the dark. As people travel to hear Little Texas one more time, will he be able to be God's chosen instrument, or will he give in to his biggest fear --- that he's a fraud?

I've never personally been to a revival, but R.A. Nelson provides numerous excellent examples of the preaching that help you understand how it can captivate an audience: "The dead in Christ shall rise, ah! Take His hand, ah! No man knoweth when his time cometh, ah! I say no man knoweth, ah! And those who do not repent, ah! shall be cast into the lake of everlasting fire, ah!"

Some people may also question the motivation behind some revivals as strictly monetary gain, but you never get that sense from Little Texas. He is the real deal and truly believes he was born to preach and bring others to the Word. It is what makes him such an endearing character. The fire and brimstone preaching and the thrilling ghostly encounters make DAYS OF LITTLE TEXAS a gripping page-turner.

  --- Reviewed by Benjamin Boch
4632218
Very insperational. I understand Saul's conversion more clearly. I also felt the fear of the apostles when Paul came to seek their blessing.