Nightfall ushers in its own set of terrors. With every external light ablaze until dawn, I find solace in the illusion of visibility. But every creak, every rustle throws me into high alert, compelling me to scour the house for signs of the looming threat. The dining room becomes my vantage point, a silent sentinel observing the outdoors from three angles. The very shadows that were once familiar now become menacing. Surprisingly, I find myself longing for the weighty presence of the .357 Magnum, an army relic from my days in Military Intelligence. That very tool I once detested, aware of the devastation it could unleash, now symbolized security. Its potential for destruction was a deterrent I yearned for, a beacon to ward off any audacious intruders, and shield my family from the unknown horrors that lay beyond our walls.

Despite his initial adamant refusal to cooperate, the newly successful entrepreneur, Nick Adams, is reluctantly coerced into becoming an essential part of the US government agency formed specially to entrap two of the worlds richest and most powerful Mega Tycoons. He is caught up in a spiral of murder, conspiracy, political corruption, sexual abuse and blackmail and is thrown into a nest of unscrupulous venal vipers intent upon fiscal greed at any cost. The secretive complicated plan involving Billions encompasses North America, the Caribbean and Europe. Careless pillow talk brings unwanted attention from darker forces bent on high jacking the meticulously planned financial double cross at whatever cost to anything or anyone that would dare to obstruct their relentless ruthless ambition. Nick is invited to supp with the Devil, it is his choice whether to eat from the proffered long silver spoon....

First published in 1652, Thomas Brooks' "Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices" offers insights into the snares and schemes of the devil which are timely and relevant for today. Though centuries have passed since its writing, this timeless classic remains an amazing work of teaching on the thousands of ways Satan seeks to destroy every Christian and the thousands of ways God has provided every Christian to defeat Satan's nefarious schemes. In true Puritan style, this book is a serious tome in which the author minces no words and gets straight to the point. The good news is that, though Satan is vicious in his drive to destroy God's people, he can and must be withstood! As this book explain, God makes victory possible by strengthening His people to overcome the Tempter. An earnest, passionate, and deadly serious author, Brooks spared no effort or source to persuade and plead with his readers. His method is to lead off with one of Satan's devices (some lie that Satan seeks to impress upon us) and then show the reader various ways to combat that particular device (the remedies). Like other Puritan books of his day, Brook's writing is solidly Biblical. Almost every remedy Brooks offers reminds the reader of some Biblical truth-urging them to think on it, consider, ponder and soak it in. Instead of some magic mantra or special prayer tactic, Brooks simply shines the light of Scriptures on the problems each Christian will face. Brooks was fond of quoting "wise heathens" (such as Zeno and Seneca) in his writing. His willingness to draw from non-Biblical sources is a good example of just how broadminded the Puritans really were, even as they walked the straight and narrow. The free use of Biblical truth from the lips of pagan authors shows a breadth of thinking and outlook often unattributed to Christian authors of such unbending theology and purpose.

“Kotsko goes beyond the biography of an icon to a provocative investigation of the devil’s many lives and effects in cultural and political ideologies.” —Laurel C. Schneider, author of Beyond Monotheism The most enduring challenge to traditional monotheism is the problem of evil, which attempts to reconcile three incompatible propositions: God is all-good, God is all-powerful, and evil happens. The Prince of This World traces the story of one of the most influential attempts to square this circle: the offloading of responsibility for evil onto one of God’s rebellious creatures. In this striking reexamination, the devil’s story is bitterly ironic, full of tragic reversals. He emerges as a theological symbol who helps oppressed communities cope with the trauma of unjust persecution, torture, and death at the hands of political authorities and eventually becomes a vehicle to justify oppression at the hands of Christian rulers. And he evolves alongside the biblical God, who at first presents himself as the liberator of the oppressed but ends up a cruel ruler who delights in the infliction of suffering on his friends and enemies alike. In other words, this is the story of how God becomes the devil—a devil who remains with us in our ostensibly secular age. “This diabolically gripping genealogy offers a stunning parable of western politics religious and secular. It tracks as has never been done before the dramatic shifts of the relation between God and the Devil—conflict, rivalry, game of mirrors, fusion. With the ironic wisdom of a postmodern Beatrice, Kotsko guides us through the sequence of hells that leads to our own.” —Catherine Keller, author of On the Mystery: Discerning Divinity in Process

Examining the impact of the English and European Reformations on social interaction and community harmony, this volume simultaneously highlights the tension and degree of accommodation amongst ordinary people when faced with religious and social upheaval. Building on previous literature which has characterised the progress of the Reformation as 'slow' and 'piecemeal', this volume furthers our understanding of the process of negotiation at the most fundamental social and political levels - in the family, the household, and the parish. The essays further research in the field of religious toleration and social interaction in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries in both Britain and the wider European context. The contributors are amongst the leading researchers in the fields of religious toleration and denominational history, and their essays combine new archival research with current debates in the field. Additionally, the collection seeks to celebrate the career of Professor Bill Sheils, Head of the Department of History at the University of York, for his on-going contributions to historians' understanding of non-conformity (both Catholic and Protestant) in Reformation and post-Reformation England.

Topics include the decline of the witchcraft trials and the role of witchcraft and magic in enlightenment, romantic, and liberal thought.

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