Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption

I found this book fascinating. It recounts two exorcisms by M. Scott Peck. If you are unaware of possession by evil spirits or ambivalent about evil, this will certainly give you more to think about. I found that his descriptions of the exorcisms to be interesting, (not in the way the movie The Exorcist displayed it) but more clinical and analytical. I have also read Hostage to the Devil by Malachi Martin and it is more mysterious in his accounting of the 5 exorcisms. M. Scott Peck actually knew Malachi Martin and this is how he came to understand evil and the fact that people can become possessed by evil. I like that M. Scott Peck is a credible writer and therapist and used his background in psychology to begin his adventure (research) into this area of the human experience. I agree that not all of human experience can be determined through scientific methods and I wonder if there are more writers/therapists out there now that have continued with this theory?

GLIMPSES OF THE DEVIL, Peck's lengthy report on two exorcisms he performed, is a fascinating book for several reasons. Not least of all is that this book was Peck's last book, published the year of his death from cancer at the age of 69. Given his extraordinary career as a best-selling author and psychiatrist, it should be read by those interested in Peck and in one of his chief interests, the relationship between mental health and Christian spirituality. It is also fascinating because he means it to be a contribution to science. It is not every day that a scientist publishes research on the Devil. This is not the book to read if one wants to learn how to free people from the grip of the Devil. The chief place to begin to learn how to free people from the grip of the Devil is first, the Gospels, second, the rest of the New Testament, and third, the rest of the Bible. Peck at a number of places in this book acknowledges his dependence on Christ for his work as an exorcist. But there is no systematic discussion of biblical teaching on exorcism. There is more discussion of what he had learned from his mentor, the author and exorcist, Malachi Martin. But that is because Peck does not mean this book to be a manual. It is a report on what he considers scientific research. Based on my study and experience of exorcism, the most important thing to keep in mind when discussing the Devil is what John, the disciple of Christ, wrote to followers of Christ: "the one who is in you [meaning the Holy Spirit] is greater than the one who is in the world [meaning the Devil]" (1 Jn. 4:4b). One should also keep in mind what another of Christ's disciples wrote: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up" (James 4:7-10). Submission to God in trust and humility is what enables one to resist the Devil successfully, as well as exorcise any evil spirit. It is interesting that Peck considers the second exorcism he performed a failure and a mistake, at least in part because he was not sufficiently humble. Peck, like many, errs in speaking of demonic and satanic POSSESSION. Ownership or possession is a frequent biblical image, but it is never said that demons or Satan own or possess humans. They are certainly said to influence humans for the worse, but they do not own them. A fundamental truth that pertains to this subject is, "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" (Psalm 24:1). The teaching of the sovereignty of God is woven throughout the entire Bible. When we imagine that the demonic possesses its victims we grant the Devil more than he is due and we disadvantage ourselves in our effort to combat the Devil. It is not simply

i am extremely surprised that some have thought poorly of this book. i found it everything i wanted. it is factual, matter of fact, and totally compelling. i was very sorry it didn't go on for another 1000 pages. in addition, this book didn't scare me at all, whereas Malachi Martin's book was more frightening. i find it laughable that some reviewers of Peck's spiritual journey think he has gone in the wrong direction. i would also recommend reading Martin Malachi's book too, the name of which i forget. the writing styles are so different. i much preferred Peck's style. there were times when reading Malachi's book that i thought the author was a bit too taken with his writing abilities, which are noteworthy.

I read M.Scott Peck's "Glimpses of the Devil" over a 24 hour period, something I don't do with books that aren't "interesting." I could hardly put it down. Anyone who read "People of the Lie" will remember one of the final, gripping chapters on possession and demonology, in which Peck makes brief mention of his attendance at two exorcisms. This book is the long-awaited (in my case, at least) in-depth description of those two exorcisms. We meet the victims, learn about their lives up to and following Peck's work with them, and - as far as this skeptical "wanna-believer" is concerned - quite possibly meet Satan. When a doctor as committed to the scientific method as Peck - who initially interviewed the first victim with the intention of proving to himself that there was no Devil - states unequivocally that he felt the presence of something inhuman in the room where he and his team were treating the victim, I find myself inclined to believe him. The prior reviewer criticizes Peck "for failing to make his cases interesting by weaving personal histories of the victims" with an analysis of why an evil spirit would be interested in them in the first place. I frankly don't know what this reviewer is talking about; Peck spends a great deal of time speculating (which is all one can really do when it comes to a matter such as possession) as to how his two patients became possessed, why they were chosen, why, in fact, some people become possessed and others don't. As far as his being smug and arrogant for taking on the role of exorcist after only a few years as a Christian, the previous reviewer fails to mention that Peck ASKED Malachi Martin to do the exorcism, but Malachi refused; and he then searched for as long as he could to find an experienced exorcist. When no one was available, and he felt the situation was critical, only then did he take on this role. As far as sullying the name of the late Malachi Martin, my memory (I don't have the book with me as I write this) is that, while Peck does write about Martin's apparent tendency to stretch the truth about certain things, he also goes out of his way to express his love and respect for Martin. This is a fascinating, and frightening, book, and a more than worthy follow-up to "People of the Lie."

I stayed and read the first half of this well-thought-out (and to me, shocking) book before even leaving the coffee-shop at Borders. Dr. Peck carves out accessible spots for the lay reader to better understand three complex, troubling and not well codified or discussed areas: 1) psychiatric identification of clients who might be possessed and treatable by exorcism, 2) dynamics of team leadership during an exorcism, and 3) referrals for psychotherapy or psychiatric follow-up after an exorcism has been performed. While alternative analyses abound, he makes a compelling case for the clarity of his approach and analyses in these two cases. I liked the fact that Dr. Peck continually stresses the rarity of the subject situations he encountered over 25 years or practice. He did not spend much time on the structure of the traditional Catholic rite of exorcism itself (which comprises the format of the two exorcisms about which he writes) and took some measures to protect the privacy and rights of the patients involved and their families. I think he does a good job in this short book (288 pp.) of moving back and forth from a cross-cultural historical exploration of the issues relating to exorcism, to a psychiatric assessment of possible alternative explanations for client behaviors and of issues in psychiatric diagnoses. He details two cases here and follows each with a post-session critique of his casework. This book continues Dr. Peck's earlier focus on unraveling the presence of and efficacy of one or more "lies" in treatable patients: lies we tell others and/or tell ourselves. Peck does write as an outsider to the Catholic Church, and he was limited by time and by understanding in his ability to explore Church resources, or to explore the theological framing of issues around exorcism. I think he does make a strong and convincing case for the presence of, and influence of, evil in the world. Casual readers and psycotherapists might both wish there were more back-stories or concrete "facts" to these cases, and lay readers may better enjoy other authors' more detailed narratives or introductory/ secondary sources. Nevertheless, I think Peck sheds light on an obscured and difficult topic. Readers with an interest in, or understanding of, psychiatric treatment, comparative religion, New age cult deprogramming, ecclesiastic hierarchy, teleology and/or ethics may find Dr. Peck's perspective and this book very interesting.