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Satan Is Alive and Well on Planet Earth
No one thinks much about the Devil anymore. In fact, words like witchcraft and black magic have a strangely medieval ring to our ears. Many people even think of Satan as somehow comic -- and therefore harmless. Yet amidst the tragedy and corruption of our own century, it is ironic that many people doubt whether an active, evil force really exists. But Satan is not dead, says author Hal Lindsey; he has simply adopted a more modern style. Spiritualism, astrology, "new age" religion -- all of these and more are signs of the creeping influence of the Father of Lies in our time. In this book, Hal Lindsey, well-known speaker and author of the best-selling Late Great Planet Earth, outlines a battle plan for overcoming this very real and insidious enemy. The times may change, but the conflict is as old as the Garden of Eden. Whatever happened to old What's-his-name?
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
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425 people want to read
About the author
Hal Lindsey
105 books60 followersHarold Lee Lindsey was an American evangelical writer and television host. He wrote a series of popular apocalyptic books – beginning with The Late Great Planet Earth (1970) – asserting that the Apocalypse or end time (including the rapture) was imminent because current events were fulfilling Bible prophecy. He was a Christian Zionist and dispensationalist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
June 26, 2021
In Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth, Hal Lindsey discusses some of the many New Age philosophies that were gaining in popularity in the 70s. They included everything from pseudoscience like parapsychology and ESP to new religions like Scientology and Satanism to Eastern faiths like Nichiren Shoshu and the Hare Krishna movement.
The religions of the East do not really belong in his catalog of New Age philosophies, but these religions were only just becoming well-known in the West, so it’s no surprise that Lindsay would place them among the truly New Age offerings.
In my review of The Late Great Planet Earth, I mentioned my Catholic school religious education. Slightly later on I would become interested in the variety of spiritual choices popular at the time. I would flip through the pages of Dianetics and The Satanic Bible in Brentano’s. Dianetics annoyed me with its many footnotes defining common words. It felt patronizing. The Satanic Bible was amusing enough to browse through, but not enough to take home.
Lindsay devotes more space to witchcraft than any of the other New Age philosophies, no doubt because of its popularity among the young people. In his section on tarot cards he quotes Eden Gray. I owned Eden Gray’s A Complete Guide to the Tarot, but I never read it. I liked laying out the colorful tarot cards to read my destiny, but not quite enough to study the meaning of each card and its significance in various parts of the layout. There were plenty of other fortune-telling devices available that didn’t require me to memorize anything.
One was the Ouija board, but that was not an option. Even as a young adult, I couldn’t shake off the reaction my friend’s mother had when she found a group of us children holding a séance. The four of us had come in from playing outside in the bright summer sunshine and we sat in a circle in the cool dimly-lit basement getting ready to call upon whatever dark forces attend the games of bored children when Mrs. Francis walked in and heard what we were doing. She was visibly alarmed and made us all promise to never do it again. As children, we were frequently in the position of promising never to do things again, but this time we meant it. Something in her voice or her expression told us this was different, that we really were meddling with something evil. In all my time of experimenting with New Age philosophies and even despite my largely atheistic worldview, I never again toyed with the demonic. I never forgot that good woman’s fear.
Astrology and prophecy, however, were another matter. They always seemed to exist in the bright light of day, or more commonly, the bright light of the supermarket where the current month’s astrological predictions sat on racks near the checkout lines along with magazines which often featured Jeane Dixon ~ the subject of a whole chapter in Lindsey’s book. Luckily for my pocketbook, these publications never held my interest long enough to make it to the cash register. But Dixon was indeed quite popular at the time.
After a few chapters criticizing everything I learned in college (Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Marx, Darwin, and Freud) as well as the popular psychology of the day (Skinner, Dewey, Fromm, and Spock), Lindsey discusses another religious belief that was foreign to me: the phenomenon of speaking in tongues.
Like the Rapture, which I learned about in The Late Great Planet Earth, speaking in tongues is something of which I only ever heard vague allusions. I had seen clips on television of ecstatic worshipers uttering what sounded to me like repetitive monosyllables. Now I often hear people speaking languages I don’t know, but in none of this speech do I hear anything like the repetitive monosyllables uttered by people speaking in tongues, so I must remain skeptical that it is actually a language ~ ancient, angelic, or otherwise.
This is the objection to the phenomenon that I hoped Lindsey would address, but he didn’t. Instead he tackled the question of whether speaking in tongues is necessary to be filled with the Holy Spirit. His reassuring answer is no. Speaking in tongues, he says, is a gift and not everyone receives the same gift. Many people are filled with the Holy Spirit who have never had the experience of speaking in tongues. While this was not a question I would have thought to ask, it is educational to learn that such differences of opinion exist within the Evangelical movement.
But the subject of this book is Satan, so I would like to close this review by quoting one of Lindsey’s descriptions of the archfiend.
“Satan is not the man below, heaping coals into an eternal furnace. He’s the original ‘jet-setter’; he’s ‘right on’ with the latest cause....
What a picture! Satan trucking all over the earth, constantly doing his thing in every spot he can!” (83).
Lindsey speaks the language of the youth culture to show that he is on the same wavelength as the younger generation. He is genuinely concerned about their spiritual well-being and his sincerity and good will are evident on every page. I disagree with much of his message, but I dig where he’s coming from.
The religions of the East do not really belong in his catalog of New Age philosophies, but these religions were only just becoming well-known in the West, so it’s no surprise that Lindsay would place them among the truly New Age offerings.
In my review of The Late Great Planet Earth, I mentioned my Catholic school religious education. Slightly later on I would become interested in the variety of spiritual choices popular at the time. I would flip through the pages of Dianetics and The Satanic Bible in Brentano’s. Dianetics annoyed me with its many footnotes defining common words. It felt patronizing. The Satanic Bible was amusing enough to browse through, but not enough to take home.
Lindsay devotes more space to witchcraft than any of the other New Age philosophies, no doubt because of its popularity among the young people. In his section on tarot cards he quotes Eden Gray. I owned Eden Gray’s A Complete Guide to the Tarot, but I never read it. I liked laying out the colorful tarot cards to read my destiny, but not quite enough to study the meaning of each card and its significance in various parts of the layout. There were plenty of other fortune-telling devices available that didn’t require me to memorize anything.
One was the Ouija board, but that was not an option. Even as a young adult, I couldn’t shake off the reaction my friend’s mother had when she found a group of us children holding a séance. The four of us had come in from playing outside in the bright summer sunshine and we sat in a circle in the cool dimly-lit basement getting ready to call upon whatever dark forces attend the games of bored children when Mrs. Francis walked in and heard what we were doing. She was visibly alarmed and made us all promise to never do it again. As children, we were frequently in the position of promising never to do things again, but this time we meant it. Something in her voice or her expression told us this was different, that we really were meddling with something evil. In all my time of experimenting with New Age philosophies and even despite my largely atheistic worldview, I never again toyed with the demonic. I never forgot that good woman’s fear.
Astrology and prophecy, however, were another matter. They always seemed to exist in the bright light of day, or more commonly, the bright light of the supermarket where the current month’s astrological predictions sat on racks near the checkout lines along with magazines which often featured Jeane Dixon ~ the subject of a whole chapter in Lindsey’s book. Luckily for my pocketbook, these publications never held my interest long enough to make it to the cash register. But Dixon was indeed quite popular at the time.
After a few chapters criticizing everything I learned in college (Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Marx, Darwin, and Freud) as well as the popular psychology of the day (Skinner, Dewey, Fromm, and Spock), Lindsey discusses another religious belief that was foreign to me: the phenomenon of speaking in tongues.
Like the Rapture, which I learned about in The Late Great Planet Earth, speaking in tongues is something of which I only ever heard vague allusions. I had seen clips on television of ecstatic worshipers uttering what sounded to me like repetitive monosyllables. Now I often hear people speaking languages I don’t know, but in none of this speech do I hear anything like the repetitive monosyllables uttered by people speaking in tongues, so I must remain skeptical that it is actually a language ~ ancient, angelic, or otherwise.
This is the objection to the phenomenon that I hoped Lindsey would address, but he didn’t. Instead he tackled the question of whether speaking in tongues is necessary to be filled with the Holy Spirit. His reassuring answer is no. Speaking in tongues, he says, is a gift and not everyone receives the same gift. Many people are filled with the Holy Spirit who have never had the experience of speaking in tongues. While this was not a question I would have thought to ask, it is educational to learn that such differences of opinion exist within the Evangelical movement.
But the subject of this book is Satan, so I would like to close this review by quoting one of Lindsey’s descriptions of the archfiend.
“Satan is not the man below, heaping coals into an eternal furnace. He’s the original ‘jet-setter’; he’s ‘right on’ with the latest cause....
What a picture! Satan trucking all over the earth, constantly doing his thing in every spot he can!” (83).
Lindsey speaks the language of the youth culture to show that he is on the same wavelength as the younger generation. He is genuinely concerned about their spiritual well-being and his sincerity and good will are evident on every page. I disagree with much of his message, but I dig where he’s coming from.
February 7, 2016
I got it from somebody, and read it with some interest, because as a Hindu, I am one of Satan's minions, aren't I?
Verdict? Amusing nonsense.
BTW, read some of the 5-star and 4-star reviews of this book - they are almost as hilarious as Lindsey's rants.
Verdict? Amusing nonsense.
BTW, read some of the 5-star and 4-star reviews of this book - they are almost as hilarious as Lindsey's rants.
April 4, 2017
If Satan is alive and well, then this review is surely of his authorship because I'm about to write a screed against one of his enemy's works.
The above mentioned title is two hundred fifty five pages of pure evangelical Christian paranoia. The follow-up to the failed prophecy of "The Late Great Planet Earth", Lindsey seeks to warn us about the active works of the adversary of God, Satan.
In the early bloviations of this demon-avoidance manual, Lindsey manages to cast aspersions on the majority of the human race:
"Before a person becomes a Christian, he is spiritually dead and ruled by this prince (Satan)." (Lindsey 79)
In later chapters, the author goes to great lengths to attempt to discredit some of history's finest intellectuals such as Darwin, Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Freud. Then (1972), as now, we find a disdain for philosophy, science, and intellectual thought in evangelical Christianity. As far as Hal Lindsey is concerned, there is one book that contains all of the information that the human race will ever need.
Satan is by this author's account working his magic in governments, schools, universities, and everywhere else that Christianity is not accepted as fact. But lo! A resolution for all of this Satanic control is imminent! Jesus will return to establish a new world and discard the "garbage" of today (presumably to include this review and reviewer). That time is coming we are told at the end of chapter seven, just as it has been just around the corner for nearly two millenia.
The best summary of this book and of evangelical Christianity in general is made by the author himself:
"For centuries, Satan has delighted in making biblical Christianity appear non-intellectual in the eyes of the world." (Lindsey 183)
Is it Satan that has done this or is it the evangelical Christians themselves that publish works of faith like this one and propose them as facts?
While I rate this decumbent book as lowly as possible, I do recommend it for entertainment purposes. It's always entertaining to view the abstruse and besotted work of the religiously insane.
The above mentioned title is two hundred fifty five pages of pure evangelical Christian paranoia. The follow-up to the failed prophecy of "The Late Great Planet Earth", Lindsey seeks to warn us about the active works of the adversary of God, Satan.
In the early bloviations of this demon-avoidance manual, Lindsey manages to cast aspersions on the majority of the human race:
"Before a person becomes a Christian, he is spiritually dead and ruled by this prince (Satan)." (Lindsey 79)
In later chapters, the author goes to great lengths to attempt to discredit some of history's finest intellectuals such as Darwin, Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Freud. Then (1972), as now, we find a disdain for philosophy, science, and intellectual thought in evangelical Christianity. As far as Hal Lindsey is concerned, there is one book that contains all of the information that the human race will ever need.
Satan is by this author's account working his magic in governments, schools, universities, and everywhere else that Christianity is not accepted as fact. But lo! A resolution for all of this Satanic control is imminent! Jesus will return to establish a new world and discard the "garbage" of today (presumably to include this review and reviewer). That time is coming we are told at the end of chapter seven, just as it has been just around the corner for nearly two millenia.
The best summary of this book and of evangelical Christianity in general is made by the author himself:
"For centuries, Satan has delighted in making biblical Christianity appear non-intellectual in the eyes of the world." (Lindsey 183)
Is it Satan that has done this or is it the evangelical Christians themselves that publish works of faith like this one and propose them as facts?
While I rate this decumbent book as lowly as possible, I do recommend it for entertainment purposes. It's always entertaining to view the abstruse and besotted work of the religiously insane.
October 3, 2011
Again a book I read years ago (1974). Well tilled ground here, that has been covered by several writers from several denominations and several points of view. I'd say get your theology from the Bible and know what you believe before you read this. Then remember that the important thing is our relationship with Christ. Prophecy is there for a reason, but not to measure our relationship with God.
The writer has looked at events (at the time of the book's writing), extrapolated where things are going and attempts to put it all together. He's attempting to fit end time prophesies into actual world events.
This will (I think obviously) appeal more to Christians. I am a Christian and find some of the conjecture about where we are on God's time line interesting, I've read several books on it but don't obsess over it, nor try to build or rest my relationship with God on it. I think there are (again obviously) lessons to be learned about Christ in the prophetic sections of the Bible. But, mostly I tend to believe that they are there so once they've happened we can say..."oh, yah." Maybe so God can say "I told you". Remember it's about God.
The writer has looked at events (at the time of the book's writing), extrapolated where things are going and attempts to put it all together. He's attempting to fit end time prophesies into actual world events.
This will (I think obviously) appeal more to Christians. I am a Christian and find some of the conjecture about where we are on God's time line interesting, I've read several books on it but don't obsess over it, nor try to build or rest my relationship with God on it. I think there are (again obviously) lessons to be learned about Christ in the prophetic sections of the Bible. But, mostly I tend to believe that they are there so once they've happened we can say..."oh, yah." Maybe so God can say "I told you". Remember it's about God.
February 5, 2022
Another book of Hal Lindsey I've read years ago. Been so long since I read it but remember s little. About the works of Satan in the World at the time. I'm sure it's probably just as bad if not worse these days.
July 23, 2016
i came across this one on a second-hand bookshop and found the title interesting. when i started reading it i noticed this was written by someone who is a fanatic, and that the book was nothing like what i thought it would be. hall lindsey is a fanatic and he doesn't hide that throughout the narrative. i'm not a fan of this kind of books, especially because i have no religion and i haven't figured out yet what i believe or not, but with this one book, i thought it'd be a cool experience and that i would maybe get some constructive thinking out of all this.
reading about the bible is interesting because i believe the bible to be the greatest best seller of all time. it has a nice storyline and that cannot be denied, but i would never take that as the truth, especially because following the bible, hal lindsey has turned everything i enjoy in my life into a sin, something that is being controlled by satan itself, and he claims that the ones who shake their heads and read this book thinking that it is utter bullshit are also being used as a tool by satan. and maybe he is right, which makes me one of these tools. satan can approach human beings through sheer entertainment and use them, so why cant jesus? why is the christian life full of duties that turn our lives into nothing more than boredom with all the rules and things you cannot do in order to be safe?
it sounds to me as if this man believes that satan has even greater power than jesus, because it is able to manifestate through everything human beings have created for their enjoyment: literature, music, art, and cinema, which means pretty much every kind of art available for our eyes and minds to see. righteousness is something so pure and so imundane i dont think anyone is able to approach, not even christians, if we follow that line of thought. christians sell their art to other christians, and as far as i believe, once you start making money out of people's beliefs it stops being so genuine - which explains why so many christian singers and preaches and the church just in general is so rich and powerful.
how can we not love the world? how is satan the governor of planet earth if god is so much powerful than satan? wouldn't god be able to do something about it? human beings can do stuff to protect their interests but god cannot? that doesn't make any sense to me. when it is mentioned that human beings own the animals and everything in this world we see how untrue the bible actually is. we are greedy and want everything to ourselves, to be able to kill animals and destroy our environment for our own purposes without being blamed, since we own it all. the bible is the scripture that gives us such power without it making our conscience weight and consequently ache. the book condemns teachers who aren't christians and condemns other philosophies and beliefs that aren't christian and that makes me see just how much that religion thing is selfish and disrespectful. it avoids all concept of culture and individualism. maybe because individualism is, according to christians, a sin, but being judgemental is okay because pointing fingers to other people's lives and beliefs is just a warning coming from god. christians are the only ones who can do that kind of stuff because their god is the only true god, the only bearer of the truth and thats what gives christians the power to say hateful things to all the people who dont agree with them. this blindness the bible has brought is one of the biggest problems in our society. the ones who condemn fanatism are the ones who are the most fanatic. for the most part, i wish this book was a work of irony.
i wish mental ilnesses that involve depression and suicide attempts would really be solved just by running to god. unfortunately thats not how it works. i think saying that these ilnesses are a work of the devil only puts the mentally ill in a bad spotlight. i mean, people who are mentally ill are already seen with a certain prejudice and putting these things as satan doings only makes it difficult for the ones suffering with that. i think hal lindsey went overboard when he says depression is the devil's fault. it made me really umconfortable.
but i dont disagree with everything that is written in the book. if there is a god, i believe it is like some of the passages. when it is stated that god never holds grudges on you and he is never mad at you for sinning and stuff like that, i think this is how a god should work. but at the same time, i got confused because hal lindsey says that you only need to acknowledge to god what you did wrong, but he shares that as part of his personal experience he got involved in confession sessions once. why do you need to confess stuff to a priest? if god never gets mad at you, the only thing you need to do is tell god in prayer that you know you did wrong and ask for forgiveness. nothing more, nothing less. this passage of the book is contradictory.
and also, every time satan is mentioned to say or think something, why is it always funny? the way "satan" thinks and talks in the book is hilarious. i imagine this big, red demon, the classic representation of satan everywhere saying such funny stuff and it doesn't count as seeing satan in a negative way and i feel sorry for that.
reading about the bible is interesting because i believe the bible to be the greatest best seller of all time. it has a nice storyline and that cannot be denied, but i would never take that as the truth, especially because following the bible, hal lindsey has turned everything i enjoy in my life into a sin, something that is being controlled by satan itself, and he claims that the ones who shake their heads and read this book thinking that it is utter bullshit are also being used as a tool by satan. and maybe he is right, which makes me one of these tools. satan can approach human beings through sheer entertainment and use them, so why cant jesus? why is the christian life full of duties that turn our lives into nothing more than boredom with all the rules and things you cannot do in order to be safe?
it sounds to me as if this man believes that satan has even greater power than jesus, because it is able to manifestate through everything human beings have created for their enjoyment: literature, music, art, and cinema, which means pretty much every kind of art available for our eyes and minds to see. righteousness is something so pure and so imundane i dont think anyone is able to approach, not even christians, if we follow that line of thought. christians sell their art to other christians, and as far as i believe, once you start making money out of people's beliefs it stops being so genuine - which explains why so many christian singers and preaches and the church just in general is so rich and powerful.
how can we not love the world? how is satan the governor of planet earth if god is so much powerful than satan? wouldn't god be able to do something about it? human beings can do stuff to protect their interests but god cannot? that doesn't make any sense to me. when it is mentioned that human beings own the animals and everything in this world we see how untrue the bible actually is. we are greedy and want everything to ourselves, to be able to kill animals and destroy our environment for our own purposes without being blamed, since we own it all. the bible is the scripture that gives us such power without it making our conscience weight and consequently ache. the book condemns teachers who aren't christians and condemns other philosophies and beliefs that aren't christian and that makes me see just how much that religion thing is selfish and disrespectful. it avoids all concept of culture and individualism. maybe because individualism is, according to christians, a sin, but being judgemental is okay because pointing fingers to other people's lives and beliefs is just a warning coming from god. christians are the only ones who can do that kind of stuff because their god is the only true god, the only bearer of the truth and thats what gives christians the power to say hateful things to all the people who dont agree with them. this blindness the bible has brought is one of the biggest problems in our society. the ones who condemn fanatism are the ones who are the most fanatic. for the most part, i wish this book was a work of irony.
i wish mental ilnesses that involve depression and suicide attempts would really be solved just by running to god. unfortunately thats not how it works. i think saying that these ilnesses are a work of the devil only puts the mentally ill in a bad spotlight. i mean, people who are mentally ill are already seen with a certain prejudice and putting these things as satan doings only makes it difficult for the ones suffering with that. i think hal lindsey went overboard when he says depression is the devil's fault. it made me really umconfortable.
but i dont disagree with everything that is written in the book. if there is a god, i believe it is like some of the passages. when it is stated that god never holds grudges on you and he is never mad at you for sinning and stuff like that, i think this is how a god should work. but at the same time, i got confused because hal lindsey says that you only need to acknowledge to god what you did wrong, but he shares that as part of his personal experience he got involved in confession sessions once. why do you need to confess stuff to a priest? if god never gets mad at you, the only thing you need to do is tell god in prayer that you know you did wrong and ask for forgiveness. nothing more, nothing less. this passage of the book is contradictory.
and also, every time satan is mentioned to say or think something, why is it always funny? the way "satan" thinks and talks in the book is hilarious. i imagine this big, red demon, the classic representation of satan everywhere saying such funny stuff and it doesn't count as seeing satan in a negative way and i feel sorry for that.
April 24, 2020
All I have to say about this is "lolwut?"
... the author says at one point in the book that people with high intelligence are instruments of the devil and should be avoided.
... what does that say about the people who praise this book?
Did people pick on you in college, Hal Lindsey?
... the author says at one point in the book that people with high intelligence are instruments of the devil and should be avoided.
... what does that say about the people who praise this book?
Did people pick on you in college, Hal Lindsey?
January 25, 2015
This book wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but that doesn't' mean that I didn't enjoy it. It had some interesting things to point out and gave me some food for thought. It is a very empowering book for those looking to strengthen their relationship with God.
February 28, 2009
did you know that there are over 10,000,000 practicing communist witches in america today? and that they sacrifice infants in their black masses and blood rituals?
no hal lindsey, no i didn't.
no hal lindsey, no i didn't.
September 23, 2014
Could have used less lesbian sex scenes,the plot was full of holes. I didn't like the twist with the father at the end, could have been three hundred pages shorter....cover was pretty,worth two of the stars.
December 20, 2022
I was planning on only rating this one star, as I have largely divorced myself from Lindsey's brand of Christianity, where God is the type of Father we would lock up forever if he were an earthly father treating his kids the way we think God treats us or plans on treating us. In addition, there's not a demon hiding behind every bush, and sometimes there's not some awful conspiracy of demons bent on destroying the earth through humanity's voluntary or involuntary error or perceived error. Sometimes what you see is really what you get. The major part of the book is centered on this kind of fear-mongering (as well as warning of the "wrath to come" by the year 2000 if not long before).
Several chapters in the latter half, however, negate everything Lindsey had tried to do in the other chapters. He focuses on the doctrine of demons that I believe is the only thing that still haunts the child of God, and that is the way the enemy works through the structures of religion and works-based righteousness to undermine our confidence in God's love and our conviction that we are truly redeemed of all sin, past, present, and future. Lindsey provides a very convincing argument here, all the more effective because I believe it's actually true. I found much of value in these chapters, and if he'd have focused his whole book on this one and most important topic, it would have been a phenomenal piece of work. Everything else is conjecture. Keeping us selfishly focused on our own works of righteousness to redeem ourselves, as well as all the fear, narcissism, anxiety disorders, etc., that follow from that--that's where I believe the true work of the enemy is. (And added to that, and Lindsey seems to agree with this, it's not always the devil trying to convince us we're separated from God. We do a pretty good job of convincing ourselves...or, more accurately, convincing others so as to control their behavior and thinking and bring them further under our own control, for our own nefarious purposes.)
It's because of these thoughts the book spurned in me that I'm giving it three stars.
Several chapters in the latter half, however, negate everything Lindsey had tried to do in the other chapters. He focuses on the doctrine of demons that I believe is the only thing that still haunts the child of God, and that is the way the enemy works through the structures of religion and works-based righteousness to undermine our confidence in God's love and our conviction that we are truly redeemed of all sin, past, present, and future. Lindsey provides a very convincing argument here, all the more effective because I believe it's actually true. I found much of value in these chapters, and if he'd have focused his whole book on this one and most important topic, it would have been a phenomenal piece of work. Everything else is conjecture. Keeping us selfishly focused on our own works of righteousness to redeem ourselves, as well as all the fear, narcissism, anxiety disorders, etc., that follow from that--that's where I believe the true work of the enemy is. (And added to that, and Lindsey seems to agree with this, it's not always the devil trying to convince us we're separated from God. We do a pretty good job of convincing ourselves...or, more accurately, convincing others so as to control their behavior and thinking and bring them further under our own control, for our own nefarious purposes.)
It's because of these thoughts the book spurned in me that I'm giving it three stars.
September 19, 2025
This is the kind of masturbatory, anti-intellectual, anti-scientific, anti-ecumenical, paranoid, conspiracist horseshit that would be amusing and quaint if there weren't hordes of amoral acolytes of this trash in positions of power.
September 19, 2025
Not as good as the Lucifer x Archangel Adam book I read the other day
December 9, 2008
An interesting look at the work of Satan in the present day world. Originally written in the 1970's, it has been recently updated by the author.
I read it while I was in college, and a huge Hal Lindsey fan.
This a not an 'in depth' take on the subject, but provides some insight for new believers as to how Satan is working and what we can do to twart his work.
I read it while I was in college, and a huge Hal Lindsey fan.
This a not an 'in depth' take on the subject, but provides some insight for new believers as to how Satan is working and what we can do to twart his work.
September 24, 2012
I was finally able to finish this book. In my opinion satan wants no one to read it and makes sure it is very difficult to read. I kept misplacing the book. I founf it one time in a pocket in my bag that I didnt even know my bag had. This book was written in 1967 but it is just as valid today. Nothing in this book will change with the times other than the ways satan will try to lure us in.
October 2, 2011
Lindsey either completely makes up his facts and statistics or he just takes other people's stories as fact without any attempt at verification. Anyone interested in the subject of Satanism in America but looking for a credible source should read Satanic Panic by Jeffrey S. Victor.
October 13, 2012
Lindsey does a great job of bringing to light how the spiritual world influences world government.
November 4, 2012
The title is awesome, the book is the polar opposite.
August 7, 2015
Excellent, highly Scriptural for the most part.
April 22, 2022
I came across this book in 1992, and since then I have reread it several times. The content remains current and the message is enlightening for those who profess the Christian faith.
July 22, 2024
This book was recommended by Pastor Joyce Meyer. The number one thing the Devil (Satan) wants us to believe is that he is not real. The Devil (Satan) is real. Hal Lindsey talks about Lucifer (Satan) rebelling against God and taking one-third of the angels with him. Satan temped Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam did not stop her. They were both guilty. We all face temptations and tests. Jesus was tempted by Satan. We can retake the tests over and over. A pastor said wise people immediately resist temptations and pass tests sooner. For example, people fail forgiveness and gratitude tests. Many are angry and or bitter at someone. There are many temptations and tests. Hal talked about ouija boards, psychics, tarot cards and witchcraft being associated with the Devil. Demonic spirts and Demonic possession is discussed as well. Jesus and exorcism can release Demonic spirits. Hal believes we are all touched to Satan to a degree. Satan and his demons travel the Earth seeking to destroy. "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 2 Peter 5:8 A major pastor said Satan is a jetsetter. Satan is the father of lies. Hal warns about the dangers of alcohol. "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit" Ephesians 5:18 Nevertheless, we have the Holy Spirit, prayer and word of God to combat Satan. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7 We can put on the full armor of God as well. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. " Ephesians 10:11 We can defeat the Devil being in Christ. God is stronger than the Devil.
March 21, 2023
Enjoyable, easy-to-read publication that is drenched in the weird and wonderful aroma of the Satanic Panic era from which it was published. Naturally, that will divide readers - as one very interested in that era, and as one who finds it very easy to appreciate the dated aspects, this ended up adding to my enjoyment. A point to note: it's much less extreme than I had expected given the edgy title and abundance of humorously offended reviewers. Ultimately while providing a fun and at times fascinating contemporary American Evangelical take on the apparent demonic manifestations of the time, it ends up allocating more focus towards helping readers in their relationship with God, and demonstrating how Satan can attempt to thwart it. Unlike many reviewers will admit, *Satan Is Alive and Well on Planet Earth* ends on a positive and uplifting note of spiritual empowerment.
March 16, 2021
I have owned my copy of this book for more than thirty years without reading it. However, this book is quite good, with two caveats. First, I am persuaded the author's position on the gift of tongues is the result of an unprincipled decision to explain away a clearly unscriptural practice. Second, the author (as all Protestants do) misinterprets the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Biblical doctrine of the Church. These related issues skew the book so as to make it unpalatable to many readers. However, for those who stand on solid, Biblical footing, the benefits are worth the fairly quick read.
August 30, 2020
mostly nonsense but what is televangelism if not wildly entertaining nonsense
a lot of it im desensitized to from catholic school education leaving my brain reduced to a couple of tumbleweeds so its just the usual love christ bullshit but when hal lindsay goes off his rocker and talks about hitler being subject to demonic possession and infants being stored in vats for ritual purposes it makes me almost want to recommend it for the bullshit
just watch televangelism if youre looking for that entertainment though
a lot of it im desensitized to from catholic school education leaving my brain reduced to a couple of tumbleweeds so its just the usual love christ bullshit but when hal lindsay goes off his rocker and talks about hitler being subject to demonic possession and infants being stored in vats for ritual purposes it makes me almost want to recommend it for the bullshit
just watch televangelism if youre looking for that entertainment though
September 27, 2022
Giving this book 5 stars because it still stands the rest of time 50 years later. Good quick read for someone struggling with faith in the time of social media. I enjoyed the Bible verse references and would recommend this to anyone needing a pick-me-up while on their walk of faith.
July 30, 2017
The beginning is nice, but then eventually the book becomes too vague towards the end. The author is simply stating the same fact over and over by citing examples.
January 7, 2018
Contained great points about Satanism in modern day culture, and how we as Christians should respond.
October 18, 2019
Certainly i agree. He is alive and wrecking havoc on earth. He fairly insightful.
November 1, 2019
I read this book my senior year in High School. It gave me an abiding interest in cults and occult.
December 30, 2019
Its just not for me. It has great writing though. The best Ive seen in a long time
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