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The Bondage Breaker: Overcoming *Negative Thoughts *Irrational Feelings *Habitual Sins
You Can Break the Chains Holding You Captive
Harmful habits, negative thinking, and irrational feelings can all lead to sinful behavior and keep you in bondage. If you feel trapped by any of these strongholds in your life, know that you are not alone—you can break free.
Neil Anderson has brought hope to millions facing similar spiritual attacks. In this significantly revised and updated edition of this popular bestselling book, he offers a holistic approach to spiritual warfare that is rooted in the Word of God. As you read stories of others who have been locked in spiritual battles, you will learn the underlying whys and hows behind these attacks, and discover the truth that sets people free in Jesus.
You don't have to live as if you are in chains. Break through your spiritual battles, and find freedom in Christ with The Bondage Breaker.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1990
1160 people are currently reading
4354 people want to read
About the author
Neil T. Anderson
286 books290 followersNEIL T. ANDERSON is founder and president of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He was formerly the chairman of the Practical Theology Department at Talbot School of Theology. He holds five degrees from Talbot, Pepperdine University and Arizona State University and Arizona State University and has authored several bestselling books on spiritual freedom, including Victory Over the Darkness and The Bondage Breaker.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 295 reviews
February 6, 2013
This is a very misleading book concerning the power of Satan and work of Jesus on the cross. Anderson's main thesis for this book--that born-again believers can be possessed by demons--is not supported by Scripture. His understanding of sin and Christian's struggle to victory is understood by this thesis alone; thus, every believer needs to be delivered from some type of evil or they will never experience freedom in Christ. His resolution to this problem is his "Seven Steps to Freedom" found in the last chapter of The Bondage Breaker. This is a very formulaic driven process that releases believers from the power of evil. Once again, this is based on the premise that all believers are vulnerable to possession and most likely have something in their past that has opened them up to it. Anderson's discussion on New Ageism is somewhat helpful but does not outweigh the negative. There are far better resources on New Ageism. I do not recommend this book.
November 29, 2014
A must-have resource for the Christian looking for healing and freedom from past traumas, habits, and hang-ups that may be causing their walk with Christ to be be something it was never intended to be: burdensome and ineffective.
This is not a 'self-help' book, but a way of reshaping your thinking with a solid scriptural basis, confronting lies that have held you down, and embracing your identity in Christ.
February 28, 2013
yesterday when I was a little over half way done, I would have given this a two. Then today I wad commited to finishing it and I must say it has changed my life. The prayers at then end were so affirming and the forgiveness of self I am feeling is just amazing. Yesterday I thought that Neil was a finger pointer...today..totally different opinon. a must read to heal those irrational feelings from a spirtual place.
November 15, 2011
The Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson is a very power non-fiction novel. He introduces the struggles that many people encounter on the daily bases from emotional battles, depression, negative thoughts, guilt of the past, anger, bitterness, doubt, suicidal thoughts, and so many other problems that people face on the daily. These issues, Anderson unveils, are a battle within self and they can be defeated by discipline and surrender to God. I love His boldness to step out and confront all the inner problems that we have and give it a spiritual solution. He stated once in his book that, “at salvation God changed our very essence; we became partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust" this means that in Christ the bondage of sin has been broken. I am a strong believer in the faith and this is one of the reasons I picked up this book because I wanted to be free from thoughts and self, but I truly understood afterward that I can only be free in Christ. I learned as a Christian writer we will be persecuted because of my beliefs and the fact that I do believe that issues in our life have spiritual answers to them. Anderson propelled me to go forth and challenge myself in different aspects of writing.
August 19, 2014
This book is not too doctrinally sound and could cause someone to stumble in their walk. I've read a few books like this before and the main concern is that it takes the focus of sin off the person and places it on a demon. The personal accountability is easy to let go right out the window. There are several points I want to make about this book. Anderson is not all bad though.
He talks about not flagellating one's self in sin but see yourself as a new creation in God. He does understand salvation and has a good write up on the Fall of Genesis 3. However, Anderson falters a lot. He trades exegesis for eisegesis clearly many, many times. For one example, his bad interpretation of Romans 7 makes Paul a demon possessed man. He also does not treat his eisegesis to explain why we should seek freedom from demons if Romans 7 says that God allows Paul to maintain his thorn of flesh (this is the same issue a lot of charismatics have with wanting health/wealth/prosperity preaching but not the fact that the apostles or Jesus had none of what they're selling).
The biggest problem I see with Anderson is his minority view that a believer can be possessed. His teachings pretty much treat believers as non-believers. He is inconsistent when he says that demon possessed believers pull back even from his touch as the Holy Spirit resides in him. But what about the Holy Spirit that resides in that believer? No writing is done on this. While he doesn't come out and say yes or no it is hard to see Anderson believing in the perseverance of the saints.
The focus for Anderson seems to be more on Satan than on God. Anderson has an almost Gnostic view that the physical being is under Satan's influence but it's the mind/soul/spirit that is under God's. His eisegesis on this is terrible. He says not to talk to demons but to ignore them, but he doesn't do this himself. He devalues the focus on being a new creation in Christ and instead focuses more on Satan. Less on the Word to sanctify but more on Satan to gain freedom.
And that's the biggest rub in this book. The word or teaching of sanctification is not mentioned once throughout it. The focus is more on not having demons attack/influence the believer as much. The Bible and prayer are more incantations to recite than anything. He has no treatment on personal sin but all responsibility seems to be greatly geared towards Satan.
Again, a book that is not doctrinally sound and would cause someone to stumble in their faith. Final Grade - F
A great Biblical study on the topic can be found here however - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvtEL...
He talks about not flagellating one's self in sin but see yourself as a new creation in God. He does understand salvation and has a good write up on the Fall of Genesis 3. However, Anderson falters a lot. He trades exegesis for eisegesis clearly many, many times. For one example, his bad interpretation of Romans 7 makes Paul a demon possessed man. He also does not treat his eisegesis to explain why we should seek freedom from demons if Romans 7 says that God allows Paul to maintain his thorn of flesh (this is the same issue a lot of charismatics have with wanting health/wealth/prosperity preaching but not the fact that the apostles or Jesus had none of what they're selling).
The biggest problem I see with Anderson is his minority view that a believer can be possessed. His teachings pretty much treat believers as non-believers. He is inconsistent when he says that demon possessed believers pull back even from his touch as the Holy Spirit resides in him. But what about the Holy Spirit that resides in that believer? No writing is done on this. While he doesn't come out and say yes or no it is hard to see Anderson believing in the perseverance of the saints.
The focus for Anderson seems to be more on Satan than on God. Anderson has an almost Gnostic view that the physical being is under Satan's influence but it's the mind/soul/spirit that is under God's. His eisegesis on this is terrible. He says not to talk to demons but to ignore them, but he doesn't do this himself. He devalues the focus on being a new creation in Christ and instead focuses more on Satan. Less on the Word to sanctify but more on Satan to gain freedom.
And that's the biggest rub in this book. The word or teaching of sanctification is not mentioned once throughout it. The focus is more on not having demons attack/influence the believer as much. The Bible and prayer are more incantations to recite than anything. He has no treatment on personal sin but all responsibility seems to be greatly geared towards Satan.
Again, a book that is not doctrinally sound and would cause someone to stumble in their faith. Final Grade - F
A great Biblical study on the topic can be found here however - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvtEL...
May 6, 2010
This book opened my eyes to the truth that I really am in the middle of a spiritual battle! Not necessarily for my salvation, as I'm already covered by Jesus Christ and my faith in Him, but for my daily victory in God. Satan's constant attempts to trip me up are meant to stop me from effectively doing God's work. No more! After reading The Bondage Breaker and studying the Bible I still struggle with spiritual darkness, but the light is much more visible now. This book has really changed my life forever!
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December 9, 2025Every single Christian on the planet needs to read this.
August 29, 2021
Although I am not in bondage at this time, this is an awesome book that deals with spiritual warfare in a way that is completely backed by scripture. So many books about the spirit world and demons and occultism get flaky and weird, Neil clearly addresses issues with answers directly from the Bible. He is direct and to the point. Very informative in many ways. Highly recommended.
February 2, 2023
I read this book early on in my Christian life. I had many many patterns of sin that I was trying to battle and defeat, and I had no idea how to approach them as a new Christian.
This book set me on a dangerous religious path that made me very arrogant when I was conquering sin, but very shamed and sorrowful when I was drowning in it. I also was a very judgmental person when looking at others and their sins (despite the fact that I participated in many of the same sinful patterns as those I judged). Obviously my legalistic religiosity had many causes, not just this book (including a huge misunderstanding about justification & salvation), however this book certainly catapulted things a bit.
The book models many so called ‘Christian’ methods for defeating various sins in that it has a step by step guide that one follows to defeat it - essentially a set of religious steps in order to free yourself of sin. - A ladder reaching to heaven, if you will. The book also focuses on spiritual evil far more than is necessary for a book on sanctification. It heightens the power of spiritual evil beyond what a Christian should worry about.
In this way, this book is essentially a self salvation project. It doesn’t rely on Jesus or the Holy Spirit to free from sin and sinful desires, but self. If someone is successful in these ‘steps’ one becomes proud or arrogant. If someone isn’t successful, they will view themselves a failure and become shamed & downcast. This is the same as most religion - and why religion often produces arrogant judgmental people (but obviously not always).
A better focus for sin is faith vs unbelief. A sin problem is a faith problem. To defeat sin one needs to trust the promises of God - knowing that that trust itself is a gift of God. This of course can only happen after someone knows that Jesus took all shame and condemnation from them on the cross, and has given them his perfect record - that they are now free from shame and condemnation for eternity future, and have God’s love and grace in the same degree as his Son, because they have the righteousness of his Son given them. Regeneration is also a part of this - that we are given a savoring of God and the things of him over and above our savoring of sin and those desires. We can therefore fight sinful desires by focusing on our delight in God and the things of him, which are now our deepest desires, because after we believe, the Spirit gives these to us in regeneration.
This book is not a total failure, and it did have some practical wisdom in it. However it’s dangers far outweigh it’s positives. A much better book on defeating sin is John Piper’s great treatment on the subject, Future Grace. Start there instead.
This book set me on a dangerous religious path that made me very arrogant when I was conquering sin, but very shamed and sorrowful when I was drowning in it. I also was a very judgmental person when looking at others and their sins (despite the fact that I participated in many of the same sinful patterns as those I judged). Obviously my legalistic religiosity had many causes, not just this book (including a huge misunderstanding about justification & salvation), however this book certainly catapulted things a bit.
The book models many so called ‘Christian’ methods for defeating various sins in that it has a step by step guide that one follows to defeat it - essentially a set of religious steps in order to free yourself of sin. - A ladder reaching to heaven, if you will. The book also focuses on spiritual evil far more than is necessary for a book on sanctification. It heightens the power of spiritual evil beyond what a Christian should worry about.
In this way, this book is essentially a self salvation project. It doesn’t rely on Jesus or the Holy Spirit to free from sin and sinful desires, but self. If someone is successful in these ‘steps’ one becomes proud or arrogant. If someone isn’t successful, they will view themselves a failure and become shamed & downcast. This is the same as most religion - and why religion often produces arrogant judgmental people (but obviously not always).
A better focus for sin is faith vs unbelief. A sin problem is a faith problem. To defeat sin one needs to trust the promises of God - knowing that that trust itself is a gift of God. This of course can only happen after someone knows that Jesus took all shame and condemnation from them on the cross, and has given them his perfect record - that they are now free from shame and condemnation for eternity future, and have God’s love and grace in the same degree as his Son, because they have the righteousness of his Son given them. Regeneration is also a part of this - that we are given a savoring of God and the things of him over and above our savoring of sin and those desires. We can therefore fight sinful desires by focusing on our delight in God and the things of him, which are now our deepest desires, because after we believe, the Spirit gives these to us in regeneration.
This book is not a total failure, and it did have some practical wisdom in it. However it’s dangers far outweigh it’s positives. A much better book on defeating sin is John Piper’s great treatment on the subject, Future Grace. Start there instead.
January 1, 2025
I classify this book as spiritual warfare. In the conflict between the flesh and the spirit, Christians must have an active faith to overcome sin. Bondage Breaker provides some practical advice from scripture in dealing with habitual sin, depression, pessimism, suicidal thoughts and provides a multi step process for pursuing sanctification. Sometimes we feel defeated in our faith and slip further into darkness because we don't recognize the victory we have in Christ. As Christians we have an adversary who wants to destroy our faith and it will win if we accept the lies about who we are in Christ. I would give this book to a believer struggling in their faith and seeking to overcome.
March 3, 2021
This is a dangerous book. I didn’t finish this book as l felt it easily leads one astray. It promotes a false belief system of how to deal with sin, encouraging one to pour contempt on themselves and others. Anderson also promotes the unbiblical idea that Christians can be possessed; Christians can be oppressed but not possessed. The author also writes with a faulty perspective of a doctor although he is not one, suggesting that physical problems are demon possession.
I occasionally come across a book so unbiblical l do not finish it. This was one of those books.
I occasionally come across a book so unbiblical l do not finish it. This was one of those books.
March 27, 2025
This intense and powerful book should come with the warning to expect internal resistance to the information that is presented and/or to the recommended statements and prayers. It took me three months to read, re-read and digest all of the information plus go through the steps which include statements and prayers to read aloud. It took me so long to process this book partly because each step requires reflection, prayer and the willingness to take an honest assessment of sinful and/or unhealthy habits, thought patterns, past spiritual experiences or exposures to false teachings and generational involvement in false religious or occultic practices. I recommend taking all the time you need to dive deeply into this book. I found that reading aloud the “Statements of Truth” toward the back of the book to be especially impacting.
August 20, 2025
I really enjoyed this book! I appreciated how aggressive he was in his stance of not being bound to anything that’s not Jesus. He highlighted a lot of things that people can find themselves being bound by, that I never would have really thought of.
December 9, 2014
This purports to be a book on spiritual warfare, but it veers from that purpose into being a book about demon possession and the proper way to exorcise a demon. Which would be fine, but Anderson actually says several times that we shouldn't engage demons when we encounter them, then turns around and does the exact opposite in the examples he provides of "possessed believers" he's encountered.
My problems with this book are many, but my three biggest problems with it are these:
1. Anderson explicitly claims that Christians can become possessed, and at one point seems to claim that the Apostle Paul was possessed. The actual examples of demon possession in the Bible always follow a certain pattern, though. First, there is shown to be a demon (and it is always explicitly referred to as such). Then Jesus or an apostle casts out the demon. And finally, as a result of the experience, the former possessed person accepts Christ's salvation. We are never (to my admittedly fallible knowledge) given any examples of possessed people being believers before the possession began, or coming to faith during their possession. Anderson uses his own interpretations of verses to uphold his claim, often with no explanation of why he believes his interpretation is correct. This is fallacious, and dangerous, and I dislike that he continues to use this line of reasoning the entire book.
2. The number of possessions he claims to have seen. Anderson claims to have witnessed an inordinately high number of possessions. At one point he claims to have cured someone of MS by casting out a demon that had been causing her symptoms. A little later, he claims to be the only one who was able to help a woman who had been a medium, because the other counselors she'd seen "were just trying to manipulate the spirits--which was what she was trying to do when she was a [...] medium." That is a direct quote from page 112. Christian counselors were trying to communicate with demons and manipulate them like a psychic medium. I find this a ridiculous claim, and it was, sadly, one of many examples shared of times when Anderson was able to "help" when no one else could. I am dubious that any single man could encounter that many cases of true possession.
3. The dismissive attitude Anderson has toward depression. As someone who suffers from depression, Anderson's attitude toward it was insulting and dismissive. He often implied that depression was just a symptom of laziness or being weak-willed, and that if depressed people would just stop being lazy they'd feel better. (This is not my impressed face.) Along with this, he later deliberately phrased an entire paragraph to make it seem like people who asked God for help resisting temptation/sin would be dismissed by God because (to quote what Anderson claims God says), "'I've done all I'm going to do. I defeated and disarmed Satan at the cross. I conferred all authority on you in Christ. Now open your eyes. Realize who you are and start living accordingly.'" (p. 87)
What statements like these do is put all the responsibility for righteousness, sanctification, and remaining sinless on believers, which is not at all biblical. For people already struggling in their faith, telling them it's all on them and God's not going to do anything to help them is maybe the single most damaging thing you could say.
In addition to these three things, there is also the fact that the first time I tried to read this book, I kept having the thought "I need to cast out whatever demon is inside me," quickly followed by, "But I'm not demon possessed. I don't have any of the biblical symptoms of possession. I have depression and anxiety, but I'm not blaspheming the name of God, and I'm not foaming at the mouth. I don't speak in tongues, and I don't try to physically harm myself. I'm just sad for no reason, or scared for no reason." Anderson's teaching that our emotional ailments are rooted in some kind of spiritual warfare is dangerous. It's going to lead Christians to believe they're demon possessed (they aren't) and it's going to confuse and mislead people who are having success treating their mental illnesses with medication and therapy.
EDITED TO ADD:
I went back and looked at the "pray away the demons" part of the book again, having just skimmed it the first time through and I need to add to my review that Anderson has several lists of things that he says are demonic. Included on these lists are things like Magic: The Gathering card games and playing Dungeons and Dragons. He also lists several things that are morally neutral, but depending on how you participate might be good or bad. However, he claims that any kind of participation in these things is demonic.
He also has a section talking about renouncing your sexual sins. He lists being raped or molested as a sexual sin. Not raping or molesting but being the victim of these crimes. He then orders readers to ask God for forgiveness for being raped/molested, and tells them to ask Him to reveal if they were secretly willing participants in their sexual assault. This is some of the most blatant victim blaming I have ever seen, and Anderson tries to make it sound like God sanctions his ideology. Nowhere in the Bible is any victim of rape ever told that it is her fault. Nowhere in the Bible does God ever shame someone for being raped. Please be aware that this triggering language is included in the book, and that it is wrong.
My problems with this book are many, but my three biggest problems with it are these:
1. Anderson explicitly claims that Christians can become possessed, and at one point seems to claim that the Apostle Paul was possessed. The actual examples of demon possession in the Bible always follow a certain pattern, though. First, there is shown to be a demon (and it is always explicitly referred to as such). Then Jesus or an apostle casts out the demon. And finally, as a result of the experience, the former possessed person accepts Christ's salvation. We are never (to my admittedly fallible knowledge) given any examples of possessed people being believers before the possession began, or coming to faith during their possession. Anderson uses his own interpretations of verses to uphold his claim, often with no explanation of why he believes his interpretation is correct. This is fallacious, and dangerous, and I dislike that he continues to use this line of reasoning the entire book.
2. The number of possessions he claims to have seen. Anderson claims to have witnessed an inordinately high number of possessions. At one point he claims to have cured someone of MS by casting out a demon that had been causing her symptoms. A little later, he claims to be the only one who was able to help a woman who had been a medium, because the other counselors she'd seen "were just trying to manipulate the spirits--which was what she was trying to do when she was a [...] medium." That is a direct quote from page 112. Christian counselors were trying to communicate with demons and manipulate them like a psychic medium. I find this a ridiculous claim, and it was, sadly, one of many examples shared of times when Anderson was able to "help" when no one else could. I am dubious that any single man could encounter that many cases of true possession.
3. The dismissive attitude Anderson has toward depression. As someone who suffers from depression, Anderson's attitude toward it was insulting and dismissive. He often implied that depression was just a symptom of laziness or being weak-willed, and that if depressed people would just stop being lazy they'd feel better. (This is not my impressed face.) Along with this, he later deliberately phrased an entire paragraph to make it seem like people who asked God for help resisting temptation/sin would be dismissed by God because (to quote what Anderson claims God says), "'I've done all I'm going to do. I defeated and disarmed Satan at the cross. I conferred all authority on you in Christ. Now open your eyes. Realize who you are and start living accordingly.'" (p. 87)
What statements like these do is put all the responsibility for righteousness, sanctification, and remaining sinless on believers, which is not at all biblical. For people already struggling in their faith, telling them it's all on them and God's not going to do anything to help them is maybe the single most damaging thing you could say.
In addition to these three things, there is also the fact that the first time I tried to read this book, I kept having the thought "I need to cast out whatever demon is inside me," quickly followed by, "But I'm not demon possessed. I don't have any of the biblical symptoms of possession. I have depression and anxiety, but I'm not blaspheming the name of God, and I'm not foaming at the mouth. I don't speak in tongues, and I don't try to physically harm myself. I'm just sad for no reason, or scared for no reason." Anderson's teaching that our emotional ailments are rooted in some kind of spiritual warfare is dangerous. It's going to lead Christians to believe they're demon possessed (they aren't) and it's going to confuse and mislead people who are having success treating their mental illnesses with medication and therapy.
EDITED TO ADD:
I went back and looked at the "pray away the demons" part of the book again, having just skimmed it the first time through and I need to add to my review that Anderson has several lists of things that he says are demonic. Included on these lists are things like Magic: The Gathering card games and playing Dungeons and Dragons. He also lists several things that are morally neutral, but depending on how you participate might be good or bad. However, he claims that any kind of participation in these things is demonic.
He also has a section talking about renouncing your sexual sins. He lists being raped or molested as a sexual sin. Not raping or molesting but being the victim of these crimes. He then orders readers to ask God for forgiveness for being raped/molested, and tells them to ask Him to reveal if they were secretly willing participants in their sexual assault. This is some of the most blatant victim blaming I have ever seen, and Anderson tries to make it sound like God sanctions his ideology. Nowhere in the Bible is any victim of rape ever told that it is her fault. Nowhere in the Bible does God ever shame someone for being raped. Please be aware that this triggering language is included in the book, and that it is wrong.
September 18, 2022
So good and necessary for every Christian to read. This book helps equip people to bring light into the realities of the spiritual darkness all around us. “You will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free” … this book directs people to that Truth. Read this read this read this!!!
November 29, 2024
Every believer should read this book. This will be one that I come back to again and again. This is hands down the most spiritually impactful book I have ever read aside from the Bible.
December 14, 2020
Cine ești trebuie să aibă întotdeauna mai multă importanță decât ceea ce faci.
Neil T. Anderson
Neil T. Anderson
May 2, 2011
Parts of this book were good for me, such as taking each thought captive to Christ and getting rid of things in the home that serve as negative spiritual strongholds. This part of his family history questionnaire really bothered me, though, and continues to bother me when I think back on reading this book three years later: "Was your father clearly the head of the home, or was there a role reversal in which your mother ruled the home? Explain."
Now, I think there is such a thing as being "too feminist" in a worldly sense as part of our culture and being too focused on power over others as a woman, but I think there is also such a thing as being a Christian feminist who believes that women are valued and loved equally by God with equal capabilities to men. So why does a father serve as the "head of the home," whereas a mother would "rule the home"? I don't want to be too hard on him since I can see his point--nobody is healthy in a home with an overbearing, nagging Mom--but I don't think a home in which the man's word is law and the woman has no decision-making power is healthy either. Since I disagree with this point in his philosophy, I feel like I need to take the rest of the book with a grain of salt too--not in disbelieving in spiritual warfare, but just in the fact that this is a specific man who obviously has a very literal interpretation of the Bible. My advice would be to take the spiritual freedom offered in this book seriously, but absorb Anderson's ideas with a critical eye.
Now, I think there is such a thing as being "too feminist" in a worldly sense as part of our culture and being too focused on power over others as a woman, but I think there is also such a thing as being a Christian feminist who believes that women are valued and loved equally by God with equal capabilities to men. So why does a father serve as the "head of the home," whereas a mother would "rule the home"? I don't want to be too hard on him since I can see his point--nobody is healthy in a home with an overbearing, nagging Mom--but I don't think a home in which the man's word is law and the woman has no decision-making power is healthy either. Since I disagree with this point in his philosophy, I feel like I need to take the rest of the book with a grain of salt too--not in disbelieving in spiritual warfare, but just in the fact that this is a specific man who obviously has a very literal interpretation of the Bible. My advice would be to take the spiritual freedom offered in this book seriously, but absorb Anderson's ideas with a critical eye.
January 3, 2023
I want to get better at writing reviews so here we go! I’m not the best at reading lifestyle Christian books and this one was no exception, however. It does have some really good insight into unhealthy thought patterns I’ve developed over the years. He shares dozens of testimonies from believers who have found freedom as well as prompts and prayers to take the reader on their own journey to freedom.
June 30, 2013
Confirmed my understanding of the very real spiritual battle that humanity on Earth is fighting. The evil one is real & so is the power of Father Son & Spirit. God bless all who read this book (& others!) Take it seriously. The spiritual battle is the unseen reality of the lives we live.
January 1, 2020
This book was recommended to me by a friend. It has some helpful thoughts, but I didn't buy a lot of the author's arguments and I thought he did a poor job with some of his biblical interpretation.
I also didn't really like how much the author includes letters people have written to him about how they "found freedom" through his material. It felt a bit congratulatory to me (even though he does repeatedly say that the power isn't in him, but in the truth). He repeatedly refers the reader to his other books for additional help in specific areas and that got a little annoying too.
I don't know. I have a hard time with this topic. But I've never heard of the author so I was reluctant to accept his views and I wasn't impressed with what seemed like a lot of proof-texting to me. He seemed to infer a lot from the text that wasn't explicit. I'm not sure I'm on board with the Steps of Freedom toward the end, either. His overall views and methods just didn't convince me from scripture.
One thing that I did like and will remember was that our battle is not one of power, but of truth. There were other thoughts that I found helpful, but I honestly wasn't very invested in the book and didn't make note of them.
I think the book could be a lot shorter. I didn't necessarily feel like each chapter really stayed on course. Each chapter had a theme, but I thought they were pretty vague and that much of the material could be inserted in any of the chapters. I think if this book were distilled down to some main points (without all the personal anecdotes and repetitive fluff) there could be some good here, but it's still mixed with unconvincing scriptural application.
I also didn't really like how much the author includes letters people have written to him about how they "found freedom" through his material. It felt a bit congratulatory to me (even though he does repeatedly say that the power isn't in him, but in the truth). He repeatedly refers the reader to his other books for additional help in specific areas and that got a little annoying too.
I don't know. I have a hard time with this topic. But I've never heard of the author so I was reluctant to accept his views and I wasn't impressed with what seemed like a lot of proof-texting to me. He seemed to infer a lot from the text that wasn't explicit. I'm not sure I'm on board with the Steps of Freedom toward the end, either. His overall views and methods just didn't convince me from scripture.
One thing that I did like and will remember was that our battle is not one of power, but of truth. There were other thoughts that I found helpful, but I honestly wasn't very invested in the book and didn't make note of them.
I think the book could be a lot shorter. I didn't necessarily feel like each chapter really stayed on course. Each chapter had a theme, but I thought they were pretty vague and that much of the material could be inserted in any of the chapters. I think if this book were distilled down to some main points (without all the personal anecdotes and repetitive fluff) there could be some good here, but it's still mixed with unconvincing scriptural application.
June 5, 2023
While within there are nuggets of truth, and while Anderson draws from some solid sources, his conclusions are just bonkers. His self-flagellation is nauseating, and the whole book was a sales pitch for his other works.
A good friend highly recommended this book, and it very well may help certain others with spiritual warfare. However, I fail to see its value in these matters, and would direct people dealing these sorts of issues to theologically-sound authors (E. Eliot, Powlison, Welch, etc.)
A good friend highly recommended this book, and it very well may help certain others with spiritual warfare. However, I fail to see its value in these matters, and would direct people dealing these sorts of issues to theologically-sound authors (E. Eliot, Powlison, Welch, etc.)
April 27, 2018
This book is such an eye opener, the prayers at the end are powerful, its full of revelation, light and in-depth examples of bondage and how to break it. I believe its a book that all Christians need to read because sadly, too much of us are not aware of the power we possess and the ability we have to withstand the attacks of the enemy.
September 27, 2025
I think the subtitle is misleading and makes this seem like a self-help book, when in reality it is a great resource for those experiencing spiritual warfare. Dr. Anderson relies on the Bible to discuss how believers can walk in the world in the midst of spiritual darkness and what it means practically to fight against the cosmic powers of darkness.
June 3, 2017
The price on the cover of this book does not, by any means, proclaim its value.
Based on the theme in James 4:7 that we are to submit to God and resist the devil and he will flee., this book explains that tHe power is given to us by the blood of Christ, but we must be proactive. Believe. Submit. Resist. Powerful book.
Based on the theme in James 4:7 that we are to submit to God and resist the devil and he will flee., this book explains that tHe power is given to us by the blood of Christ, but we must be proactive. Believe. Submit. Resist. Powerful book.
July 6, 2024
It was a novel journey into Spiritual Warfare for me. I will be re-reading it and recommending it to folks who work with addicts.
September 13, 2024
Absolutely 🔥🔥🔥
March 22, 2025
Many thoughts.
Anderson’s stories were extremes and sometimes seemed too over the top for our western culture. The enemy’s deceptions are subtle. Encouraged by our daily victory in Christ.
*recommended by Elizabeth
Anderson’s stories were extremes and sometimes seemed too over the top for our western culture. The enemy’s deceptions are subtle. Encouraged by our daily victory in Christ.
*recommended by Elizabeth
February 18, 2020
Exceptional
February 12, 2023
Very informative. It was very detailed. Not an easy read, but really good.
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