Wise as Serpents: Growing Wise to the Evil Among Us

by Jeff Crippen, Jessica Rebekah Brown (Editor), Kelly Orr (Foreword)

A very popular television series from years past announced that it was a program, “about nothing.” That series was a comedy, but this book is not written to make you laugh. It is, however, in a sense “a book about nothing.” Why? Because it’s subject, evil, is a kind of “nothing.” It is defined as a type of parasite. A leech riding upon that which is good and right. The words we use for it show what my meaning •Darkness – an absence of light. •Unrighteousness – the lack of that which is right. •Lawlessness – an absence of law. Nevertheless, this thing we call evil is not a nothing. It even has a king, the ruler of this present fallen world, the devil. And while it may be defined as an absence of that which is good, evil is a “nothing” that effects misery, harm, and death. In this book, based upon a series of sermons I preached in 2016 at Christ Reformation Church, I want to show you how this darkness works to disguise itself, creep in among us – especially among us in the Christian church – and work its destruction on the most vulnerable innocents it can find. It is past time for us all to become wise as serpents about evil, while remaining innocent as doves by not being duped into becoming its ally.

351 pages, Paperback

Published April 24, 2020

Reviews

[Joy Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Using tons of Scripture, this book opened my eyes even more to the evil I experienced as a domestic violence victim, and what makes church people and leaders so often re-victimise the vulnerable and hurting and are completely blind to wolves in sheep's clothing. I was shocked how often the Bible points out that evil people claim to be Christians. It was powerful, easy to digest and I'm so thankful to have this to recommend to other victims who contact me, who have said how validating and eye-opening it was.