Review: Glimpses of the Devil

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	• Glimpses of the Devil : A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption M. Scott Peck, 2005 - 288 pages view larger image
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Not too preachy

I enjoy researching cases of possession, so I often find myself buying books on the subject. However, it is not unusual for the books to be too firmly based from the religious standpoint for me to enjoy learning from them. This book, however, is something different. Peck does not deny that he is a christian, but he does not write the book from the perspective of one at all. He writes it from his professional perspective as a psychiatrist. The stories are not over-sensationalized like you often read about in possession stories, and he spends much of the book assessing the situations from a clinical and scientific mindset. If you're interested in the subject, this is a very good book to purchase.

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A Great Read

If you're not a practicing Christian, you might think that the experiences shared by Scott Peck could be better explained by natural phenomena but Christians familiar with the Bible know full well how demons can afflict and even possess human beings. I was amazed that a relatively new believer in Christ could, with his background in psychiatry, actually undertake this extraordinary battle and have the success that he did. Dr. Peck gives a detailed look at his encounters with the supernatural and the thought processes that he had along the way. He presents his encounters with the patients and with the other professionals he consulted, giving the book a very realistic and grounded feel. Especially interesting were his discussions with another exorcist, Malachi Martin, who initially interested Dr. Peck in the whole area of demon possession. Peck keeps the interest level high thoughout the book.

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Review: Glimpses of the Devil

In his final tome, Scott Peck returns to the dark and controversial topic of satanic possession.

The book is a case report of two women who underwent exorcisms in the 1980s. Jersey Babcock, a Connecticut mother in her late 20's, and Rebeccah Armitage, a 45-year-old multimillionaire from The Big Apple. One exorcism was successful, one was not.

Though some critique the book as theatrical, I don't find the accounts overly dramatic. Portraits do not fly off living room walls, there is no apparition of demons in physical form, no full moon that drips blood or half moon, crescent moon or even new moon mentioned (and I know this without even using books.google.com, because I read the whole book).

Further, Peck contends that the Roman Catholic Church's traditional symptom checklist for demonic possession is overzealous, permitting an exorcism only with present paranormal symptomology such as levitation, psychokinesis (to move objects with one's mind), a psychic knowledge of the future, or fluent speech and comprehension of foreign languages to which the patient has never been exposed. Peck contends, "these criteria are so unrealistically strict that they would deny an exorcism to the majority of victims genuinely possessed by the demonic."

Though not incontrovertible, there was evidence of satanic possession in Peck's cases. For instance, the women believed themselves to be possessed, they heard voices, and (most notably) a battery of psychiatric interviews and psychological tests found them to not be suffering any type of schizophrenic or psychotic disorder. Therefore, in contrast to R-Catholic policy, Peck bases diagnosis through a medical paradigm stating "physicians are taught that the best way to make diagnosis is usually through a process of exclusion. If it was clear that Jersey [or Beccah] was suffering from a standard, well-recognized psychiatric illness, then I would be able to exclude the possibility of demonic possession"

The book is not devoid of drama, however, and the women do exude extraordinary manifestations that are less overtly paranormal. For one, Peck addresses that like most possessed persons, the two women had "facial skin that looks strangely stretched, tight, and smooth" Recall this is the, pre-Botox injected, 1980s. Peck also writes that during the exorcisms the women's faces turned hideous shapes; Beccah displayed immense physical strength and presented snake-like motions and characteristics. Moreover, Beccah presented what is described to be the spiritual appearance of a snake (this could not be captured on videotape). Lastly, demons spoke to the exorcist through the possessed--though without the babble of multiple voices and without voice alterations, which were both present in the recent Hollywood movie, The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

So, with an air of skepticism, I think the strongest challenging questions are these:
Is Scott Peck a liar? Is he deluded by his own admitted arrogance, and delusions of grandeur? One could suggest that his fame, fortune and reputation as a modern day prophet were not sufficient for his ego and he desired a face-off with the Devil himself. Or one could wonder if the Devil was after Peck, seeking his demise before he experienced and wrote about some miraculous spiritual renewal.

Conversely, could it be that Peck's clients suffered a kind of psychotic or schizophrenic disorder that simply has not yet been identified; one that does not meet DSM criteria? Could this disorder involve a dissociation of personality or delusion that makes the person think they are possessed by the Devil?

Peck states the two exorcisms were videotaped, but unfortunately I was unable to locate a tear-out anywhere to buy them on DVD. Similarly, original documentation of the women's psychological exams or therapy records are not provided in full or part. Even if they were, these things could still be questioned. And one can read the text with the supposition that it is entirely untrue, but that preconceived decision, I think, ruins the value of the book. The spiritual realm, for good and for ill, has always been one susceptible to empirical criticism.

Peck writes in his conclusion that though he believes there is enough foundational evidence (well specified, in the text) to make demonology a legitimate science, an "incipient subspecialty of psychiatry and psychology," he admits practically "the acceptance of demonology into the scientific is not going to happen--at least not until history itself is reformed, not until a 350-year-old separation of the world of supposed natural phenomenon from the assumed world of supernatural phenomenon is revisited, and recognized by all concerned as having been a gigantic mistake."

Do I recommend this book? Sure. As always Peck has good insight, and his text is entertaining while at the same time intellectual and profoundly readable. If you are remotely interested in the topic you will devour the approx 250 pages in a day or two. Though, at $26.00 in hardcover I wouldn't rebuke you for waiting until it appears in paperback (while you wait, Peck's 1983 book People of the Lie, a text on human evil, describes one of these exorcisms in less detail, and can be found used on Amazon today for $4.44).

In the end, Peck adds a worthy and significant contribution to the topic of demonic possession, and my prediction is that as generations become more postmodern, the 350-year and waiting natural-supernatural segregation will crack like the foundation under my house and the exploration and explanation of the `supernatural' will be allowed once again. We will see plenty more books like this in the future.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

"The legendary bestselling author and renowned psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, whose books have sold over 14 million copies, reveals the amazing true story of his work as an exorcist -- kept secret for more than twenty-five years -- in two profoundly human stories of satanic possession. In the tradition of his million-copy bestseller People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil, Scott Peck's new book offers the first complete account of exorcism and possession by a modern psychiatrist in this extraordinary personal narrative of his efforts to heal patients suffering from demonic and satanic possession. For the first time, Dr. Peck discusses his experience in conducting exorcisms, sharing the spellbinding details of his two major cases: one a moving testament to his healing abilities, and the other a perilous and ultimately unsuccessful struggle against darkness and evil. Twenty-seven-year-old Jersey was of average intelligence; a caring and devoted wife and mother to her husband and two young daughters, she had no history of mental illness. Beccah, in her mid-forties and with a superior intellect, had suffered from profound depression throughout her life, choosing to remain in an abusive relationship with her husband, one dominated by distrust and greed. Until the day Dr. Peck first met the young woman called Jersey, he did not believe in the devil. In fact, as a mature, highly experienced psychiatrist, he expected that this case would resolve his ongoing effort to prove to himself, as scientifically as possible, that there were absolutely no grounds for such beliefs. Yet what he discovered could not be explained away simply as madness or by any standard clinical diagnosis. Through a series of unanticipated events, Dr. Peck found himself thrust into the role of exorcist, and his desire to treat and help Jersey led him down a path of blurred boundaries between science and religion. Once there, he came face-to-face with deeply entrenched evil and ultimately witnessed the overwhelming healing power of love. In Glimpses of the Devil, Dr. Peck's celebrated gift for integrating psychiatry and religion is demonstrated yet again as he recounts his journey from skepticism to eventual acknowledgment of the reality of an evil spirit, even at the risk of being shunned by the medical establishment. In the process, he also finds himself compelled to confront the larger paradox of free will, of a commitment to goodness versus enslavement to the forms of evil, and the monumental clash of forces that endangers both sanity and the soul. Glimpses of the Devil is unquestionably among Scott Peck's most powerful, scrupulously written, and important books in many years. At once deeply sensitive and intensely chilling, it takes a clear-eyed look at one of the most mysterious and misunderstood areas of human experience. "

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