How Evil Works: Understanding and Overcoming the Destructive Forces That Are Transforming America

*****This book is a follow up to the author's previous book, "The Marketing of Evil", which I haven't read. You can read this book without having read the former; I can say that it stands alone as a provocative and challenging book that will appeal to people, primarily Christians, with a strong conservative world view. I am NOT one of those people (I am a more liberal, moderate Christian) but despite my beliefs, I found it interesting, compelling, and convicting. I have to admit that it made me think and perhaps reconsider some of my views, many of which I can now see are heavily influenced by my culture. This is a very, very controversial book as it is Bible-based, coming from a thoroughly Christian world-view, patriotic, pro-capitalism, anti-global warming, and pro-life. Many people will see these biases as negative or naive or even dangerous, and if that is you, this may not be the book for you. If however, you are a Christian, and you are curious as to how your stand on these things and many others relate to the concept of evil, deception, and truth, you will be fascinated by the book; I certainly was. If you are a liberal Christian and are open-minded to understanding a more intelligent presentation of conservative faith, I think you will find much to like here as well.The author's premise is that we don't understand the mechanism of evil and how it works in American society today. He demonstrates how he sees evil working using examples from current events, science, and psychology, and of course, many Biblical references. The book is heavily footnoted and has a very detailed index. I especially appreciate the index because this book is one that I will think about and refer back to again and again, and look up examples the author discussed. This is a book I definitely want to discuss with others.The book includes chapters focusing on diverse topics including: the failure of marriages, what the author calls "sexual anarchy", terrorism, neopaganism, the overuse of psychiatric prescription drugs, militant atheism, the demise of fatherhood and education for boys, celebrity culture, the power of hate, and so much more. It is well organized and contains convincing arguments that make the author's central point that we are corrupted by anti-biblical philosophies and societal confusion and that, as Christians, we lack courage and moral clarity. I think that he makes his point well and I have to agree with him. It made me want to become braver and it helped me to become clearer on what I really do believe. It helped me to see deception and yes, even evil, in many of the arguments for situational ethics and moral relativism. The author explained how many of the politically correct views we have today are based upon things like pride, a need for approval, and even narcissism. He demonstrates this in a powerful way. Unlike some conservative books that are more like rants or screeds, this book is calm and based upon reasoning---still, it is like a wake-up call for Christians. It certainly was a wake-up call for me.The book discusses the remedy for cultural disarray--authentic Christian faith--which looks pretty different from the lifestyle of the typical American Christian. He interprets Bible passages that make sense to me in light of the times, and in a way that is not hateful, ugly, and judgmental. He calls evil "evil" which is a pretty brave and hard thing to do, especially in a way that is caring, concerned, and even loving. He makes the point often that the truth can be hard, but that it doesn't make it any less true, and he demonstrates this well, I think. It is a modern book for a modern time.I don't want to be too over-the-top here, but this book was life-transforming for me. If you are ready for this, buy the book.Highly recommended.*****

I picked up this book following the atrocity in Newtown, CT. I thought considering its message might be more constructive than joining the chorus of calls to ban guns. Firearms have been with us a long time, but as far as I know events like Newtown have not. Therefore, something else might be at work.Kupelian states the basic problem thusly: "Despite the human race's extraordinary capacity for invention and progress, we clearly have a millennia-old blind spot." Specifically, "we don't understand ourselves."Given all that has previously been written on self-understanding, adding something new would seem to be a formidable task. However, he does a good job of zeroing in on the urgent points of concern in modern life: the tendency of every government (even the most enlightened) to develop a tyrannical attitude with regard to its populace, the recent phenomenon in which marital unions and secure families are becoming the exception rather than the norm, the effect of terrorism on the human psyche, the esteem so many of us have for celebrities (and the damage that does), our excessive reliance on psychiatric drugs as a response to problems that may be "more mental-emotional or even spiritual in origin" rather than biochemical imbalances, the attraction of New Age religions and "feel-good" philosophies, and the emergence of militant atheism.From there, he goes back over some of the same ground in more detail, showing for example how our culture weakens itself by consistently portraying men as "fools--unless of course they're gay."Some will shrug this off as right-wing polemics, but Kupelian strives to make a case that stands up to criticism (acknowledging for example that some people are indeed helped by psychiatric drugs).The latter half takes a somewhat more personal approach. He examines the mechanism of hate--the need people have for a scapegoat ("to avoid taking responsibility" for our own failings) and the way children are indoctrinated to carry on their elders' unfinished battles. He talks about the apparent absence of God in all these disasters. God is not absent, he says, but is being shut out by our prideful assumption that we know best. The remedy is learning to observe ourselves and recognize the turning points we take. His comments on the meaning of the verb "watch" in Scripture are for me the highlight of the book.The conclusion is more optimistic than seems warranted, I think. At least for the near term. I would have agreed with it, had I read this six months ago, but since then events have shown that evil can be revealed with all its warts and yet be accepted enthusiastically by vast numbers of people. I think we are bringing some very bad times down upon ourselves. But hopefully Kupelian is right when he says Truth will eventually prevail.Read this book to understand yourself, not for affirmations about what is wrong with other people.

A++++++++++

In his book “How Evil Works”, David Kupelian speaks briefly on a wide variety of forms of “evil” in western society. He critiques each one and tries to explain the driving force behind the social ills we are dealing with. Though he provides a lot of insight that many may have not considered before, there is really not enough space in the short chapters of this book to discuss each subject comprehensively.That said, I did find quite a bit of his analysis to be very useful and interesting. For example, in chapter four he addresses the issue of rampant dysfunction among celebrities. Kupelian asserts that the Bible commands us to worship God and God alone: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). Of course we all like to receive recognition and encouragement from time to time, but what happens when it is no longer recognition and encouragement but praise so over the top that it is idol worship? As Kupelian says: “When humans are idolized and praised – or more precisely, when they lower themselves to accept that homage and bask in its warmth and glory – the idolized “star” starts to change profoundly for the worse.” He claims that “there’s a violation of our spirit when someone serves up inordinate praise.” I think he has a point here. Years ago when I achieved a small amount of local fame for my singing talent, I had a small taste of what it was like to be excessively praised and the center of attention. On one hand it felt good, but inside me something was off. I can only imagine how much more a person would be affected if they were truly famous.In chapter seven, Kupelian discusses Atheism and brings some arguments to the table as to why Atheistic reasoning is faulty. At one point he responds to an argument put forth by Christopher Hitchens: “…during his nationwide book tour, Hitchens made a practice of confronting every audience with the same question. ‘My challenge: Name an ethical statement or action, made or performed by a person of faith, that could not have been made or performed by a nonbeliever,’ he wrote in Vanity Fair. ‘I have since asked this question at every stop and haven’t had a reply yet.’” Kupelian responds by pointing out that in a world where God exists, Atheists would also have the capacity to be moral since God has built a sense of right and wrong, a conscience, into each person whether that person believes in Him or not. I agree with this reasoning but I would go one step further. Although atheists have the capacity to act morally, they cannot account for the existence of morality itself using their worldview. In a naturalistic, evolutionary worldview where “might makes right” and it’s all about the “survival of the fittest”, caring for the weak does not make sense. Certainly there are a lot of atheists who act morally and generally care for those around them, particularly the weaker in society, however they are acting inconsistently with their worldview.The chapter in this book that I take some issue with is chapter five: Doctors, Drugs, and Demons. Kupelian begins this chapter by discussing some horrifying crimes: Christopher Pittman’s murder of his grandparents, Andrea Yates’ drowning of her children, the Columbine shooting, etc. He connects these and others with psychiatric drugs. One could argue that correlation does not equal causation and that these were mentally disturbed people who committed the crimes because they were mentally disturbed and not because of the drugs. He does not address this idea. In any case, I am inclined to agree with Kupelian here that psychiatric drugs can push people over the edge to do things they otherwise wouldn’t have.Where I truly differ with the author, is when he claims that we should all stop “blaming all our psychological-spiritual problems on chemical imbalances, hormones, genes, and newly minted ‘mental illnesses,’ and instead [look] more deeply for real causes – and real cures”. While I don’t disagree that there is a spiritual element to a lot of people’s mental suffering, I take strong issue with the idea that this is the sole problem and that hormones and chemical imbalances have nothing to do with it. The reality is we are living in a fallen world where things go wrong all the time in our bodies. If we get cancer, that doesn’t mean we had a spiritual problem. It means something went physically wrong with us and it needs to be corrected. Like other parts of our body our brain is also a physical organ and things can go wrong with it. Autism is also a good example of this. You don’t tell a person with autism that it is their own fault that they struggle with this and that they must have some unresolved sin they need to repent of in order to be free of it.In this world we are now surrounded by pollutants and toxins that we are inhaling every day. These things can affect us on many different levels: cause cancer, autism, and yes, depression. Therefore, I agree with Kupelian that drugs are usually not the answer, however I think the answer lies in fixing the physical problems that people are dealing with (detoxifying and letting the body heal itself) as well as addressing the spiritual and other issues.One thing that particularly concerns me is what he says near the end of this chapter. He wonders “how many people who have suffered from what we today call ‘bipolar disorder,’ depression,’ ‘anxiety disorders,’ ‘schizophrenia,’ and other serious conditions have mysteriously gotten better” when they “allow the light of God to come into them and shine on their conflicts and untangle their mess – mostly by discovering forgiveness.” It is a scary thing when a schizophrenic comes to the conclusion that her illness is healed and therefore stops taking her medication. This happened to a friend of mine about two years after she became a Christian and she ended up having a serious relapse that just about destroyed her. Certainly everyone should be encouraged to confess sin and experience forgiveness, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the person will automatically be rid of her earthly struggles. A right relationship with Christ is only one component of mental health for those living in this broken world.Overall, I would highly recommend this book, particularly to conservative minded Christians. Many of the author’s opinions will ring true for you and you may learn something along the way. People who are more liberally minded will likely find some of the material offensive, however it might give them food for thought as well.

Excellent book, fast service thanks.

Brilliant!

I was disappointed in this book because it seems to be little more than a catalogue of the social ills of (mainly) the USA and are laid at the feet of left-wing thinking. Worse, he fails to consider that problems such as his country's very expensive medical system, low expectation of life, poverty and high infant mortality can be linked to the USA being perhaps the most capitalist state in the industrialised world.The author strangely lauds Ronald Reagan and "his forty-year war against communism"!! and then rewrites history in saying that "like Winston Churchill...he was widely reviled in his day". Maybe Reagan was, but Winston Churchill?So, read this if you wish to be confirmed in your thinking that another Ronald Reagan would solve the USA's ills, but if you want to have a greater understanding of evil, this is not the book for you. For me, this book is not what I would expect from a seasoned, objective journalist.Reg KennedyHelsinki