Truth or Territory: A Biblical Approach to Spiritual Warfare

Author: Jim Osman
Genre: Spiritual Warfare

This book offers a critique of common spiritual warfare practices including binding Satan, renouncing curses, spiritual mapping and exorcisms. Using Scripture, and Scripture alone, Pastor Jim Osman shows that true spiritual warfare is not a battle over territory, but a battle for the truth. The book is divided into four sections: Establishing Biblical Principles, Exposing Unbiblical Practices, Explaining Biblical Perspectives and Examining a Biblical Passage. A biblical approach to spiritual warfare recognizes the Bible as the sole authority, rejects unbiblical and man-made methods, and rests in Christ and His finished work for victory.

Many in the modern spiritual warfare movement teach a methodology of spiritual warfare that is more akin to something you would find in a Harry Potter novel (renouncing curses and using prayer mantras to seize territory) than anything described in Scripture. Many of these practices reflect a theology built on anecdotes, experience, and interviews with demons rather than a sound exegesis of Scripture. Footnoted quotations of authors like Mark Bubeck, Neil T. Anderson, and others are compared against Scripture to show that modern spiritual warfare "experts" have abandoned the authority of Scripture and opted for man-made methods to wage spiritual battle.

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Reviewer: Laura J. Davis

Truth or Territory: A Biblical Approach to Spiritual Warfare by Pastor Jim Osman is probably the best Bible-based study on Spiritual Warfare available today.

There is so much detail in this book it is hard to know where to begin to give it a proper review. The author has divided the book into four different sections - Establishing Biblical Principles, Exposing Unbiblical Practices, Explaining Biblical Perspectives and Examining a Biblical Passage. He begins by helping the reader to understand a proper interpretation of Scripture on what spiritual warfare really is according to the Bible. He then tears to shreds, using scripture alone, current beliefs on spiritual warfare that the church fell prey to years ago from authors like Neil T. Anderson and Mark Bubeck. Incredibly, I was once a believer in the unbiblical doctrine Anderson and Bubeck taught, but many years ago the Lord showed me that these self-proclaimed "spiritual warfare experts" were teaching false doctrines, so I am very thankful someone has finally debunked them.

Spiritual warfare is one of the most misunderstood topics of the church and the author, using Scripture alone, proves the fallacies Anderson and Bubeck and others have fed the church for over 20 years. He exposes unbiblical practices like praying hedges of protection, binding and rebuking Satan, generational curses, Territorial Spirits (or Mapping), demon possession, deliverance ministries, exorcisms and even examines how much authority we actually have in Christ. He proves quite clearly that Neil T. Anderson has done more to promote errant doctrines, like deliverance ministries, than any other author to date.  In truth, most of Anderson's claims are assumptions that are not based on Scripture at all. Yet, incredibly the church as a whole has fallen for it hook, line and sinker. The best part of this whole book is the author's final look at Ephesians 6 and what it is really talking about in regards to what the "spiritual war" really is.

Many people after reading this book, claim a heavy burden lifted from their shoulders. I would agree with that assessment. If there is one book you and your church should be reading about Spiritual Warfare, it is this one.

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