This is just a fantasy book about how to scare people into not going to the doctor and to keep sheeple in line. It has passages about how to recognize demons, how to get rid of them, how to keep deliverance, and you’d think it would be bigger with all these kind of hard “facts” about demons. I really wish this were shaped to be some kind of fantasy book because it would make a good tale similar to The Omen. But alas it’s straight out of the satanic panic mid 70’s and aims to be taken seriously. There are stories inside about them “helping” people who have mental issues and everyday problems but choosing to blame it on demons. I will say this cover is absolutely gorgeous and should be something akin to animal farm but alas it’s not. The title, Pigs in the Parlor, was referring to Mark 5 in the Bible. It was the story of the demon-possessed man by the tombs who was tormented day and night, crying out and cutting himself. When he saw Jesus, he ran to Him for help. The demons, known as Legion, cried out in fear and asked Jesus to send them into the herd of pigs, rather than to be run out of the area. Mark 5:13 says, “Jesus gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.”

This book was so serious and so insightful. It's one of those books you keep on file and pull out for a refresher every so often. Debunked so many myths about demons and deliverance and pretty much spelled it out and how to become a practicing minister of deliverance and explain it on a practical and spiritual level. My eyes were definitely opened and my understanding deepened as well. First book I had ever read that gave me clarity about what we are waging for and against. A tad edgy and certainly uncomfortable the first read but two or three times around new revelations came to pass in my seriously logical A type personality processor In the Gospels, the symptoms of those who had a demon included extreme strength, epileptic-like fits, self-destructive behavior, screaming, and revulsion at Jesus Christ (a symptom no Christian can have). Compare some of the symptoms that Hammond says are common in people who have a demon: worry, procrastination, gossip, caffeine addiction, and the like (28-29). In fact, these things supposedly *are* demons. Also on the list of nearly 300 demons are stubbornness, shyness, daydreaming, discouragement, headache, retardation, forgetfulness, heartache, embarrassment, sexual frigidity, and intellectualism (113-15). I suppose I have the last-mentioned demon. Ignorance and stupidity, however, did not make the list. As this world gets crazier and more evil, my prayer is that we tap into, that we fully embrace, all that Jesus has given us to fight, to endure, to stand firm, and to be a warrior that He can send out for battle. I pray you reflect on His Word and His promises and how it can be lived out through you and your circumstances. Through all that I’ve learned from books like Pigs in the Parlor, friends like Jeannette, and other resources throughout this season, my faith and confidence in Him has grown exponentially. I’ve been stretched in more ways than I ever could imagine, yet I’m truly thankful and actually do consider it all joy. I’m so grateful too, that my kids were able to see this at a young age so that they can be better equipped for the battles that lie ahead for them — and as we know, there will be many.

Develop

Seriously, folks, go get your Bible and just read it instead of wasting your money on something like this. Plain and simply, it’s a false teaching you should avoid like the plague. The first argument to be considered is this one: ‘Christians can’t have a demon ‘in them’ because they have the Holy Spirit in them. You can’t have both in a person at the same time’. Hammond implies that most demons enter a person before birth or during infancy (117). Most adopted children “will have spirits of rejection” (118). A child’s stuffed toy frog had to go because it could attract demons (142). (Sorry, Kermit!)

Demons return when they are cast out of unbelievers: Jesus clearly warned us that if we cast demons out of unbelievers, they are bound to return, each spirit bringing 7 even worse spirits with it (Matthew 12:43-45). There are two different sets of circumstances that may confront a Christian with the need to deal with demons: Jesus gave a legion of demons permission… Demons knew who Jesus was, they knew His power and knew that they didn’t have a fighting chance against Him no matter how many there were. They knew He had authority over them and that they had to ask Him for permission to come and go. As I continued reading this book, I pondered on some things. Jesus said that He must go to be with the Father and that He would give us the Holy Spirit who would never leave us. (John 14:16) The Holy Spirit, our Helper, is to guide us into all truth (John 16:13) and with Him, we will do even greater things than Jesus did when He was on this earth (John 14:12.) Jesus gave the disciples the authority to cast out demons. When He sent them out two by two, (Mark 3:15) He gave them the power to tread on serpents and over all power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19) What did this mean? Did this actually pertain to me? If Jesus has authority over the demons and all the power of the enemy, and He says that He has given me that same authority, then wouldn’t that mean that I have the power to cast out demons, to have power over the enemy, to do the things He did? At the same time I thought, “When would I ever even have to do something like that anyway?” Little did I know what lay ahead… Here is the clear example of how Christians, who have been born again and received Holy Spirit, can be tempted into receiving a false spirit - a demon. Being advised to speak out loud to your demons, for example if the demon says 'so and so doesn't like you' then you are to admonish it out loud by saying 'You are a liar demon, do not say that about my friend, I am protected by the blood of Jesus'

My Book Notes

I would suggest steering far away from this kind of literature that gives our defeated enemy way too much credit for what can be explained by human depravity. This book doesn’t provide deliverance from anything, for the book itself IS bondage Anyway these tormenting spirits caused the baby to cry incessantly until he was held by the authors wife who delivered him from these demons