The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Neil Anderson's book The Bondage Breaker

I have no desire to read Neil Anderson's book "The Bondage Breaker", but recently I have come in contact with people who are very interested in his ministry (Freedom in Christ Ministries).<br>From my understanding of his book (though it is second hand information, from a few years ago), a more accurate title for this book would have been "The Bondage Maker".<br><br>I have told these people my misgivings of Neil Anderson and his books, but because I didn't have anything to base this on, it wasn't taken seriously.<br>If what I have been told about Neil Anderson is correct, his belief is that Christians can be possessed by demons, and part of his ministry is devoted to that.<br><br>Does anyone have any concrete information that I could relay to these people?<br><br>Tom

Hi Tom,<br><br>I don't have concrete info to pass along, but perhaps a bit of advice?. . . If you really want to be able to talk persuasively to your friends about Neil Anderson and his ministry, I don't think you can avoid reading the book(s). Personally, I wouldn't take seriously the thoughts, misgivings, or impressions of anyone who wasn't familiar with the topic at hand. <br><br>Maybe you could borrow the book from the person you want to interact with (that way you don't have to spend any $$ on a book you don't want in your library and the person will know that you are serious about understanding and discussing this book and ministry with them.) If your experience is anything like mine in such situations, the red flags will go off as you read and scriptures and articles will spring to mind as you encounter falsehood. Take notes, do your research, and when you return the book, you will be better prepared to discuss the difficulties and you will be armed with an article or two from the Highway [img]http://www.the-highway.com/w3timages/icons/wink.gif" alt="wink" title="wink[/img] that you can offer. How can they say "no" when you have had the willingness to inform yourself?

gotribe<br><br>Though I agree with you about reading Anderson for himself, I am afraid that this particular issue isn't enough of a priority for me to do so.<br>I am the kind of person who sometimes falls into the trap of spreading myself too thin and in the end not accomplishing anything when that happens. It is because of that reality that I am trying to pick and choose the things that I want to spend a lot of time on.<br><br>I just thought if I was able to get some information with out spending a whole lot of time doing so, then it might be worth my while.<br><br>Tom

Tom,<br><br>If you will go to Answers to Your Questions there are brief excerpts of what they teach. Additionally, here is their Statement of Faith. This will give you enough information I believe to make an informed decision in a minimal amount of time.<br><br>Hope this helps.

Tom,<br><br>Try some of these critiques of Neil Anderson's heresies: http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/a45.html<br><br>I haven't read any of these, so I cannot recommend them as being accurate or even if the author's have their own errors. [img]http://www.the-highway.com/w3timages/icons/wink.gif" alt="wink" title="wink[/img]<br><br>

Joe<br><br>Thanks for those, apparently what I was told about Neil Anderson believe that a Christian can be possessed by a demon was wrong.<br>That of course doesn't mean that he doesn't have other heretical teaching.<br><br>Tom

Thanks Pilgrim<br><br>That information, particularly that of Elliot Miller of the CRI conflicts with what Neil Anderson says concerning demon possession.<br>Anderson says that a Christian can not be possessed by demons( from his own site). But Elliot Miller says that Neil Anderson believes that Christians can be possessed by demons.<br>Hmmm, kind of makes one wonder doesn't it [img]http://www.the-highway.com/w3timages/icons/scratch.gif" alt="scratch" title="scratch[/img].

His website fails to tell the whole story, or he has changed his own views, or he does not understand what he has written. For example, in his book, The Bondage Breaker, Neil Anderson gives an example of the "devil made me do it" thinking when he describes the case of a Christian woman who he said had been involved in all types of sin:<br><br><blockquote>[color:blue]Sheila is a sobering example of a dimension of spiritual vulnerability that most Christians do not like to talk about: [color:red]demonic control</font color=red>. As a believer, Sheila had obviously lost control in her eating habits, in her sexual behavior, and in her devotional life.<br><br>Neil Anderson, The Bondage Breaker, (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1990), p. 172.</font color=blue></blockquote> According to Anderson, the reason for this woman's sinful behavior was [color:red]demonic control</font color=red>. She is not to blame for her lack of discipline or obedience to Scripture. Anderson then states that this woman eventually became free when she renounced Satan's control over her life (p. 172).<br><br>Thus, I can see how you would think he DID, DOES believe in Christians being demon possessed, though his website does say otherwise [img]http://www.the-highway.com/w3timages/icons/shrug.gif" alt="shrug" title="shrug[/img]. I think he is a good one to stay away from until he understands what he believes.

Christian Research Journal did a critique of Anderson a while back which was quite helpful. You may be able to get hold of it at www.equip.org<br><br>James.