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Them Demons is Tricky by Rob Jacik Lulu
book review by Carolyn Davis
"After e-mail conversations with me, all of them, without exception, ended up leaving their church and leaving their Fundamentalist group. Each... walked away with a greater appreciation for other faiths."
Written mostly in e-mail format, with some narrative and explanations included, Jacik's opus documents his correspondence with five members of a Fundamentalist church. The members' inspiration to contact the author (who was raised in the Catholic faith, later joined Wicca, and now is practicing modern Paganism), was to attempt to convince him that their church's way was the true one. Through multiple messages that detail patience, lessons in history and theology, and assurances that there is more to life than the fear of punishment for sin, Jacik convinces these men, as well as several other people, to leave their rigid pastor and church for others that emphasize love and acceptance.
The men with whom the author corresponds reveal themselves to be searching for more meaning and joy in their spiritual lives. All of the members were expected to contribute considerable amounts of money to their Fundamentalist church, and to follow the dictates of its pastor, who is portrayed as an angry, controlling, frightened, and frightening person.
This book is significant in that it illustrates several important points of the dangers of intolerance and "blind faith"—that those who seek to guide others spiritually need to be grounded not only in Biblical and many other texts, but in their own and others' motivations to lead others in religious beliefs and practices. Jacik's message that love, tolerance, and enlightenment can and should replace fear and ignorance is extremely important not only in the context of religion, but in all aspects of life.