I tried to like Angels on Assignment, I really did… but it just wasn’t working for me.
My Dad then came to visit for a vacation and read it while he was here. He then wrote me a review, which I have to say was not a very positive one. I was going to post that but I thought I’d be better to word it in my own way.
The book attempts to demonstrate that there are angels actively working to protect us and our loved ones. I believe this is true but not for the reasons Perry Stone tries to convince us of in this book.
The basic premise of the book is that the Mizpah covenant provides for God’s angels to protect us and our loved ones. However, no matter how I look at it, no matter how many times I read it, the Mizpah covenant was not between God and His people guaranteeing His protection through angels at all. The Covenant was proposed by Laban between him and Jacob in which Laban called upon God to continually witness and judge the actions of Jacob in case he ever did anything to wrong Laban in his absence. Not only does the covenant have no reference to angels, it seeks vengeance, not well-being.
I remember when I was growing up people would buy ‘Mizpah pendents’ and share them with their friends. These twin pendents were two halves of a heart which had written on them “The Lord watch between me and thee while we are apart”. It was a form of saying, “You’re my BFF”. Both parties would wear half of the heart around their neck signifying their friendship.
I always wondered if they knew that the Mizpah covenant was not one of protection but one of saying, “Be good, because God is watching!”
I believe that Stone makes this same mistake in Angels on Assignment – and if I’m the one who is mistaken, there is certainly nothing in this book to convince me of that.
Angels are real and I believe that they protect us, but not because of the Mizpah covenant, as this book claims. I fear that many who read it will be misled into believing something that is partly true but partly very false.
For that reason, I cannot recommend this book.
Great & honest review
Thanks, Mark.
Hardest review of my life to write!
I agree with Buzzie. Honesty's the way to go man.
Thanks, Jason.
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Oh Jeez, if I had known you'd write THAT, I'd never have encouraged you to be negative!
Nah, just kidding. Good review. See, it's not so hard to be critical, is it?
Thankfully I knew who the comment was from before I started reading, so I knew what to expect
Thanks, Matt.
You know what? Okay. One time, I wrote something on my blog making fun of a certain band that I used to like, but am now embarrassed about. And then the former drummer of said band commented on the post, saying, "I'm sorry we embarrass you." I felt soooooo bad about it, that I'm now terrified to say anything negative about anybody or anything. Like, when I don't like a book, I feel bad saying so, so I skirt around it by making excuses for why I didn't like it. Like, it was my fault or something. Like… I just wanted to say "like" one more time because I realized I already sounded like a ditz, so why not go with it?
Random thought. I'm not calling you wrong for doing this; your post just made me think of this, and no one's in the room to tell. So you got, like, a totally random comment.
(I appreciate your honesty in this post, and I envy your tactfulness. That's really why I commented. Saying I was now embarrassed about having previously liked someone's art was not so tactful!)
That was like one of the the like funniest comments I've like ever had. Like.
Thanks!
Being honest about how you feel about the books you review makes you more credible, ya know. If you say it's all good, then what is your opinion really worth, right? I know this had to be hard for you. The truth sometimes hurts, but it has to be told.
Remember, there is only One you need to please.
Thanks for the reminder, Ginny!
short and sweet, well done.
Thank you, Nancy. It took a LONG time to write!
Nicely said, Peter. And, I would add that you have displayed significantly more tact than I would have used, considering who authored the book.
Thanks Joe.
I'm probably in the position of having an advantage over you because I have no idea who Perry Stone is!
I ;think you said it very nicely. You were very kind. I know from this why you didn't like the book, yet you never ranted or suggested it was a waste of time, yada yada. You kept it professional. Nice job!
Thanks, Helen.
You have the art of using the phrase 'yada yada' without being offensive down to a T!
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Yay! I'm proud of you
ok that sounded like a mom thing to say lol. BUT in honesty I know this was something you had internal conflict over and I'm sure you prayed and read the advice from your previous post and prayed some more and thought long and hard. It was a great review. Not one that went on and on as to what the problems were, it never sounded nasty or hurtful and you very concisely pointed out what you found the problems to be and gave supporting reasons for your review. Great Job!
Thanks, Mom.
.
lol Anytime
Great job Peter- helpful and informative. I know the name, Perry Stone, but that's about it…
Thanks Jason.
Peter, you've got guts! I can't tell you how much I respect the very well laid out reasons for your assessment, and your diplomacy in sharing it. You are awesome.
Thanks Anne.
Your turn now….
Now you've made me interested in it when I would've just passed over it before, LOL! It's always important to get our foundations correct before we build a book off of them- this might be one of the most paralyzing things as an aspiring author. We become afraid of whether we really know the subject we're writing about as well as we think we do. (or maybe that's just me)
Blogging is no different. We have to keep our facts straight. You set a good example on your Solomon retratction and you set a good example on this review. You didn't make it personal, but you pointed out explicitly why you had a problem with it.
I can send you the book if you'd like, Frank
Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it a lot!
God bless,
Peter
Sometimes people make a big deal on little things like are angels actively working to protect us. I think people should worry on what am i doing for the LORD. We waste so much time delegating on stupid stuff while souls are being lost daily. We want to be able to see things before we can believe on them but the LORD says to have FAITH and what is FAITH to believe on something we cant see. Instead of worrying if there are angels taking care of us or not worry about talking to someone about the LORD so they get saved.
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