Book excerpt: This brilliant and original study explores the problem of psychopathology in the context of the larger problem of evil. Dr. Shuster places the problem squarely within the theological framework of spiritual warfare, focusing on power as the key element. The book is divided into four parts. The first of these examines various views of the nature of reality. The other three sections deal with power, pathology, and paradox, respectively. The section on power functions as a “hinge,” since it defines the paradigm that is implicit in the preceding chapters and explicitly governs the chapters that follow. The section on pathology establishes “evil” (of which psychopathology is a part) as a spiritual and moral category rather than as a scientific and empirical one. The final three chapters explore “a radical, paradoxical, Christian view of health whereby the power of Satan is conceived as being countered not by a like power but by the Word and Spirit of God operative through human weakness.” This challenging and at times unsettling book will repay the thoughtful reader with a clearer insight into what is perhaps the most perplexing problem of human existence—the problem of evil.