John Nova’s “Our Favorite Demon”
By: Deji Yesufu
The 16th century Reformation that the likes of Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin led in Europe brought a new perspective to the Christian religion, particularly an emphasis on the Bible as being sole authority in matters concerning the Christian faith. Prior to this time, the Roman Catholic Pope and all the paraphernalia under his religious system was what most people regarded Christianity to be. Atheism was practically non-existent in the 16th century. All of these changed in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially after the French revolution. People began to question all the authorities that were placed over them. Having deposed the French monarchy, it was not long before this same people began to question the religious authorities that were set over them. By the middle of the 19th century and with the publishing of Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species”, atheism had become a popular religion.
John Nova’s book does not discuss atheism. Instead he looks at the Christian religion from another perspective. John dares to call Christianity “our favorite demon”. The matter is made increasingly confusing when you chat up John and discover that he is a fine Christian man himself. So why does he call Christianity a demon? Well, you need to pick up John Nova’s book to find out for yourself. Suffice to say here that John’s labeling of Christianity as a demon is in a certain context that I have no liberty to reveal here or else I would spoil the joys of reading the book for you. I do not want to be like the proverbial visiting uncle who is always spoiling the family video by revealing everything about the movie and destroying the suspense that is integral to the enjoyment of a movie.
Speaking about suspense, I am not sure I have read a book, a Christian book for that matter, which has the kind of suspense that John Nova puts into the pages of his book. “Our Favorite Demon” tells a story in remarkable suspense and in between the writer inputs strong doctrinal points. John leads us to examine the foundation of our faith. He helps us to realize that if we have not imbibed the heart of Christianity, what we may have taken into our heart is a demon. John takes time to tell the story of a demon in the book and he describes the ravaging works that this demon brings on religious people. On one hand, our favorite demon is destroying our lives; on the other hand, we are enjoying every bit of it. This is why the history of the world has been laced with the most horrendous atrocities committed by religious people. In other words, if somebody does not get the heart of the Christian message, he or she stands the danger of manifesting the works of devils and calling it Christianity. These are not John’s exact words but rather my summation of what the author is trying to say in his book.
One of my greatest troubles with religion has been this: the most irreligious people can be the most morally upright individuals in society. Somebody told me that while many countries in Europe are jettisoning religion, if you were to misplace a personal item (say an expensive phone) in a public place, the chances of your finding it are very high. These irreligious people will look for you and hand over your property to you. In Nigeria, with all our profession of religion, that item is as good as gone. In my recent visit to Germany, I saw kindness practically demonstrated. Yet, I did not see a single church building in the whole of Berlin.
At the turn of the 17th century and 18th century, many people in Europe discovered the religious demon in their society. Many of them quickly relinquished religion in the process. This phenomenon is today playing out in 21st century Nigeria, especially with the advent of the internet. The beauty of John Nova’s book is that it helps us all to recognize the demon in the Christian faith that we practice. He also goes further to help us know how to exorcise that demon, so that whatever is left is “pure and undefiled religion” (James 1:27), such religion that is pleasing to God. John Nova urges Christians to recognize what is dross in their practice of religion and helps them locate what is truly pleasing to God and life-giving. This is what Europe missed in the 17th/18th century and it is what they are still missing even today. This is what our modern day iconoclasts are also missing. If you read John Nova’s book, you are not likely to join in their errors.
Here is a link to get a free e-copy of John’s book: https://www.jcnova.com/free-ebook
I would urge you to go Amazon and purchase a hard copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Favourite-Demon-John-Nova/dp/1520963548/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
For Kindle users, here is a link also: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Favourite-Demon-J-C-Nova-ebook/dp/B0144TKZPM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Let us encourage our own Nigerian writers and buy their intellectual works. As for John Nova, I can state categorically that you will not regret spending your money on this book and other works that he has published.
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