This Present Darkness

H.M.-4

Sin is the Monster we love to deny. It is crouching at the door and it wants you, but you must overcome it. Frank E. Peretti. This quote is from the famous author that wrote many amazing novels, along with the book This Present Darkness. This novel is a book that you can never put down. It is filled with suspense, romance and mystery. However, one element that plays a massive role inside this amazing and creative piece of literature is the conflict. The conflict is an important substance that holds the book together because it creates the excitement and suspense. There are three main conflicts that occur in this book, disputes between the church and the Inner Circle, an internal and external complication with Hank and Marshall, and a battle between good and evil.

One of the main conflicts that occurred in this novel was the uncalled for and horrible disputes that manifested between the Church and the Inner Circle. Years ago, the individuals containing a lot of the power over the town, the Inner Circle, had discharged a former pastor because they despised the fact that he spoke of the gospel to the congregation. The Inner Circle was a group of individuals who were being controlled by the evil dwellings in the town. They were the people who wanted to be the power and control of the whole town. Then when it seemed as though all hope was lost, there came a young pastor named Hank Busche, he was voted in to be the pastor by numerous individuals of the church. However, the action that took place in placing Hank as pastor was an accident according to the Inner Circle. Hank was a man that spoke of the truth, gospel and Gods love to the congregation. As time passed on, the Inner Circle began to be terrified that the people of Ashton would start to follow what was right in Gods eyes and

not follow what was expected by the power of the town. That is when they intervened to do everything in there power to overthrow the Church and get rid of Hank and his God. Nevertheless, Hank Busche, whose faithful commitment to prayer and following God, turned out to be the most powerful weapon in the struggle to save Ashton and the Church.

The second conflict that occurred in This Present Darkness was the internal and external complications with Hank and Marshall. First, Hank was a godly, loving and respectful man. However, because of the fact that he was extremely devoted to following God, evil demons tried everything in their power to destroy Hank mentally and eventually physically. Nonetheless, because of the spiritual strength that Hank contained, evil was never able to surpass through the mind of Hank. The second man who was troubled by many conflicts was Marshall Hogan. Marshall was the tough newspaper owner that had an inquisitive and stubborn attitude that lead him to discover the Inner Circles plans and boldly oppose them. He went through an immense amount of trials trying to figure out the devious plans of the evil corporation. On the other hand, the fact that he was trying to put an end to these plans, Marshall became an enemy of the Inner Circle as well as Hank. Anyhow, Marshall was being protected by God and his angels. Through all the times that evil tried to take over, God was always there to help and protect each and every one of the individuals of Ashton.

Finally, the last conflict of the book is the terrorizing battle between good and evil. This book not only contained spiritual battles between individuals, but battles between the spirits themselves. The angels in this novel were great worriers who contained great

wisdom. Even though there were many times where they wanted to destroy the lurking demons who were terrorizing the towns inhabitants, they waited for their orders and created brilliant plans to overthrow the demons. The demons tried to destroy the hearts and minds of the people of Ashton. Like the Bible says, the devil comes like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, kill, steal and destroy. The devil was trying to create a new way of living into the system of the town. He was trying to start a "New World Order" on the world. Through the tough, deceptive and deceitful approaches that evil laid on the people of God, they did not stand a chance. The kingdom of God stood and reigned forever.

One of the main conflicts that occurred in this novel was the uncalled for and horrible disputes that manifested between the Church and the Inner Circle. The second conflict that occurred in This Present Darkness was the internal and external complications with Hank and Marshall. Finally, the last conflict of the book is the terrorizing battle between good and evil. There are three main conflicts that occur in this book, disputes between the church and the Inner Circle, an internal and external complication with Hank and Marshall, and a battle between good and evil. The kingdom of God will stand and reign forever.