This should be mandatory reading, period. People of Lie was first introduced to me as a way of making sense of the malevolent yet pervasive narcissism unconsciously handed down throughout genetic lines. It is at once horrifying and hopeful, in that if one is willing to read it and genuflect on what M. Scott Peck is richly offering, lives can be altered for the better.

Peck's evolution from standard, "we can fix it with therapy" psychologist to a believer in unapologetic evil is an honesty those working in social services should realize. Sociopaths and psychopaths are out there; there is often a perception these people are "soulless" , but perhaps, it is simply another species of soul, predatory to the good nature of the human race.

This book was so lame... I was hoping to read about SCIENCE, not demons and God. I just couldn't continue when he started with the exorcism bullshit!

Ever person who was raised to "turn the other cheek" when faced with evil, should READ THIS BOOK. An eye-opener for me, who was raised in a middle-class suburb and told to be nice to everyone. Even Jesus told the Sadducees and Pharisees that he just didn't have time to waste on them - it's okay to not engage Evil - and to run when you sense it is near.

Darker and more difficult than The Road Less Traveled, but also a very valuable book - Peck introduces another vital concept, this time that the fundamental root of evil is laziness, the willingness to subordinate the needs or well-being of others to take the easy way to get what we want or spare ourselves sacrifice or disappointment. In the last part of the book he lost me when he started talking about demonic possession and exorcisms, but the first part was well worth the reading.

I had heard of M. Scott Peck when I was working in the book industry back in the 90's; mostly because "The Road Less Traveled" was famous for being on the paperback best seller list for so long, but I had never actually read anything by him. I found this book enormously appealing and just a bit disturbing. A caveat before I start: I read the 1983 first edition and don't know if there are newer, revised editions or not. This is important because Peck's Christianity, by his own acknowledgment, was quite new at the time and still evolving. That said, his approach to therapy and human evil is quite appealing, drawing mostly from the writings of Martin Buber and the Berragon Brothers. I do find, however, the chapters on exorcism to be a bit disturbing and anachronistic. A fascinating read with a few eye-popping moments of disbelief thrown in.

When I become dictator of seminaries the world over, People of the Lie will be required reading. The complete title is “People of the Lie. The Hope for Healing Human Evil.” It’s by M. Scott Peck, M.D. Copyright 1983. He believes your church is a magnet for evil.

Someone gave me this book when we were going through grief (a church split) in my first pastorate in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. It’s been one of my favorites ever since. The Bible talks about evil and even about a personality called “the devil.” Jesus talks about wolves and is murdered by some. Paul warns us about wolves coming from within our churches in Acts 20. But, in spite of it all, we remain taken by surprise. I had no classes on evil or wolves or even church jerks in seminary. I was ill-prepared.

Dr. Peck says, “Utterly dedicated to preserving their self-image of perfection, they [the evil] are unceasingly engaged in the effort to maintain the appearance of moral purity. They worry about this a great deal. They are acutely sensitive to social norms and what others think about them . . . they dress well, go to work on time, pay their taxes, and outwardly seem to live lives that are above reproach. . . . While they seem to lack any motivation to be good, they intensely desire to appear good. Their ‘goodness’ is all on a level of pretense. It is, in effect, a lie. This is why they are the ‘people of the lie.’” I wonder - what do evil people who intensely desire to appear good do on Sunday morning?

Dr. Scott was a psychiatrist and bestselling author (A Road Less Traveled). This book is his best. His story-telling of cases of evil, his following of personalities over the years, his pursuit of an answer to evil through academia, religion and exorcisms is astounding. Plus, it makes for stinking fun reading.

In the book evil is defined as “The exercise of political power—that is, the imposition of one’s will upon others by overt or covert coercion—in order to avoid . . . spiritual growth.” In another place Dr. Scott defines evil as “the use of political power to destroy others for the purpose of defending or preserving the integrity of one’s sick self.” Any names you’d like to insert here?

This isn’t a “Christian book.” It’s a retelling of Dr. Peck’s journey into evil while trying to help his “incurable” patients. In a rare reference to the Bible, Dr. Scott proposes that the most deeply possessed in the time of Christ weren’t those He cast the demons out of. It was the religious leaders who in their possession thought they were pure. They were used by the Devil to put a contract out on Jesus and kill him, and then felt justified because they didn’t put the money back into the offering plate. The evil believe they are good. They want to keep their demons.

Towards the end of the book, after giving the example of Eichmann being declared “perfectly sane” by a psychiatrist at his trial, Dr. Scott asks, “What are we do to with the evil when their masquerade of sanity is so successful, their destructiveness so ‘normal’? First, we must stop buying the masquerade and being deceived by the pretense…Evil can be defeated by goodness… The fact is, simple-sounding thought it may be, the methodology of love is so difficult in practice that we shy away from its usage… How is it possible to love people who are evil? … This process may be painful to the bearer of the light, occasionally even fatal.”

This book is terrific to the end – I wish I had read it back when it was written, almost 30 years ago. However, evil hasn’t changed any. Read People of the Lie and you’ll agree.

danielcooley.com

I love this book. I read it before The Road Less Traveled, but I'm glad I did. I was thrown right into a new perspective of looking at evil as a psychosis and not a spiritual affliction. I began to see people in such a new light, where ironically, I felt more love, tolerance, and slight pity for these people who otherwise would have caused me to fear them. As a very empathetic person, I like to walk in other people's shoes. Although i do not ever care to know or be an evil person, I have a much better understanding of how the disease of evil makes certain individuals think and act.

Just recently I have been able to understand when someone is trying to manipulate me or force me to feel sorry for them for their gain and I am able to avert these individuals quite quickly. Whereas years ago I would have been caught in their webs and would have been given a feeling of an obligation to do things that I couldn't see were selfishly asked of me.

I also have met people who fit the exact profile of someone who is on the dark side a little too deeply, and you'll be shocked to know that they will read this book and begin to use it as ammunition to label everyone as evil and will never see it in themselves. I feel safe in saying that I'm not one of those people because I recognize that everyone has some of these tendencies, myself included, and that this book is not like V glasses, where you can use it to point out everyone who is a demon or something...it's a tool to better your understanding of the psychological conditions that most people possess, some way more than others, to protect yourself from the damage they otherwise may have inflicted on you.

Read it. Now. You will look at people totally differently and hopefully, you'll look at yourself more thoroughly as well.

Unfussily wise. Both piercing and gracious—and a captivating read to boot. I’d recommend this to pretty darn near everyone.

This is an eye-opening book if you’re ever been narcissistically abused. Highly recommended.

This is my first book by M. Scott Peck. I'm guaranteed to read more. In his words Peck defines People of the Lie to be,"Utterly dedicated to preserving their self-image of perfection, they are unceasingly engaged in the effort to maintain the appearance of moral purity...the lie is designed not so much to deceive others as to deceive themselves. They cannot or will not tolerate the pain of self-reproach." (p. 75)

And evil itself he defines as, "The use of political power to destroy others for the purpose of defending or preserving the integrity of one's sick self." (p. 240) This definition he applies to individuals as well as, at times, a nation.

While many of society considers evil people to be those that maim and murder, Peck's experience as a psychiatrist and Christian have lead him to believe evil exists all around us by those we consider highly functioning and socially acceptable neighbors. He gives insights to the destructive behavior, the motivations, how it manifests and its effects on the family. So very interesting, the reader must self-examine in order to continue turning the pages. It's a subject that will stick with me for some time.

Tai ar būna tiesiog blogų žmonių ar visi yra geri, tik kartais, dėl tam tikrų aplinkybių, pasielgia blogai? "Melo žmonės" autorius sako didesnė tikimybė, kad dauguma žmonių yra blogi ir tik kai kurie geri :))) Turiu knygą 8 metus ir tik dabar išdrįsau perskaityti, nes anksčiau kategoriškai nemėgau krikščionybės, o dabar tapau pakantesnė. Autorius yra krikščionis, bet ir psichoterapeutas, tai įdomu skaityti, kaip jis laviruoja, derina tą mokslą ir tikėjimą. Iš esmės buvo žiauriai įdomu, ir žiauriai šiurpu, ypač tikros istorijos su jo pacientais, kai kurios privertė padėt knygą ir biškį eit pasivaikščiot, nes sunku patikėt, kad žmonės gali taip žiauriai elgtis. Tikrai yra sunkios tamsumos šitoj knygoj. Autorius teigia, kad blogi žmonės dažniausiai būna ne psichiškai sutrikę nusikaltėliai, o tiesiog, iš pažiūros, normalūs žmonės, todėl tas blogis yra dar suktesnis. Kad iš esmės, moksliškai blogis nėra tyrinėtas, nors turėtų būti kuo greičiau. Ties skyrium apie egzorcizmą kažkaip kėliau antakį, bet bandžiau nusimest visas išankstines nuostatas, pasižiūrėt atvirai ir kažkaip tiesiog priėmiau - nesigailiu. Dabar aktualus skyrius apie karą. Peckas mano, jog visuotinis žmonių šaukimas į kariuomenę padėtų išvengti karų, nes neliktų atsakomybės nusimetimo. Kad, neva, ne aš čia kariauju, o kariai ir aš čia ne prie ko. Maždaug, jei jau einam žudyt ir mirt, tai visi. Blemba, visai yra racijos gal tame? Žodžiu, man net gaila, kad niekas iš pažįstamų neskaitė, nes taip norėčiau padiskutuot, tikrai plati, daug minčių kelianti knyga apie blogį/gėrį/meilę ir atjautą.