Road Less Traveled author M. Scott Peck has come to the end of his fascinating earthly journey. Peck, 69, died of cancer. A publishing phenomenon who was known to be a drinker and philanderer, Peck wrote a book on obligations and love that began, "Life is difficult."
The Telegraph recounted his road from Zen Buddhist shrink to Christian exorcist:
"In 1976, however, he received an urgent inspiration to write a book which, 20 months later, he submitted to Random House under the title The Psychology of Spiritual Growth. His editor liked the first two sections, but thought the third 'too Christ-y'. Simon & Schuster picked it up for $7,500 and published it as The Road Less Traveled. At first it sold well, but not spectacularly; by 1980 it had been reprinted and sold 12,000 copies but, on its appearance in paperback, it became a word-of-mouth sensation. In 1983 it entered the bestseller lists, and stayed there for eight years. It was especially popular with members of Alcoholics Anonymous.
"Peck, meanwhile, found himself drawn from Eastern mysticism to mainstream Christianity, though he remained unfaithful to his wife, maintained his drink and cigarette intake, and was liberal on issues such as euthanasia. 'To me, religion and psychology are not separate,' he told Playboy."
The interesting thing about Peck is that he believed in Satan--his last book, "Glimpses of the Devil," dealt with exorcisms. Christianity Today reviewed it:
"Throughout Glimpses of the Devil, Peck treats Satan with the kind of respect a child learns to have for fire. Nevertheless, Peck doesn't inflate the importance of Satan and demons: Satan is the lesser spirit and its footprints in this world are less visible than God's. Satan is limited: It needs to work through human bodies. It is not all-wise, and can be tricked by appealing to its vanity.
"Peck calls Satan 'it' rather than 'he,' because Satan is neither male nor female. 'Sexuality has to do with creation,' Peck explains to the patient named Jersey. 'The Devil doesn't create anything, it only destroys.'"
Peck was critical of the Catholic Church's screening process for exorcisms and the Church's emphasis on the supernatural. I think it was the late Malachy Martin, a former Jesuit and an influence on Peck, who suggested to me in an interview the spiritual dangers of a layman performing exorcisms. Let us hope that Scott Peck has avoided these shoals and made it safely home.
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