Lead us not into temptation, or as the contemporary translations have it , Save us in the time of trial. Matthew adds the second, which in good rabbinic tradition amplifies the first deliver us from evil. Less Traveled became a run away best seller. The first sentence in the book is a simply acknowledgment of what we all know to be true, Life is difficult. Frankly, I found it refreshing.
Life is comprised of tough choices, conflicting values, demands of society, pressure of the culture.
But his second book, People of the Lie, was not so cheery. It dealt with the dark side of life, the reality of evil and frankly, it wasn t nearly as popular. Auschwitz and My Lai, Jonestown and Oklahoma City are facts. Evil is not a figment of the imagination of some primitive religious mind, and it is more than just a sickness. Given the state of world affairs, it is impossible to overlook the reality of evil if you are thinking with integrity.