Night - Wiesel

Night by Elie Wiesel -5/5

Originally posted at Christian Monitor.

"Night" is a terrifyingly vivid memoir of suffering, persecution and unrelenting hatred. It is a powerfully written story that should never be forgotten and one that is sadly repeated with terrifying regularity in the world today.

"Night" is Elie Wiesel's haunting autobiographical account of the terror, horror and brutality he was forced to endure in some of the worst Nazi death camps (including Auschwitz and Buchenwald) towards the end of World War 2. This terrifying memoir of brutal persecution and unrelenting hatred stands as a stark and timeless reminder to past, present and future generations of how hate and evil were manifested during this time and how they infected a whole nation with their invidious poison and violence.

Elie Wiesel is introduced to us in 1941 as a 12 years old Jewish boy from Sighet, a small town in Transylvania, who "believed profoundly" in the faith of his fathers. It was at that time the poor and humble "barefoot of Sighet," Moshe the Beadle, started to teach the young Elie the secrets of the cabbala. One day Moshe the Beadle was, along with all the other foreign Jews, expelled from the town. Months later Moshe, having miraculously survived the massacre of those who were expelled with him, returned to Sighet to tell his tale. No one listened and, if they did, none believed.

The slow tightening of the noose around the necks of the Jews of Sighet began with the arrival of the German soldiers and even then they, the Jews of Sighet, failed to believe the insane inhumanity that was to be their fate. "The Germans," writes Wiesel, "were already in the town, the Fascists were already in power, the verdict had already been pronounced, yet the Jews of Sighet continued to smile." And as it was all over Europe, so the race laws in Sighet came to pass. First the yellow stars, next the ghettos, and finally deportation.

From this point on the story spirals into ever-increasing madness and inhumanity, the vivid descriptions of the camps and the conditions are powerful renditions of a tormented mind. There is no more haunting or disturbing passage in literature than Wiesel's recollection of his first night in Auschwitz. He writes:

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath silent blue sky.

Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever.

Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.

Shall we or rather did we forget?

"Night," which was first published in English in 1960, is, retrospectively, a prophetic indictment of future generations who, having the testimony and collective memory of the horrors of the Jewish holocaust, have more than once turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to those who have been oppressed, persecuted and slaughtered for no greater crime than being human. Since the Jewish holocaust genocides in East Timor, Rwanda, Cambodia, North Korea and Sudan (of which the latter two are still ongoing), to name a few, lay bare the real emptiness of the promise "never again." While philosophers and theologians debate the nature of evil, evil continues to propagate itself across the world and thousands die. Sadly, like the Jews of Sighet who, in 1944, had not heard of Auschwitz, a majority of the world today does not know of the plight of thousands of people who daily live and die in the cauldrons of despair, fear and savage hate.

Many of those victims, especially in the two ongoing genocides (North Korea and Sudan) are Christian and sadly, a large majority of Christians in countries with religious freedom have not heard of their suffering. I myself am not innocent of such a charge. I myself only became aware of the magnitude and extent of the modern persecution of Christians a few years ago and it is therefore with all humility I ask Christians in the free lands to not turn their backs in denial on those who are suffering for their Lord Jesus. The victims and survivors of persecution are, like Moshe the Beadle, witnesses to the reality of suffering inflicted on the saints. They are heralds affirming the prophecies of Christ that his followers will be forced to suffer for his name. As the noose was slowly tightened around their necks with the progression of restrictive measures in their town Wiesel laments: "And we, the Jews of Sighet, were waiting for better days." Can we afford to turn aside and ignore the proclamations of those who suffer for their faith today? Dare we?

"Night" is a shocking and defiant exposition of the innate nature of the hearts men. Wiesel not only records the brutality and inhumanity of the guards and Nazi's towards the Jews but also the inhumanity of the camp inmates towards each other. Lest we be too quick to judge we should be reminded that when looking into the depths of the human heart Conrad's protagonist Kurtz whispered in caustic terror "the horror, the horror." In "1945: The Last Days", James Moll's documentary on the survivors of the death camps, one of the survivors declares "the inhumanity of man towards man is beyond belief." The Bible confirms beyond all doubt that "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer 17:9, KJV)

Wiesel and two of his older sisters survived the camps. Their parents and their baby sister did not. On that first night in the camp Wiesel devastatingly recalls that he "did not know that in that place, at that moment, I was parting from my mother and Tzipora (his baby sister) forever."

In the preface to "Night's" 25th anniversary edition, Robert McAfee Brown writes: "It must be the prayer of this generation that with his (Wiesel's) help we can recapture enough of that reality so that it will never be repeated." Indeed the testimony in "Night" will continue to be read by generations to come. May it be that this haunting narrative would awaken our sleeping souls, draw us into contemplative prayer and humble petitions for those who are suffering around the world and may the horrors so acutely described in this tragic, brilliantly written non-fiction tome never be repeated.

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Hudson Taylor - Steer

J. Hudson Taylor: A Man in Christ by Roger Steer - 5/5

Originally posted at Christian Monitor

Roger Steer has written a fitting and highly commendable tribute to J. Hudson Taylor who, as a missionary to China and founder of China Inland Missions, lived an extraordinary life in submission to God and in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Roger Steer's comprehensive biography of Hudson Taylor's life and work, "Hudson Taylor: A Man in Christ" (HTAMIC), is a carefully crafted, compelling, well-told and well-written account of one of the nineteenth century's missionary legends. The story starts in a small room at the back of a pharmacy in the English town of Barnsley where a young pregnant woman is praying for a son who will serve as a missionary in China. It ends seventy years later in a small room in China, where a man, who became the spiritual father to over 50 million Chinese Christians, was called home to rest in heaven. The years between birth and death were filled with a magnificent, single-minded purpose, which was to bring knowledge of the Gospel to the thousands of Chinese who were dying daily a without knowledge of the sacrifice of Christ.

HTAMIC is a fitting and highly commendable biography that chronologically traces the defining moments of Taylor's life and his development as both a Christian and as a missionary. The decision to become a Christian and to serve as a missionary in China were two of the most important decisions Taylor ever made. Steer is quick to point out that although "both sides of the [Taylor's] family were Methodist" and although Taylor's father instructed him and his siblings to "Love your Bible," Taylor in his youth began to doubt God. Steer carefully describes the causes of these doubts and articulately records Taylor's final conversion to the faith. A short while after his conversion Taylor asked God for "something to do" and Steer records that Taylor wrote, "from that time the conviction has never left me that I was called to China."

Perhaps the most important decision Taylor ever made, and the one Steer notes "would assure his [Taylor's] name a place in history," was the formation of China Inland Missions (CIM). The organization was founded with the explicit purpose of evangelizing the interior of China and aimed to place missionaries in all of China's provinces. Many mission agencies that were operating in China at that time were restricting themselves to the treaty ports and very few had dared to venture into the interior. Yet Taylor was compelled by a single thought that defined his purpose: "Thirty-three thousand people will die in China today without hope - without God."

It was this thought that initially drove Taylor into the Chinese mission field and resulted in a stream of missionary journeys to the land and people he would grow to love. Steer's overview of Taylor's many trips are colorful depictions that encapsulate the full drama of what it meant to be a missionary in 19th century China. The difficulties with learning the language, the dangers of disease, the problems with communicating with supporters in London and the burden of not having a constant supply of funds. Added to these were the dangers of civil war and persecution. The life of a missionary in China (and especially within the interior) at this time was a perilous and difficult task. Yet through all this Taylor, throughout his life, remained committed to his mission.

To construct an accurate picture of both Taylor, and the times in which he lived Steer has made careful and effective use of both letters and diary entries written by Taylor and his contemporaries. While most of the entries that focus on Taylor's character are uplifting, not all of them are complementary. Steer avoids embellishments and he is careful to document times when Taylor faced both spiritual difficulties and hardship. At one point Steer writes, "sometimes he [Taylor] doubted whether someone [like Taylor himself] so dogged by failure could be a Christian at all." Throughout HTAMIC Steer admirably persists in constructing an honest, down to earth portrayal of Taylor the man. The result is a powerful human portrait of someone who was willing to give up all to follow God.

Taylor's success as a missionary and as founder of CIM was the result of his unfading commitment to prayer and his dedication to hard work. Taylor's son wrote, "Hudson Taylor prayed about things as if everything depended upon the praying, but then he worked as if everything depended upon the work." Taylor himself wrote:

Who spoke of rest? There is rest above.
No rest on earth for me. On, onto do
My Father's business. He, who sent me here,
Appointed me my time on earth to bide,
And set me all m work o do for Him,
He will supply me with sufficient grace -
Grace to be doing, to be suffering
Not to be resting. There is rest above.

Taylor's commitment to hard work was observed by Dr. De la Porte, a Christian doctor who worked in Shantou when Taylor was working in the area. Dr. De la Porte wrote:

I have seen him come home at the close of the day footsore and weary, his face covered with blisters from the heat of the sun. He would throw himself down to rest in a state of utter exhaustion, and then get up again in a few hours to face the toil and hardship of another day. It was clear to me that he enjoyed the highest respect from the Chinese, and was doing a great deal of good among them.

HTAMIC is an inspiring testimony to how God can use any person to accomplish his work on earth. Hudson Taylor was neither a physically big man nor a particularly healthy person. Even when hearing him speak people were not overly impressed. When an article in a Canadian newspaper wrote that Taylor was "rather disappointing" he responded with all humility saying, "I have often thought that God made me little in order that He might show what a great God He is."

The impact and influence of Taylor's life and work are still felt around the world today. Many of the missionary techniques he employed were revolutionary at the time and were adopted by missionaries in later years. The organization he founded, CIM, has blossomed into the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF), which today has missionaries scattered throughout Asia and aims to evangelize East Asian people wherever they may be. Yet for us, the most important lessons that can be derived from Taylor's life are best described by his great grandson, James Hudson Taylor III who writes in the epilogue to HTAMIC:

The lessons in discipleship highlighted in J Hudson Taylor: A Man in Christ are not limited to a man or the organization he founded. They are abiding principles that can be learned and lived by any Christian, whether student or home-maker, employer or employee. The key is to act on them.

Dr. De la Porte wrote that Taylor's "influence was like that of a fragrant flower, spreading the sweetness of true Christianity all about him." February 29, 2004 marked the 150th anniversary of Taylor's arrival in China. One hundred and fifty years later HTAMIC ensures that Taylor's influence will continue to be felt in our generation. As Christians, let us all, in the tradition of Hudson Taylor, submit ourselves to the Lord and dedicate ourselves to "spreading the sweetness of true Christianity" all about us.

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Hidden Sorrow - Companjen

Hidden Sorrow, Lasting Joy by Anneke Companjen - 5/5

Originally posted on Christian Monitor.

This astounding volume tells the stories of the women of the suffering Church. It is a compelling book that describes sadness and pain yet it is filled with the hope and joy that Christians have in Jesus.

In "Hidden Sorrow, Lasting Joy" (HSLJ) Anneke Companjen has provided the world with important and astounding testimonies of women who have not only "struggled with separation, loss and uncertainty" but have also "been ostracized by their culture, left alone to care for fatherless children, and subjected to crushing poverty" for their faith in Christ. HSLJ is a compilation of simply written yet powerful biographical snapshots of women who have had to endure not only their own suffering but also the persecution of someone they love and care for. Even though the faith of these women "has been stretched to the limit" and even though they "are not superwomen" Companjen sadly notes that they have seldom "been the subject of prayer campaigns or human-rights projects."

Written with compassion and love, the biographies in HSLJ have not been written from afar but have all been compiled from first hand testimony. The love and feelings that Companjen has for these women is evident throughout the book. After the death of one of her sisters in Christ, Companjen says that she "felt guilty" and questions if she had prayed enough. To an elderly Chinese Christian lady who was separated from her husband for twenty years Anneke says: "For many years I have prayed for you." The people Companjen writes about are her friends, are people she knows and loves. They are people she has taken the time to care for, weep for and pray for. They are people who she now calls other to care about. In HSLJ Companjen has given voices to the unseen and unheard women of the suffering Church.

Companjen doesn't try to embellish these women with fanciful tales and false attributes but gently reminds us that they "are women with the same longings, desires, and fears as you and I." As humans they suffer the same emotions and fears as all humans do. Companjen does not hide the humanness of these women but rather allows their frustrations; hopes, fears and joys to emerge from within the narrative. After the death of her child, one women questions God: "How could you allow this to happen to us Lord? All we ever wanted to do was serve you. Why didn't you protect us?" Another women breaks down crying and "is unable to shake the hands with" her friends husband who had arrested and persecuted her son years before. A third woman angrily and tearfully asks her husband, who is about to leave on a second mission trip shortly after returning home, "So you're leaving me again?" HSLJ is filled with voices like these. They are voices that represent the broad sweep of humanity. "Some," says Companjen, "are young, some are old; others are aging too quickly for their years. Some are rich in hope; others contend with relentless depression. Above all else they very much need our prayers."

HSLJ is a book written by a Christian woman about other Christian women and although many of the circumstances written about in this book are heart-wrenching stories, they would not be complete without an examination of how God has worked in the lives of those who are suffering for His name. It is true that not all the stories in this volume have happy endings, but most of them do provide astounding testimony to the work of God in a suffering believers life. Throughout this book God's provision for His children is made clear. A Chinese lady with six children starts to receive money and mysterious food packages after her husband, an evangelical pastor, is imprisoned for his faith. A second woman, who rode on a motorcycle for half a day to see her imprisoned husband but is denied her visitation rights, is "comforted to realize that Jesus understood how she was feeling," and "gradually her tears stopped as the pace of the Lord returned."

Restricted for space, Companjen was, I suppose, forced to be selective in the biographies that were written and published. In this she has responsibly attempted to represent women from all parts of the world: South East Asia, South Asia, East Asia, South America, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Companjen has also been careful to include stories of different types of persecution. In some cases husbands have been persecuted, in other instances a loved one has tragically been killed. Some families represented have been separated by forced exile, and other women have been estranged from their families and exiled alone. In another instance a single women has taken a message of support from the Church in the west to a dangerous war zone of immense strife and danger. Companjen acknowledges that in HSLJ she has "only been able to share a few stories of women who are paying the price for their faith," and that "there are many, many more around the world." She should therefore be applauded for this representative approach, which reveals the global nature and severity of suffering persecuted Christian women are forced to endure.

So once again, the burning question is "What can we do?" The penultimate chapter provides an answer to this question. Stay informed, advocate and keep in touch with the women who are persecuted but most importantly pray. Companjen states, "prayer is the most important effort we can make," and observes: "Whenever we ask persecuted Christians on our visits what we can do to help them, we get the same answer almost every time: 'Please pray for us.'" At the end of each biographical sketch Companjen identifies critical pray points not only for the woman written about but also for the country in which she lives.

The women in HSLJ are certainly (to this reviewers mind) among the forgotten heroines of the faith. They have lived inspirational lives, in some of the most dire and tragic circumstances imaginable, by simply trusting God. Although Christians around the world may have forgotten these heroines, they have not been forgotten by God, who strengthens their faith and enables them to endure despite the circumstances. Although these women are forced to endure terrible suffering and severe afflictions for their faith in Christ, "the story of the suffering Church," says Companjen, "is about seasons of sorrow that must be hidden, and about joy that will last eternally."

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