When I first heard of this book I decided I would read it. A few months later I did. I wasn’t sure what to expect especially since forward notes that the book has “no literary value.” Before starting this book I only knew that Richard Wurmbrand had been in prison because of his religious beliefs.
Wurmbrand describes his early life by saying “I was an atheist but atheism did not give peace to my heart.” He tells the story of how a Romanian carpenter converted him to Christ. After his conversion the Nazis arrested him several times. “The Nazi terror was great but only a taste of what was to come under the communists… these Nazi times had one great advantage. They taught us that physical beatings could be endured.”
Once Romania became a communist country it became illegal to preach the gospel and Wurmbrand spent 14 years in prison. He notes “What the communists have done to Christians surpasses any possibility of human understanding. I have seen communists whose faces while torturing believers shown with rapturous joy. They cried out while torturing the Christians we are the devil. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers of evil. We saw that communism is not from men but from the devil. It is a spiritual force, a force of evil, and it can only be countered by a greater spiritual force the spirit of God.”
Even while in prison Wurmbrand would continue to preach the gospel. He noted that the Christians and the guards had an understanding. He notes “It was a deal we preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching they were happy beating us so everyone was happy.”
After his release from he has been asked if he hates the communists. He replies “Tortures endured in communist prisons have not made me hate communists. They are God’s creatures how can I hate them? But neither can I be their friend…they hate the notion of god. I love God.”
Overall this is a book that shows what humanity is capable of both in terms of brutality and in resilience and love. Overall I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Thomas Aquinas is credited as one of the greatest proponents of natural law. During his time in Cologne he was taught by Albertus Magnus. Magnus used the teachings of Aristotle in his mentorship of Thomas Aquinas.
Samuel Adams believed in American Independence from Great Britain. He is one of the most well know Son's of Liberty. On August 1, 1776 he gave a speech to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
Hefei, China Thursday 6:00AM
The rising sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. The darkness of night was about to give way to the light of day. The sleeping city would soon be bustling with activity completely unaware of what had occurred while it slept.
Zhao Kai stood outside a small warehouse looking building. For all of the modernization that had been occurring in China this building had been skipped. At least on the outside. It appeared old and nearly abandoned but the inside told a different story. Before Kai entered the building he glanced at the rising sun. This was his favorite moment of the day. The blinding light of the sun was a weapon that he used literally.
On numerous occasions he would take a prisoner to a spot where there was an unobstructed view of the rising sun. Then he would bind them in such a way that they had to stare directly into the sun. If he did his job right they would not be able to close their eyes and would return to their prison cells blinded for life. If he didn’t just kill them. That punishment would not be on the table today but perhaps tomorrow. He liked ...
