Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5414 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Synopsis
The true story of how God took a young, half-starved boy from a poor village in Henan Province, China, and used him to preach the gospel despite intense persecution.

Customer Reviews

Awesome
On eof the most passionate, tear jerking, upsetting, happy and inspirational books i have read. If you are ready to be chaleneged on all aspects of your christian life including evangalism, prayer and suffering - then this is the book for you. But be prepared to change your life )and use up lots of tissues!)
Hope it inspires you as much as it has me!
xxx

Disappointing from cover to cover and everything in between
This could have been a good book as it is based on an interesting story. How the "credited authors" (note I did not say "writers") of this book managed to suck all the emotion out of a tortured life is amazing. The miracles performed invoking the name of Christ are about as exciting as cold butter on cheap, white bread...Hard to spread and harder to swallow! I am aware that this man was tortured relentlessly by the Chinese government for years, but the episodes where he is describing his torture and inprisonment are lack lustre and repetitive. I felt no connection with the story, the victim, the witnesses, the situation or the suffering. I do see it as a long, redundant diatribe unworthy of a first year creative writing student. While the story could teach us so much about suffering for Christ, I think there are many, many better books available that bring that emotion to life. It is often the error of people who have survived harrowing events to think that makes them the most suitable person to write the story of that event. Actually, they are probably the worst candidates for the task as ever line they put down brings back a memory for them and they can lose sight of the plot. Just because it rekindles some pain or suffering, it does not naturally translate to the blank page or the reader. Brother Yun may be charismatic to his flock and followers, but this book would not inspire me to follow him around a grocery store, much less around a religiously suppressed society where singing a hymn could get me arrested! I have read the reviews from other readers and must wonder if we were reading the same book. Obviously, I could not connect to the story because I could not get beyond the insufferable writing. If you have unlimited time, then this might be a suitable book if you are trapped with nothing else to do. However, if you value your time and want inspirational reading, I suggest Francine Rivers!

Humbling, inspiring and educational
This book is an extraordinary account of an extraordinary man. The book follows the true story of a Chinese Christian as he plays cat and mouse with the Communist government of China. There are truly harrowing accounts of how his wife was forefully sterilised for breaking the one child policy, and how he was beaten and electrocuted by secret police, and how he witnessed a firing squad execution. You can therefore see that this is anything but a light hearted feel good story. As well as this violent persecution, the book also details how the Communist government has set up counterfeit churches to try and cut off the explosive growth of the heroic Chinese Christian underground.

For anyone with a heart for the persecuted church, this is an aboslute must. It provides a detailed glimpse of life for the persecuted church in China that is both humbling, and at the same time uplifting. The book is probably not well suited to small group study, and is more of an individual read. However, the lessons learned in the book can be a powerful addition to your knowledge about the trials facing modern Christians. The book is truly humbling and memorable.