Tortured for Christ, by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, is one man’s voice speaking for the voiceless, persecuted Christians of the Underground Church. Wurmbrand himself says, “The message | bring from the Underground Church is: ‘Don’t abandon us! ” He was specifically sent to the Western church, by the persecuted Christians, to share the atrocities of Communism and to tell of the believer’s desperate need. Tortured for Christ is one fulfillment of this specific mission. Wurmbrand begins by sharing a brief portion of his testimony.
He was formerly an atheist Jew but came to Christ because one man prayed that God would allow him to lead a Jew to Christ. The man in the village prayed for God to lead a Jew to the village and Wurmbrand ended up in the village. Not long after his conversion, the Nazis invaded Romania. This was the first of two major invasions, the second by the Communists. He describes the life of Christians under the Communist regime, the beauty of believers in prison, the poisoning effects of Communism in the nation, and the effective ways that believers counteract Communism.
The way he describes the prison and how much he had to endure, it is eye opening how much he could withstand, and the fact that he never broke was amazing. Throughout the book, he gives many examples of ways that believers in Romania shared the gospel when it was prohibited; one way was by pretending to sell watches to the soldiers while they preached. While this was an effective tactic, still many believers were caught and imprisoned. Wurmbrand himself was imprisoned for fourteen years and shares a few of his experiences.
Of the horrific tortures that he recounts, he says they are only a small glimpse of the atrocities faced daily and most of which he could not even bring himself to write about. Regardless of the tortures, Wurmbrand tells of the beauty and true love of the Christians who were imprisoned with him. He shares testimony after testimony of believers in prison who held to their faith in Christ and loved their tortures. Other ways he was able to witness in the open was: his wife would deliver her message while other Christians around her sang a song, and he handed out pamphlets that were disguised.
After he was released from prison, Wurmbrand saw the deadly effects of Communism in the minds of the people saying, “They hopelessly falsify the thoughts of men and poison the youth and the children. ” Especially at the time the book was first published, many in the West, even church leaders, did not see the dangers of Communism. He spends a large portion of the book speaking against Communism and explaining in detail how Communism and a real faith in Christ cannot go together. Finally, Wurmbrand shares the joys and triumphs of the Underground Church.
He spends nearly an entire chapter quoting Communist newspapers that tell about the growth of the Underground Church and the conversion of many atheists to Christianity. He shares these stories to show and to prove that Communists can be lead to Christ. With this proof of progress in Communist countries, Wurmbrand implores free believers to assist their persecuted brothers and sisters. He not only implores but also gives very specific ways for believers to help the progress and spread of the gospel.
Wurmbrand’s book highlights many beneficial ideas. He explains the challenges of sharing the gospel with Communists. So we had to translate the gospel into the ‘Marxist language’ in order for them to identify with it. ” This is a vital step for believers sharing the gospel with anyone from another culture. Wurmbrand did not change the gospel but explained it in a way that a Communist thinker could understand. This took extensive knowledge of the way Communists think. Christians need to be willing to take the time to know the people they are evangelizing to. The gospel stays the same but the delivery may need to be changed. Wurmbrand is bold in his accusations against the West. “Theologians of the West discuss trifles in the meantime.
The ‘meantime’ that he is referring to is the full force spread of the lie of Communism, which he accuses the West of being blind to because of their meaningless arguments. This happens today in the church. While it may not be the lie of Communism, the church is often blinded. Churches split over the type of music that should be sung while their community is lost and in need. If these churches cannot even see the need in their own community, how can they see the hurting brothers and sisters still being killed by Communism and other anti-Christian groups? Wurmbrand is correct in his accusation about the state of many Western churches.
One statement that Wurmbrand makes does raise a few questions. He states, “Men are responsible before God not only for their personal sins, but also for their national sins. ” To some extent, that statement holds true in the Christian responsibility as a citizen to vote and change the political atmosphere. Still, many things that nations do are outside of the control of the everyday citizen. Looking at the first century church, Paul was a citizen of Rome, faithfully preaching the gospel, while Christians were being persecuted. Paul’s responsibility was to share the gospel, which he faithfully did, but still persecution was taking place.
Later in the book he states that Christians are guilty, by “neglect of duty” to share the gospel, because people still live in sin. Again, on a personal level Christians must fulfill the personal duty of sharing the gospel. The fact that there are still people living in sin and that a nation commits sins does not mean that each believer is living in sin. Every Christian must fulfill his or her God given role in sharing the gospel and spreading the light of Christ. Wurmbrand’s life, as a persecuted Christian living under Communism, gives him an entirely different view compared to a Western Christian.
This viewpoint was beneficial in broadening my thinking as a free Christian. One example if this is his view on the Christians who work in the Communist circles but keep their faith in Christ hidden. My initial response was that these individuals were ashamed of Christ because they did not boldly proclaim him. But, Wurmbrand explains the very necessity of these individuals to warn the Underground Church. “To go around dressed in the uniform of the torturers is a much greater sacrifice that to wear the uniform of a prisoner. ” This aspect completely opened my eyes to the many crucial roles believers can have.
The role of a believer is not simply limited to being bold in the faith at all times but God may call some to keep the faith hidden for a time to protect His church. An interesting perspective that Wurmbrand discusses is what he calls “missionary strategy. ” He says in missionary strategy that all humans are not equal in their influence, and it is more beneficial to convert the leaders who can influence the people they lead. This a very common sense approach to missions but not one I have heard very often. It makes sense to find the leaders of a community and bring them to Christ.
These people are already in a position of leadership and authority and respected by the people below them. This does not negate the importance of the everyday man but is a strategy to spread the gospel to more people. This perspective comes from a man with a burden to share Christ with as many people as possible. This challenges me to consider if I am making the best use of my time and resources to spread the gospel. Another opportunity for a change in thinking is in the area of the neglect of the persecuted church. Two daughters of an imprisoned Christian man became prostitutes in order to provide for their family.
Wurmbrand asks the reader to consider if this is, in part, his or her own sin because the Christian family was neglected. The persecuted man’s family did what they needed to do to survive. The daughters may not have stayed prostitutes but they supported their family after their father was arrested, but they did not stay faithful to their father. We may think down about those that downgrade themselves (becoming a prostitute, selling drugs, etc. ) those people are doing what they need to do to support themselves, it is the same with the persecuted church those people are doing what they need to do to share their faith and honor God.
