Liu
is the son of Brother Yun whose story was told in The Heavenly
Man. Being born in a Christian family in China in the early 80s
was dangerous. Your family was considered an enemy of the state.
Brother Yun was already in prison and Liu's mother had been scheduled
for a forced abortion.
But
God had other plans. The night before the scheduled abortion, Liu
was born. He survived his premature birth – without medical help.
It wouldn't be until he was four that Liu would see his father.
Liu
shares his memories of childhood, the influence of his godly
grandmother, his mother working to support the family. He describes the local house churches and explains the hatred of the Chinese
toward Christians. He shares confrontations with demons and secret
house meetings. He attended Bible School and was preaching – at
age eleven. There was a time when he lived with others as both of
his parents were in prison.
He
tells of their escape to Burma then to Thailand, finally being able
to join his father in Germany. There Liu struggled with his call to
preach. He is currently a pastor in Germany.
For
those who have read The Heavenly Man, this is “the rest of
the story.” We read of the struggles of the family while Brother
Yun was in prison and then in Germany. While not as exciting as The
Heavenly Man, it is a very good account of what it was like to be
a Christian in China. Liu's explanation of the differences in the
churches, the Three-Self Church and the house churches, is very
enlightening. It is simply written yet worth reading.
To read the first two chapters, go here.
To
see a press release, go here.
Monarch
Books (Kregel Publications), 141 pages. Publisher product page.
To buy this book, please visit your local Christian bookstore.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book from Kregel Publications
for the purpose of this review.
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