Secret Believers

Here it is: the first book review of 2012. I just finished Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe in Christ by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen.

Secret Believers is essentially biography; it tells about several believers in a predominantly Muslim country who are believers, some from Christian families but primarily Muslim converts. The people are not given their real names and are generally (but not always) composites of different people; this way, the reader gets a clear picture of what is happening without putting the lives of the believers at risk. For this reason, the country is also never named.

Most of the book is a story about what happens to these believers: how they come to know Christ and how that changes their lives. It shows the persecution they face from family, their community, and often the governing officials. While never graphic, the violence against believers is described as some of the men are arrested and beaten, threats are made against the churches and pastors, and violence against believers and their businesses become more frequent.

The second part of the book talks about how to respond, both for those living under persecution and those of us in the free world. The authors encourage love for Muslims, leading to prayer for them and their leaders, and to forgiveness for the atrocities done. We need to be willing to pray for both the persecuted Christians and the Muslims. It is Christ and Christ alone who can change people's lives.

I enjoyed reading Secret Believers; it was interesting and well-written, and it made me think a lot. We have it very easy here in Canada, and I think we forget how bad things are for many believers in the world. We need to remember because "when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it" (1 Corinthians 12:26; you should really read the whole chapter). We are all part of one body.

One of the believers in the book asked that we in the west pray "that [they] remain strong and not fall back...[and] for the second generation of Christians. [Their] children are really suffering" (249). Another asks, "Please pray with us. Many times I've told the church outside 'Don't pray for us. Pray with us.' Can you see the difference? If you pray for me, you will pray for my safety and my prosperity. No, just pray with me for the Muslims to know Christ" (251, emphasis in the original).

And so I challenge you: will you join with me in praying with the persecuted church? And in praying for the salvation of the Muslims?

For more information, check out secretbelievers.org. There you can read about specific believers and countries.