"Jesus Freaks" - by dc Talk

Book Review (Caroline Choi)

In "Jesus Freaks" by dc Talk and The Voice of Martyrs, you will meet individuals who have stood strong in their faith for Christ, despite unimaginable circumstances. In Jesus Freaks, readers are introduced to the stories that have been shielded from the public for years...until now. As the narrator describes, these people are really the "ultimate Jesus Freaks."

This book was one of the most easy reads that I've come across. The individual stories are short, concise...yet powerful. These martyrs died for their belief in Jesus Christ. They were persecuted for their faith through ridicule, abandonment by family and friends and in the majority of cases, through severe torture. Yet despite these hardships, these individuals would not and did not turn their backs away from Christ.

As a Christian in North America, I think it is hard to understand and empathize completely the persecution these people have gone through. Reading this book, it became apparent to me how difficult it is for me to comprehend such experiences. Particularly, I was quite surprised with the amount of more recent stories of persecution. We are in so-called modern times, yet in areas of the current world, there are so many people who are being persecuted for their faith as we speak. I am ashamed to say that I am somewhat oblivious to their suffering. This book was certainly an eye-opener to the persecution that continues to take place today.

Let me tell you about one story in the book that stood out to me. It was a story about two Chinese Christian girls during the Red Guard era of 1966-1969 in Mainland China. These two girls were prepared for execution in a Chinese prison yard. Ready for execution, these two girls realized that their executioner was in fact, their own pastor; a man they had trusted and the person that had first introduced them to Christ. Instead of getting angry at their executioner, these two girls blessed him and thanked him for all the good he had done for them. Unfortunately in the end, the pastor shot the two girls. But what you will notice is that instead of cursing this man, these girls forgave him and loved him until their last breath.

You will notice that the common thread between this story, and all the others in the book, is that despite these horrific scenes of ridicule and torture, these Christians forgave, loved and blessed their enemies. It really dawned upon me that we really do have the capacity to love even our worst enemies when we have God by our side. This is just one of the basic biblical messages that spoke to me through these individual experiences.

When I first picked up this book, I must admit that I thought this was a book tailored to field missionaries. But it soon became apparent that we can all relate to these people and their experiences. If anything, these stories will definitely help you put our own life into perspective.