Book Review: God's Double Agent
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God's Double Agent
Book Author: Bob Fu
Review Author: Gerrit Groenewold
Darling Downs Free Reformed Church
Pro Ecclesia Bookshop
God's Double Agent - The true story of a Chinese Christian's fight for freedom
By Bob Fu
336 pages
Bob Fu's troubles began well before he was born. His mother and her first husband had lost their land in rural China when Chairman Mao's communist government confiscated all private land. They could no longer grow any of their own food, and when stocks ran out, Bob' s mother and her two children were turned out of the house to fend for themselves. Without money or anything of value to barter for food, they roamed through China for four years, living off the occasional kindness of others, often going hungry for days, forced at times to eat the bark of trees or strips of boiled shoe leather, anything at all to avoid starvation. Worst of all was the darkness of atheism which often dogged the mother with a sense of hopelessness. This was the time of Mao's "Great Leap Forward" which was supposed to be ushering in the era of peace and plenty for all. Instead, up to 30 million people died of starvation.
That unpromising environment was the prequel to Bob Fu's dramatic life. Eventually, his mother, emaciated and coughing blood, found help from "a tiny, one-eyed, hunchbacked man" only slightly less poor than she. Before long they were married and had several children, one of whom was Bob.
Bob's is the sort of book that would have had me reading till all hours under the bedclothes with a torch when I was a kid. Even though it's autobiographical - so it all actually happened - the book reads like a thriller, with the hero stumbling from one crisis into the next and escaping again and again at the last possible moment by the skin of his teeth. He does get caught sometimes and undergoes terrible deprivation, suffering and even torture, but in the end always get the better of his enemies, who are truly sinister.
Bob's real name was – is- Xiqiu (pronounced "shee-shoo"). The family lived in abject poverty, and Bob had little prospect of becoming anything better than a potato farmer when he was old enough to work. But God - of whose existence Bob was totally unaware - had other plans for him. By what they saw at the time as a series of lucky breaks Bob was first able to go to primary school, then to high school and later even to university, where he was made to study English in order to become a teacher. While at university, Bob worked to mobilise the university students to be active within the Communist party for a better future for China. Since the death of Chairman Mao a decade earlier, there had been a gradual relaxation of the strict governmental control of all aspects of life. There was hope among the young people of China for greater freedom and even a measure of democracy. Bob was instrumental in organising student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, which ultimately resulted in the massacre of hundreds, even thousands, of students by government troops and police. Bob was utterly demoralised by the failure of communism to bring about the freedom and prosperity it claimed to provide, as well as by the severe punishment he received, and by his betrayal at the hands of friends and professors. How, in these abject circumstances he found (or was found by!) Christ – of whom he had never heard – is one of the most astounding and moving parts of the book.
After his conversion, Bob became an English teacher, teaching communist officials by day, and leaders of the underground house churches in the same building by night, right under the noses of the authorities. God's Double Agent!
Bob managed to escape from the Chinese authorities but not without much persecution and suffering. Miraculously his faith was maintained. We see clearly how the Lord lets none snatch one of His children out of His hand; no matter what Satan throws at us, the gates of hell cannot prevail.
Later in the book, we read how the Lord continued to use Bob's leadership and organisational skills in His church-building work. Today Bob co-ordinates China Aid, an organisation he set up to support and help the persecuted underground church, especially the numerous illicit house churches. He also brings to the attention of the world the repression and persecution of victims of the anti-religious policies of the Chinese government.
Do I have any reservations? Yes, I do have some, but they should not deter you from taking up this book and reading it. All books except one should be read with discernment.
My first criticism is a common one: most conservative Christian books these days are written by evangelical Christians who have a rather nebulous view of the church. As long as you accept Christ as your Saviour, it doesn't matter so much where you worship Him.
Then there are flashes of Arminianism here and there, such as the question, "are you ready to choose for Christ?"
Not so long ago, we used to look askance at Human Rights – do humans have rights? What are they? Who gives them? Bob has no difficulty with them and actively promotes them. That is a topic which the reader can learn more about within this context of a persecuted and maltreated part of society. Mature readers may come to some conclusions; young readers can read over the top of this and other issues and concentrate on the drama of the story. We all can learn again that the freedom to serve God in our so-called privileged society should not be taken for granted.
I hope this has been enough to whet your appetite, and if so, I'd encourage you to take and read.
Gerrit Groenewold, Darling Downs
This book review was organised by Pro Ecclesia Bookshop in conjunction with the Women's League. All books are available from Pro Ecclesia Bookshop, Armadale (and Rockingham on request).