Almost a 4 star book. Missionary version of Blackhawk Down but with much broader vista...and more meaning. Far better than the movie. ( )

This book is the personal story of Nik Ripken (a pseudonym), his early service as a missionary in Africa and how that experience led him in life to try to understand how to live as a Christian under severe persecution.

The first portion of the book recounts his early life and how it led him to Africa, then after two early stops in that continent, to the failed state of Somalia. After serving there for a decade and severe difficulties with both his ministry and family, he and his family returned to the United States wondering if it was even possible to be a Christian and call others to in a culture where that meant certain death or severe abuse.

The remainder of the book describes his worldwide visits to countries where Christians live, or have lived, under severe persecution. Initially, he wanted to create a curriculum that would help others. In the end, he just was inspired by their stories and how little he knew and decided the "curriculum" should be just telling the stories. Thus the book.

The second part of the book is indeed inspiring. Christians in the west cannot even conceive of the abuse and sacrifices fellow-believers experience in other parts of the world, it is just too foreign to our experience. (Likewise, some of those who live in these circumstances can't conceive of the liberty and freedoms we enjoy).

I found myself, however, wrestling with four pieces of the book (three, really, one is a minor mechanical annoyance).

I read the paperback version in which "scene" breaks are annotated by a crown of thorns that, in my view, was about double the size of what was needed for the task. Sometimes there were three or four of them on facing pages creating a visually jarring look. This is not the author's issue, I know, but the publisher should have known better.

The second was an undertone of accusation against other Christians for being unwilling to go into Somalia in the days he served there. The land was lawless and dangerous with no functioning government (and the associated deep human needs). Ripken's tone was somewhat questioning and accusatory toward the rest of the church for being unwilling to be on the ground there. This is a fair challenge (are we called to safety?), but in the end, everyone makes judgments about where to serve and how wise is the risk in dangerous places. Even Ripken made that judgment--his family never moved there and he himself would work there for only a few weeks at a time, then return to his base in Kenya. In my view, a challenge to be willing to sacrifice personal safety with some grace and understanding of the real choices one must make--and how to consider those choices--would have been more helpful.

The third is a seeming lack of self-awareness in how his ministry became completely coopted by the flood of relief money into Somalia of the early 1990s. That he turned into a major relief operation is not necessarily a criticism--the needs were so severely difficult and relieving human suffering is valid and important work. But his later crisis in faith seems somewhat related to how little effect all that relief had. This should not surprise him--or us--for until the underlying spiritual causes are addressed, the human suffering is not likely to change.

Finally, and most importantly, I had to struggle constantly with the title of the book which approaches heresy. I understand what he and the publishers were trying to do: in a short title, catch reader's attention and describe how "upside down" is the way of the cross. But, describing God as "insane" measures Almighty God against a human ruler: if He does not act in ways that make sense to us and fit into our conception of how the world should work, He must be "insane." This is deeply flawed theological thinking that has expanded to another book ("The Insanity of Obedience") and has its own web site, "GodsInsanity.com". Describing God this way is deeply offensive. Ripken and LifeWay should know better. ( )

would like to use this in my content area by showing the students that if you lose your faith you can still regain it.

Firstly, I need to address the title--it is irreverent. But it is worse than that, in an article defending the choice of title the author writes that God GAVE him the title after much prayer and consideration. God is apparently therefore referring to Himself as insane. But, the author argues, it is not God Himself that is insane but some of His methods and decisions. He also considered "The foolishness of God," which may have been worse, in my opinion. I believe that the author is forgetting that God Himself inspired the use of the word foolishness in the Bible--if God wants to use the word about Himself then that is clearly a matter for God. But, should we really be using words like this to describe God when we need a mediator even to approach Him due to His holiness? It is just symptomatic of the modern church which seeks to place God the Father on our level so that we can relate better to Him. God is not our buddy or mate, He is our Heavenly Father. We should have respect and awe in His presence.

Moving on to the story itself. As a novel it held my attention. The details are interesting and enough detail is given for the reader to be able to relate. The book is really divided into two sections. The first section details the terrible experiences the author had whilst working in Somalia during the war. The author and his wife believed they were called to be missionaries and set off in obedience to their call but somehow ended up working for an aid organisation where they were unable to share the Gospel at all without putting themselves at serious risk.

I have read some criticism of the author for not sharing the Gospel with those who were dying. This is a difficult issue--it seemed to me that there may have been situations where the Gospel could've been shared from the author's descriptions of events. He was traveling alone or with one or two others to remote villages where people were starving to death. His job was to report the situation to his organisation for future assistance. However, many of these people starved during the wait and some villages had to be abandoned as they were impossible to reach with the aid. I don't think it is fair to judge the author as it is not something that he had planned for and he had to consider the requirements of his organisation. However, I can understand why he ended up in despair and wondered whether the work had achieved anything because sadly the answer is "not really." Some people's lives were sustained for a bit longer but spiritually they were still destitute. It sounds as if the author suffered from some form of PTSD--he describes the type of horror that I'm sure those who have served in the armed forces have seen.

The author then lost one of his children to an illness. His family returned from the mission field at this point with serious questions about their callings and their faith, understandably so. It was at this point that they really needed wise counsel, support and encouragement.

Somehow, the author's conclusion was that the great Commission was impossible in countries where Christians are persecuted. He re-configured God's instructions and decided that instead of telling people about Jesus in these countries and taking the consequence, he would embark on a research project for 2 years. He would travel alone to countries where Christians are persecuted, interview people and then consider the findings of his research. After what he had been through in Somalia and with the death of his son, this may have been a sensible course at the time and for the 2 year period. But, surely the end purpose should have been to work out how it would be possible to effectively share the Gospel with people in these countries.

Unfortunately, the author never reaches the stage of actually sharing the Gospel because he continues traveling and collecting stories for the rest of his active ministry. He writes books and makes films and apparently attempts to patent (copyright) a concept called Heartsongs. This is the practice of lifting up praise to God under persecution. He discovered this practice during his research and for some reason decided to patent it!?

I feel sad about what has happened here. The rest of the book (part two) is full of almost unbelievable tales from various countries. Tales of the miraculous and supernatural which appear to me to have been embellished. Tales of God speaking personally to people and visitations by Jesus. BUT they are all third hand and none of them verifiable because the author waited for 15 years before publishing his book. This, due to the possibility of those he had interviewed being at risk, even though he changed names. None of these stories were really unique as similar stories can be found in a number of biographies from missionaries who were sharing the Gospel in these countries hence the background believers in the first place and the existence of the Underground Church.

I found his observations and treatment of the Asian cultures cringeworthy in places as he told the Chinese believers off for allowing him to visit thereby placing themselves in danger. He gives them advice for the future as if he is the one and only expert. He also rebukes an entire group of persecuted Pastors who had appealed for foreign aid after he had asked them what he could do to help....he tells this story as if God Himself placed the words in his mouth but I find that unlikely because his response was neither loving nor gracious in the circumstances.

On Amazon.com he is described as "the world's leading expert on the persecuted church"....I wonder if this is a title that he has given himself and how that can be realistically assessed. He certainly seems to be making a name for himself due to his extensive research. That fact alone is probably at the root of my irritation--it comes across in the provocative title, the sensationalised stories, the use of dramatic language and the suggestion that he tried to copyright/patent a concept he discovered during his research. I only picked the book up due to the forward by David Platt--the title would have put me off otherwise.

For those who have been inspired by the author's stories and these books--and there are many people, I have read numerous 5 star reviews. I would just ask the question, what have you been inspired to actually do? Pray more--great. Give more--also a good idea. Go and obey the Great Commission--probably not as the author has said it is impossible in these countries. He suggests research instead. Personally, I believe we should stick to the Bible and share the Gospel where God leads us to go. Learning and being adequately prepared is only helpful if we actually do something with it.

This book is clean, free of bad language and sexual content. There are some descriptions of violence.


( )

I hate how skeptical I can be of anecdotal stories. I found myself battling that mental framework all throughout The Insanity of God. By its very nature, it cannot be fact-checked. Even the author's name is a pseudonym. I searched the internet for his real identity. I'm still baffled. Usually Christians don't keep secrets very well....

Once I got past my skepticism, I encountered a biographical work that was, at times, depressing, uplifting, convicting, and encouraging. With all of those emotions (sometimes in just one chapter), it's no wonder that I was emotionally drained on my journey through Nik Ripken's tale. But I'm glad he took me along.

The Insanity of God shines a needed light of the persecuted church. Ripken does something far better than bombard the reader with statistics and facts; he paints real-life pictures. His anecdotes draw the reader into the lives of modern day heroes of the faith. The nameless, faceless persecuted church is humanized in The Insanity of God, eliciting a powerful emotional connection in (this) reader.

May God strengthen the persecuted church! May God waken Western believers! May the Glory of God shine through Nik Ripken's tales. ( )