"Without You, There is No Us" by Suki Kim: A Book Review

I confess my fascination with North Korea. It is another world that is so repressed, by all modern standards, that we who reside in the "western" world cannot even begin to comprehend what daily life is like for the millions who live under their totalitarian regime. Most reports that come out of this dark corner of the globe are from dissidents, escapees or news stories that reveal how strange and bizarre is the total control of North Korea's people.

What author, Suki Kim, brings to the conversation is a rare opportunity to live, teach and build relationships with the sons of North Korea's elite. The term "elite" should be used lightly because by U.S. or European standards, these young men are far behind in their educational opportunities, technological skills and even choices regarding their future.

It took several weeks of building trust, but as Kim built rapport with her students, mild comments that revealed their awareness of their true circumstances began to be expressed by these men whose lives, vastly different to the families in concentration camps or the enslaved peasants in rural villages, are comparatively well-off. Critical, analytical and logical thinking are not skills that are encouraged, sought after or promoted by a regime that desires to have absolute control over her people. Any expression of dissent is forbidden. For these young men to have even a tiny ounce of awareness of the restrictions imposed upon them is a crack in the facade that their "Great Leader" would find a way to stomp out quickly.

Kim's anecdotes about how she endured isolation, paranoia about false steps, and the oppression living as a free person in this environment, are told compassionately by a woman whose South Korean roots compel her to see her homeland one day reunited. Ultimately, both South and North Korea desire the same thing...reunification. The South desires to see her people free and the North longs to dominate the entire land of its ancestry.

When I have watched documentaries about North Korea, I have been amazed at the absolute devotion this people have for their dictator. I've asked the question of whether it is legitimate or faked for the cameras. What I've come to realize, partly through Kim's well-written account, is that such unswerving allegiance to a dominating force cannot be fake when that is all you know, and to simply ask an opposing question results in you and your family being incarcerated in prison camps. This is brain-washing on a national scale.

One day, this country will open up. I truly feel pity for the North Koreans when it does. To have everything you've ever known and been told to be proven false will inevitably leave devastation in it's wake...as we've seen in a less drastic example for Eastern Europeans. As westerners continue to build relationships with North Koreans, we can hope that when the fall does occur, there are opportunities to come along beside this resilient people to usher them into the freedom and hope they deserve.

You should read Suki Kim's book. It is engaging, lovely and informative. Her honest emotional struggle to enlighten the elite sons of North Korea will leave you thankful for people who serve in hostile environments such as this. It will also speak to your heart of how one person can make a difference by only being able to plant the tiniest seeds of freedom.

The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken: A Book Review

I've been thinking a lot about the persecution of the Church lately. Syria, Iraq, Pastor Saeed Abedini, reports out of North Korea and this book have all combined to illuminate my soul to the undeniable conclusion that evil, persecution of the Church and God's covering mercy are all alive and active in our physical world.

But that's where I keep getting tripped up:  this physical world. 

You see, there is more...so much more than we can ever see or imagine. There are very real spiritual forces of darkness and Light in this world and there is a very real war being waged for which team we will choose to align our souls with. In places I will never see, and in lives I will not know until I meet them in Heaven, there is daily suffering, persecution and death taking place.

All of this begs me to ask the question: Why not here?

Ripken (a pseudonym for the author) asks the same question. I don't want to spoil his conclusion, but I think if we search our hearts and our culture with the discernment of the Holy Spirit, we'll find the same answer.

Why would our Enemy mess with a good thing?

We in the West are asleep to the power of the Holy Spirit within us, and our Enemy knows it. The phrase that keeps coming to mind is waking a sleeping giant. Why would our Enemy, that is perfectly content with our complacency, awaken us to the resurrection power of Christ within us, when he (Satan) can accomplish much more by keep us pacified with our phones, activities, social media, dining out, shopping, and whatever else we spend our time and resources on instead of saving souls for the Kingdom of the One that saved us?

Scary thoughts, right?

Believe me. This book has not been a joy ride...but one I very much needed to remind me of exactly what is at stake. Is it easy to sacrifice? No. Is it comfortable to intercede for others? No. Is it tangibly rewarding to be vulnerable and "different" than others you know. No. Do I care what others think? Yes...far too much.

Here's what I just can not get around:

• I have too much stuff.
• I have too many gifts and talents not being used extensively.
• I have too many friends, neighbors and fellow church-goers that also have not awakened to the God who jealously wants His Holy Spirit to come alive in them.

When Chinese Christians will commit to arising an hour earlier to pray for their Middle Eastern brothers and sisters in Christ whose suffering they view to be even worse than their own imprisonments, how...how can I grimace at the mere thought of losing a little sleep to spend some time in prayer for those I know and love?

What I am about to pray is a very risky thing. I recognize exactly what I am asking and that the only way to achieve it is for trials and sufferings to come. As Ripken points out, "Suffering is one of God's ordained means for the growth of his church." He wisely adds later, "[Believers] know that following Jesus, in so many ways, actually increases suffering instead of lessening it. But they also know that Jesus is better than all the pleasures, possessions, and pursuits of this world put together."

Here is my prayer:

Wake the sleeping giant, Lord! Wake us up! May Your Holy Fire ignite our very souls and the possessions and pastimes with which we have numbed ourselves fall away and pale in comparison with the joy of abiding in Your Presence.

Do you long to be fully alive to the Spirit? Do you believe, as Augustine is credited with saying, "The glory of God is man fully alive"? Do you desire a closeness with the Spirit that is indescribable?

Awaken and arise to the One that is miraculously at work in our world. Embrace the sufferings of His servants as our own and delight in nothing more than Him.

I'm ready. I want so much more than this culture has convinced me I should be content with. Don't you?

The Global War on Christians- A Book Review

Given the frequency of how often this topic comes up these days, I welcomed the opportunity to read The Global War on Christians by John L. Allen Jr. Over the last year, Hobby Lobby, Duck Dynasty and I'm sure many more that I have forgotten, have been just some of the names bandied about by U.S. Christians as proof that there are, in fact, more and more incidents of Christians being publicly denounced and persecuted.

While offering countless examples of Christian persecution around the world and providing textbook-like documentation and accuracy, what I most appreciate is that from the onset of the introduction, Allen offers a more accurate understanding of the "global war on Christians": "...meaning violence and overt persecution directed at individual Christians as well as their churches and other institutions on the basis of their religious faith, the works of charity they perform, or the virtues they exhibit."

By contrast, "A 'war on religion' in the West, (is) a phrase that many commentators in Europe and North America use to refer to what they see as a growing climate of secular hostility to religion, and to Christianity in particular." The perceived hostility in the West, quite frankly, pales in comparison to what our brothers and sisters in Christ face everyday in every other corner of the globe.

Allen also gives broad examples of what true Christian persecution may involve:

• Societal discrimination
• Institutional discrimination
• Employment discrimination
• Legal discrimination
• Suppression of Christian missionary activity
• Suppression of conversion to Christianity
• Forced conversion from Christianity
• Suppression of corporate worship
• Violence against individuals
• Community oppression

And if you doubt the existence of such actions against Christians, Allen reminds us that "leading demographers of religion...have performed an exhaustive statistical analysis of Christian martyrdom, reaching the conclusion that there have been seventy million martyrs since the time of Christ. Of that total, fully half, or forty-five million, went to their deaths in the twentieth century..."

And we lament a grandpa in the bayou being removed from a cable television program.

Allen's book is a call to the Western Church to wake up. Recognizing true persecution is the first step. Doing something about it should soon follow. When we think of Christian persecution...India, Indonesia, Iran, China, North Korea, Sudan and Somalia most likely jump to the forefront of our minds. Yet, in our own hemisphere lies what the Vatican calls "the single most dangerous place on earth to be a church worker"...Colombia.

Instead of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists or government officials attacking Christians, Colombia has "large areas of the country...controlled by criminal organizations, drug cartels, revolutionaries, and paramilitary groups," that have no qualms over killing relief workers, priests, nuns or missionaries who dare to dream of freedom from oppression for the peasants under the control of the territorial tyrants.

I confess to having read the book in small "doses". The tales of torture, murder and desecration became overwhelming, although Allen treats them all with dignity and heartfelt care. My soul was disturbed though at the plight of my kinsmen that takes place right under my nose.

If this were happening in my country, how would I want my fellow Christians who are free to practice their faith do? Speak up...of course. That is precisely what Allen does and encourages us all to do.

Sign those petitions for freedom of Pastor Saeed Abedini who is currently imprisoned in Iran; forward the e-mails and repost the links that call attention to true Christian persecution; and, don't circulate the popular media attacks against Christians that have just been misquoted or misunderstood. Can we admit that we've all jumped on all of these little "inconveniences" so often that when a real tragedy is taking place, we have become desensitized to it? If I'm right...then maybe we should stop overreacting at each little infraction so that we have the appropriate outrage at the human rights violations that actually occur everyday.

I leave this review with the wise warning given by Allen in the postscript to which all Christians should take heed: "Christians must always be on guard against the stirring of prejudice in their own hearts, and should not use the suffering of their coreligionists to evade that examination of conscience."

Once again, the Truth of Christ begins within and claiming some sort of privilege because of our standing in Him does not excuse our negligence as to the plight of others. Nor, does it give cause for us to retaliate...ever.

Three North Korean Documentaries

Actually, it's four North Korean documentaries, but one of them I watched a long time ago. Yet each of them opened my eyes to the plight of a people that are so secluded from the world, that we really know very little about them. One nickname for this place dubbed as the "largest prison in the world" is "The Hermit Kingdom",

The North Korean version of life (whether spoken out of fear or brainwashing or both) would be very contradictory to what our observations would be. But one thing is true, everything about their lives is controlled...where they work, where they can travel, what class they are in (working, intellectual or peasant), what is on TV, government radio piped into their kitchens that cannot be turned off and the absolutely forbidden possibility of leaving the country...even when over 3 million people died from famine in the 1990s and many are still starving today.

If you attempt escape, which is the subject of Seoul Train, and are caught, you are either sent to a concentration camp and worked to death, tortured or killed on the spot. But if you escape and leave family behind, this is the fate you have left them to. Also, China is violating human rights treaties that they have signed, repatriating refugees back to this fate that awaits them in North Korea. China will not simply let them pass through to Mongolia or South Korea where the refugees would be welcomed...no, they return them with full knowledge of what the refugees will receive...thus, they are not economic refugees, but rather political. By denying asylum China is violating their basic human rights. Seoul Train even captures video of the "MoFA 7" attempting to follow the legal procedure with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by filing paperwork to begin the process of being granted asylum. The seven people show the guards their paperwork at the gate, are forcibly and brutally arrested and later sent back to North Korea never to be heard from again.

Another documentary is National Geographic: Inside North Korea


I've liked Lisa Ling's work in the past, and this is a well done segment from the National Geographic Channel program. They did have to do most of their filming undercover though. And even while taking photos of The Great Leader's (Kim Jong-Il) statue, the photographer is chastised by the government "handler" for lying down on the ground to get the whole statue in the photo. Let's just say, the fanaticism for the dictator shown in these films is very disturbing. Ling points out that while watching this in person it hits her that for about 60 years this is the life these people have known and the utter godlike devotion to Kim Jong-Il may not come from just fear or praise...but having never known another way of life...it may be both. When Ling asks if The Great Leader ever does anything wrong, the family she is visiting genuinely look like they don't understand the question.


A State of Mind is the one I watched last night, and once again the sheer, unquestioning devotion to Kim Jong-Il is unnerving at best. This documentary follows two girls who perform in The Mass Games. I don't quite understand the purpose of these other than to stamp out individualism and celebrate the work of a collective group (thousands of people actually) performing together. Also, they commemorate great wars won, historical holidays, etc. If there is one misstep...it is obvious...so these performers (mostly gymnasts) spend hours everyday perfecting their routines. Again, all to the worship of Kim Jong-Il.

I intentionally don't watch the news very often, because I don't agree with the philosophy "If it bleeds, it leads". That's why I prefer to watch documentaries. [Also, they are not selective news stories controlled by ratings, government agendas , politics or advertising!] There are valiant people all over the world who are the unsung heroes that sacrificially lay down their lives for the hope and rescue of complete strangers.  Seoul Train and Inside North Korea follow the work of a few.Would I be willing to pick up and go to China to help a brutalized people escape through an Underground Railroad? Would I risk my life and possible my family's in order to work against such an injustice? Seems like these people are closer to living out the call of Jesus better than I ever will. Pray for people such as these. One soldier escapee described an "Unseen Hand" that helped him escape even though his fellow escapee died. Pray that the "Unseen Hand" will continue to give courage, hope and protection to those who seek what we take for granted...freedom!

Another documentary about North Korea: