April 5th, 2010
Between Two Tigers
Between Two Tigers, which we purchased from Voice of the Martyrs, would have to be one of the most compelling and thought-provoking books that I have had the pleasure of reading recently. In Vietnam, they have a saying and that is, “If you use a blanket to cover yourself, then you will not know whether or not there are lice inside that blanket.”
People who live outside Vietnam think that there is freedom of religion within Vietnam, but if you really want to find out whether that is true, you need to walk in the shoes of the members of the persecuted church.
Christians in Vietnam live between two “tigers” – Communism and Buddhism/tribal religions, and no matter which way they turn, there is a “tiger” threatening them. Do they stop worshipping Jesus? No! They travel the lonely roads, face police interrogation and prison, and they do it all with a sense of joy and accomplishment, knowing that Christ’s power rests upon them.
Vietnam is a small country in Indochina, which has suffered greatly and been wounded by various wars. The people have felt that their lives were being sacrificed to Communism, and at about the same time, Buddhism was brought in from China, with pagodas, shrines and temples adorning every home. Superstitious religious rites were practiced with regularity.
Communism began around 1954 and the churches persecution still continues today, although the North is more heavily persecuted than the South. The Christians who remained in the North after Vietnam was split had their Bibles confiscated and they had their crosses destroyed. Atheism and Darwinism was taught, while newspapers spread false information about believers. In the North, churches are even told what they can preach, and the pastors are controlled by the government.
House churches are one way that the North Vietnamese Christians can spread the Word of God, but there are harsh penalties – imprisonment and severe beatings for anyone caught with a Bible and preaching the Word of God. Most of these house churches contain ten to twelve people who have continued meeting like this for months, and in some cases, years. Today Vietnam is a place where Jesus Christ is changing the course of history. The gospel is being preached all over the land, and the land is ripe for the harvest.
There are many stories of extreme persecution within this book, and real Christians endure such hardships that it makes me shudder, knowing that these people are willing to give their all for their love of the Lord Jesus Christ and the spreading of the Gospel. Bibles are still in short supply in Vietnam, and the Vietnam Christians guard their Bibles with their lives, sometimes burying Bibles so that they will not be confiscated. People borrow Bibles so that they can learn of the love of God and instill His Word into their ♥♥♥.
Some Christians pedal 40 kilometres to preach their sermons (Gulp!), and they spend whatever money that they have to photocopy tracts and encourage people to read them. Once they have read the tract, they return it and receive a new one. We can only imagine the hardships that they endure, to bring others to the saving grace of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God that there are Christians in Vietnam prepared to give their all so that others can learn of the love of God! This is an excellent book, and one that I can heartily recommend.
I am a daughter of the King of Kings, seeking to live a godly life and mirror the love of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
We in the west have grown soft. We have been great blessed but not grateful. I dread to think of our fate.
Jillian, I have never heard of this book before, but I shall keep my eyes out for it.
It really makes you think doesn’t it, how we would cope with the persecution these dear Christians suffer in their country. We think persecution is when our families disagree with our beliefs, and don’t talk to us for a few months. Man, we are really so inoculated from the true persecution these heroes of the faith go through. We get hurt over the trivialist things whilst these precious saints really do risk their very lives every day for the sake of the gospel.
How many of us have bibles sitting around all over the house, and barely pick it up? Books like this certainly put things into perspective. That is why I love the challenge they invoke in me.
Thanks for posting about it.
You really are a faithful blogging buddy. I really appreciate you Jillian and the visits you pay me whenever I post. I have so come to value our friendship, and the love of the Lord that we delight to *talk* about… whether we agree on every jot and tittle matters not. The heart is in unity, and that’s what matters. Bless you dear friend.
ps. I still get amazed at the work the Lord has done… who would have thought? HE DID! LOL
p.s.s.! no pressure to comment on every post of mine, mind you. Just thanking you that you regularly visit. Like we share a daily cuppa together. Just had to tell you how I feel about it. I’m in a mushy kinda mood lately lol.
Hi Ganeida,
I agree wholeheartedly – we are so soft, not only in our love of our creature comforts, but I dread to think of how we would cope with what these Vietnam Christians endure each and every day of their lives. They are so uncomplaining, though, as they serve God to spread the Word.
We have been immensely blessed, but our gratitude doesn’t match the blessings that we (I) receive.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jilian ♥
Hi Amanda,
We bought it from Voice of the Martyrs, but when I went looking for a link to post with it, I couldn’t find it, and we didn’t buy it that long ago. *shakes head*
I don’t know how I would cope with the persecution that the Vietnam Christians endure each and every day, for I struggle with the problems that we have with family relationships. I agree – “we are really so inoculated from the true persecution these heroes of the faith go through.” Sometimes I think that it would do me good to endure what they have to endure for even one day!
We have given one Bible away to someone needing it, but we still have several sitting around our home, just gathering dust in bookshelves. We give what we can to Voice of the Martyrs, for they are going forth to preach the Gospel to every creature, but sometimes I just wish I could do more.
You’re welcome – I enjoy writing about the book and what the people endure, simply to preach the Word of God.
Whether we agree on every aspect of God’s Word is not important – I agree, for there are not many Christians who would agree on every jot and tittle – it’s about unity in Christ. 
I truly do value your friendship, too, and I thank God for the friendship and “talks” that we now enjoy.
I pray that you have a wonderful and blessed week!
Love,
Jillian ♥
Hi Amanda,
I enjoy your visits and the “conversations” that we share. I feel loved! 
Thank you.
Love, Jillian ♥
Hi Jillian,
As Ganeida has said, we in the West are so soft. How easy it is for us to proclaim Christ in our lives when people generally either agree or don’t care?
James 1:2-4 says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Imagine the testing the Vietnamese Christians are enduring and the perseverance that develops! Hard times, yet a blessing all the same. Would our faith stand up to that testing?
Thank you for this review. We’re always looking for great biographies, especially regarding the persecuted church.
Hi Danielle,
I agree – we in the west are soft. The Vietnamese Christians are so persecuted, but their perseverance and joy are a true inspiration to me.
Would our faith stand up to that testing? I don’t know, but I do know that I look for the “silver lining” in all situations. For instance, we had a power blackout here last night and today (14.5 hours), and my son grumbled about how much work he had to do on the computer, but I used that time to get my filing done and to pay some bills. I try to praise God in all things and to count it all joy.
I’m not perfect, for He still has a lot of work to do in my heart, but my heart is full of praise for Him.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
Hi Trisha,
You’re very welcome. We have some other wonderful biographies about the persecuted church, so I shall review them sometime, too.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
Have you read “Hearts of Fire: eight women in the under ground church and their stories of costly faith” also by the Voice of the Maryts. I thought this was a great book – very sad – these women have such amazing strength and courage – I wonder if I would fight as hard to have a bible as these women do – my life is so easy when compared to theirs, in fact there is no comparison. It puts me to shame.
http://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Fire-Underground-Church-Stories/dp/0849944228/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270625236&sr=8-1
The other one is “Daughters of Hope: Stories of Witness and Courage”.
Jo
Hi Jo,
No, I haven’t read either of these books – they sound terrific!
Stories from the underground church continue to inspire me and make me realise how far I have to go in my walk with God.
Thank you – I shall add them on my wish list.
Have a wonderful week,
Love and blessings, Jillian ♥
I am a big book buyer, not sure if you are? But I found that books are very expensive in Australia – so I now buy ALL my books from the UK. I thought you might like the link. They do not charge postage (which is EXCELLENT) and send every book as a separate parcel – they usually takes 2 weeks to arrive.
I generally order a book a week – they have a huge range and this includes a range of Christian literature (even the ones I have listed in the previous comment).
What I like about it is the wish list – I have set up an account and when I see a book I would like to buy I add it to my wish list. When I am ready to buy a book, I just go through my wish list and decide which one I want to buy this week. Sometimes I will see a book in a local book store – I will write down the title and price and then check on the website – I have saved lots of money this way. Some books are 50% cheaper – I bought my son one for Christmas that was $100 cheaper!!!!!
You can use Paypal or credit cards.
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/
Check it out!!
Jillian – can you DELETE my last message – as it is much the same the previous one – I thought I had lost the first one so re-wrote it!!! Silly me
Hi Jo,
The book depository sounds great, and one that I shall definitely use in the future, as it is so difficult to get good Christian literature in Australia without the hefty postage costs. Thank you.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love Jillian ♥
Hi Jo,
Done.
That’s OK – it was slightly different to the first one, and I gleaned more information from it, thank you.
Have a great week,
Love and blessings, Jillian ♥