(This book provided by the publisher)
I waited a bit more than a week to write my review for The Bible or the Axe as I wanted to let it sink in a bit. I also want to see if it really did make an impression on me. I'll write the review and we'll find out.
The Bible or the Axe is the autobriography of William O. Levi up until around 1993. Levi is from The Sudan and was born in 1964 (same year as me). Fortunately, Levi decided to give some very necessary historical background of The Sudan to give his birth and the first 30 years of his life some context. As most of you know, most Americans know very little of The Sudan (including myself) and the historical information is worth reading the book by itself.
In The Bible or the Axe you will ready many instances of hard time, narrow escapes, much sadness and some joy but the key that I found was one man being faithful to God's call on his life. Levi felt called to not take up arms but to choose a different path. At the same time he did not feel that everyone should do what he did. He did not condem the ones who did take up arms against the radicals in The Sudan but did stick to his calling in life.
The book itself isn't a very hard read and it does read pretty quick. Don't expect to be blown away by elegant prose but be ready to get nailed to the wall as you face the comparisons between the life of a Christian in The Sudan and a Christian in America. We spend a bunch of time with silly speculations about how the removal of Jews from Gaza affects the coming of Christ while folks in parts of The Sudan have to decide whether to embrace Islam or have their child denied emergency health care. Yes, this book will help you focus on issues that really do matter. The basic right to practice a religion is a major issue and it's something that, as a country and no matter what your faith (or lack thereof), we should all care about and should keep looking in to.
Thanks to Stacy at Mind and Media for the opportunity to review The Bible or the Axe as another book has helped me think through my faith a bit more.
Posted by Tim at August 28, 2005 09:01 PM
