God's Double Agent: Bob Fu (Book Review)

Subtitled "The True Story of a Chinese Christian's Fight for Freedom," God's Double Agent is the story of Bob Fu.  He is a former dissident and pastor of an illegal underground church in China.  He and his wife, Heidi, escaped prison and fled to the United States as refugees in 1997.  I received a copy of the book, at no cost to me, for review purposes.

The story of Bob's childhood, college years, and conversion to Christianity is gripping--but it doesn't end there.  The challenges of living in communist China are hard for me to grasp.  I can't imaging the oppression of being controlled by the government at every turn:  not being able to choose one's own career path, not being allowed to have children without a permit, and so on.

But the persecution began in earnest after he converted to Christianity.  Although the government claimed that religious freedom was allowed, this was not truly the case.  The name "God's Double Agent" refers to the time when Bob taught at a Communist Party school during the day and organized illegal house churches at night.  Bob and Heidi were arrested, imprisoned, and tortured.  Finally they devised a plan to escape and were able to flee to the United States.

The story doesn't end there, either.  Once in the United States, Bob founded ChinaAid, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the underground church in China, political dissidents, and those who risk their lives to defend them.  He has orchestrated and participated in daring rescues, and he has testified before Congress.

God's Double Agent was a page turner for me.  I don't read a lot of suspenseful books, but I was so fascinated by this story that I could not put it down.  The ways in which God protected and provided for Bob and his family were simply amazing.  The book also served to make me extremely thankful to live in the United States, where we can live and worship as we choose.  I highly recommend God's Double Agent!

Links for more information:

• Baker Publishing Group page for God's Double Agent
• Baker Publishing Group bio for Bob Fu
• ChinaAid website
• God's Double Agent on Amazon.com (affiliate link)

Disclosure:  This post contains an affiliate link.  If you click through the Amazon.com link just above this disclosure and complete a purchase, I will receive a small commission.  Thank you!