The Heavenly Man: The remarkable true story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun

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This book will forever nag me when I complain. What I endure as "hardship," no matter how severe it may be will pale to what this man, and literally millions of others around the world endure daily in the form of persecution for what they believe. I recently completed Jennifer Lin's marvelous Shanghai Faithful. I would commend it to readers of The Heavenly Man. Lin's work is a narrative non-fiction memoir of her Protestant family in China, beginning with the first convert of her lineage in the mid-nineteeth century and continuing to today. Highly recommended. How much are you willing to risk? This book received five stars because it challenged me on many levels. On the surface it is the autobiography of a Christian in China, named Brother Yun, born in 1958. His family was very poor, and early in adolescence Yun had a spiritual conversion. The early chapters read almost like a parable. During his life practicing and preaching the faith, Yun faced tremendous religious persecution including years of imprisonment and torture. The inserts by his wife, Deling, give an even deeper perspective of how she cared for their children alone. Yun’s courage and dedication inspire western Christians to examine their own commitment and to truly value the religious freedom we possess.

this book is powerful. it's probably the most single, powerful story i've ever come across. it has challenged me more than any other book i've ever read. Sexual Content- Brother Yun calls the Three-Self Church a ‘harlot’ (it’s repeated and said a total of four times); A few mentions of prostitutes and seduction; A couple cell mates say they raped women (no details); A mention of two women who were kidnapped and used as s*x slaves; A few mentions of abortion and being force not to have any more babies; When talking about his wife, Brother Yun says “After our marriage Deling and I had thought about having a baby, but at the time my name and photo was plastered everywhere by the police so we didn’t get the chance to spend much time together. On one occasion before I was arrested I secretly sneaked home and during that visit my wife conceived.”. If we do not decide, in our country, to press into the kingdom of God with all our might, we might as well consider ourselves nothing more than a club. Our message should be to the furtherance of the gospel, a witness to the only true God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and nothing less. But instead, we are establishing huge churches where there are countless personality idols who rob the members of funds so they can build gold plated faucets in their bathrooms. The number of different accusations and rumors I have heard about Brother Yun are so numerous that I haven't been able to remember them all! Some have been so ridiculous and childish that they do not deserve a response, such as "Brother Yun does not pray at all,""He is no longer walking with the Lord,""He was imprisoned because he is a gold smuggler," etc. Here is a summary of the main accusations that I keep hearing, rebutted one by one. Brother Yun was 16 when he became a Christian. Soon after, he started hungering for the Word of God. However, his family did not have a Bible. He began asking his mother who Jesus was. In response, his mother would tell him that Jesus was the Son of God and that He had recorded all His teachings in the Bible.Let's repent of all these foolish things that Satan has used to take our eyes off the work of God's kingdom, and rededicate ourselves to serve the Lord afresh once again. This is what I plan to do, and I know this is the desire of Brother Yun's heart. Out of all the huge groundswell of rumours, slander and controversy that has arisen around this simple-hearted man who loves God, one thing that most people agree on is that Brother Yun experienced a tremendous amount of persecution for his faith when he lived in China. Now that he is outside China, what an absolute tragedy it would be if certain sections of the Body of Christ took over the role that the prison guards and police used to do in China, and we become responsible for persecuting this brother with our words and our misinformed character assassinations. This appears to be exactly what is happening today to Brother Yun. Let us try to put ourselves in his position for a moment. It must be a terrible thing to have to go through. In the presence of the Lord I would like to say I hold absolutely nothing against the men of God who wrote the booklet about me, and I have completely forgiven them. In fact, the booklet did not reduce the deep respect I have in my heart towards these men. I know that one day we will embrace before our Father in Heaven and any misunderstanding will be forgotten as we worship the Lamb of God together.

Brother Yun no longer lives in China, but he continues to face opposition", Charisma Magazine (cover story), April 2007 . The publication on the internet of these false accusations against Brother Yun have just served to embolden those who already wish to see his downfall. Several Christian newspapers and magazines have taken up the story. Even a number of Western and Asian mission leaders have jumped on the bandwagon. I can imagine the devil laughing as thousands of Christians who had been blessed and encouraged by Yun's testimony felt their hearts sink as they read how three old Chinese church leaders had denounced Yun and his story as false. The surge of spiritual hope and faith that many believers felt when they read Yun's book was extinguished by these accusations. It was a real eye opener that which caused great division among Chinese Christians: additional materials from the United Pentecostal and Word of Faith/prosperity groups. Their interpretation of Scripture discovered in those materials did nothing for the church but to set one brother against the other. Finding unity in all that mess was a true challenge, and one that the body of Christ here in America should undertake prayerfully. Keeping the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace is imperative if we are to maintain a witness to this world. I didn't really enjoy this book. I knew there was a lot of controversy surrounding the book right about the time I started reading it. I asked some missionaries that we know in China what they thought of him. Unfortunately, they know him through an American speaking engagement rather than the house church movement in China. Unfortunately, and tragically, 'friendly fire' is alive and well among God's people today. Christians like Brother Yun would consider it a great honor to be shot dead by a Muslim or speared by a tribesman while they are preaching the gospel in some far-flung corner of the earth. But to come under fire from fellow Christians, who are meant to be fighting on your side, is a miserable and terrible thing to have to cope with.As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Jennifer Lee (5 August 2005). "The Author of The Heavenly Man Releases an Open Letter on Controversy". The Gospel Herald . Retrieved 10 January 2020. I have a problem with the 'prosperity' teaching prevalent today, which tells us if we follow the Lord we'll be safe and comfortable. This is completely contrary to Scripture as well as to our experiences in China." (p. 232) Reflecting on both the miracles and the `everybody' language, a new thought occurred to me: Yun's book closely resembles the book of Acts. And not just `closely resembles', but appears to be written as a copy of the book of Acts. Yun is saved, set apart for a mission like Paul, is miraculously transported like Philip, is part of healings and radical community like the early church, escapes from the authorities like Paul, escapes from prison like Peter--Yun is even met at the door by a girl who forgets to open it for him after his escape! Through this all my inner eye began to narrow more and more as I scrutinized Yun's book. Why does this book so closely parallel the story of Acts? Again, I must ask, is it possible for God to do these things? Certainly! But does this all add up? This book was recommended to me by a Christian friend who was reminded of it after we started discussing the connection that suffering has with true spirituality. Not being, at all, familiar with such deep persecution for Christ's sake that Brother Yun experienced, my mind was telling me that what I was reading was fabrication, not an account of God's many promises that tell us that one man can put ten thousand to fight, that He is a very present help in time of trouble, and that no evil will come nigh thee.