On this Anzac Sunday [a week before Anzac Day] I want to tell you
of one of the most absorbing books I have ever read. It’s called
“War and Grace” and was given to me when I was in the
UK a few weeks ago.
Written by Don Stephens it contains 13 brief biographies of people
whose Christian conversion or Christian ministry took place in or
around WWI or WWII. Today I will mention the first six and then
next Sunday I will give you the remaining seven. I want to say enough
to interest and inform those who will never read the book and yet
leave enough to satisfy those who will. I cannot think of a person
(from the most hardened atheist to the most committed Christian)
who would not benefit from — and probably value — this
book. Here are the sketches of the first six people:
1. An athlete called Louis Zamperini was born in
New York in 1917, competed in the 1936 Olympic Games (sharing
a room with Jesse Owens) and went on to be a pilot in WWII. His
plane was shot down and he drifted on a raft for 47 days before
being captured by the Japanese and imprisoned for 2½ years.
Attending a Billy Graham rally in 1949 he was converted, became
an evangelist and went preaching (including Japan) for the next
50 years.
2. A German soldier in WWI, Paul Schneider was later
converted then ordained and refused to allow Nazi involvement
in his ministry — so was imprisoned. There he preached as
he had opportunity, and suffered (his prison cell was 1.2 x 3
metres) till his death in 1939 aged 41. Dietrich Bonhoeffer urged
that his story be widely told, as a Christian “martyr”.
3. William Dobbie was a Lt. General in WWI whom
Churchill called a man of “outstanding character … bible
in one hand and sword in the other”. In 1940 he was called
in to govern the Mediterranean island of Malta as three air raids
a day made it “the most bombed place on the earth”.
His faith and prayerfulness and godliness impacted the whole island.
4. A Jewish Dutch girl called Johanna-Ruth Dobschiner
witnessed her brothers taken to concentration camps — and
later her parents — while she herself was miraculously spared
Nazi death penalties. Becoming more conscious of God she was eventually
housed with Christians and read a New Testament for the first
time — and Jesus “stole his way into my life and …
pierced my iron curtain of reasoning”.
5. Charles Fraser-Smith appeared to work in a clothing
and textile firm through WWII but was really a Secret Service
agent. He arranged for compasses hidden in pens, maps in golf
balls, cameras in shaving brushes and ink in chess pieces to go
off to soldiers. The character “Q” in the James Bond
movies was based on him and Fraser-Smith’s motto was “Without
Christ – nothing”.
6. The WWII pilot who led the 360 torpedo planes
on Pearl Harbour (and called the “Tora! Tora! Tora!”)
was Mitsuo Fuchida. Idolised as a Japanese hero he soon turned
to drink and began to ask deep questions about evil. Given a tract
in 1950 and reading Jesus’ words “Father forgive them”
he was converted and lived as an evangelist for the next 25 years.
He was so passionate about Jesus Christ he would often refuse
to speak of war and only of grace.
I’ve ordered 20 of these books but I reckon everyone should
own 20 … and give them away.
P.S. I’m leading the Prayer Meeting this Wednesday and Tim
Swan will be with us — I hope you will be too (8–9pm).
