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The Overcomers: Stories of Love and Strength
You won't find perfect saints in this book, but those just like you in many ways These are true stories of ordinary people–sometimes sinful, sometimes saintly, often frightened, yet displaying great courage–some who failed, many who overcame in the face of surrender. No one is more qualified to tell these heart–touching, faith–challenging stories than Richard Wurmbrand. Pastor Wurmbrand was imprisoned for fourteen years in Romania for his faith; his wife was imprisoned for three years. He founded Voice of the Martyrs.
328 pages, Paperback
First published August 29, 2012
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About the author
Richard Wurmbrand
119 books272 followersEarly life
Richard Wurmbrand, the youngest of four boys, was born in 1909 in Bucharest in a Jewish family. He lived with his family in Istanbul for a short while; his father died when he was 9, and the Wurmbrands returned to Romania when he was 15.
As an adolescent, he became attracted to communism, and, after attending a series of illegal meetings of the Communist Party of Romania (PCdR), he was sent to study Marxism in Moscow, but returned clandestinely the following year. Pursued by Siguranţa Statului (the secret police), he was arrested and held in Doftana prison. Wurmbrand subsequently renounced his political ideals.
He married Sabina Oster on October 26, 1936. Wurmbrand and his wife were converted to Christianity in 1938 through the witness of Christian Wolfkes, a Romanian Christian carpenter; they joined the Anglican Mission to the Jews. Wurmbrand was ordained twice - first as an Anglican, then, after World War II, as a Lutheran pastor.
In 1944, when the Soviet Union occupied Romania as the first step to establishing the communist regime, Wurmbrand began a ministry to his Romanian countrymen and to the Red Army soldiers. When the government attempted to control the churches, he immediately began an "underground" ministry to his people. He was arrested on February 29, 1948, while on his way to church services.
Wurmbrand, who passed through the penal facilities of Craiova, Gherla, the Danube-Black Sea Canal, Văcăreşti, Malmaison, Cluj, and ultimately Jilava, spent three years in solitary confinement. His wife, Sabina, was arrested in 1950 and spent three years of penal labor on the Danube Canal.
Pastor Wurmbrand was released in 1956, after eight and a half years, and, although warned not to preach, resumed his work in the underground church. He was arrested again in 1959, and sentenced to 25 years. During his imprisonment, he was beaten and tortured.
Eventually, he was the recipient of an amnesty in 1964. Concerned with the possibility of further imprisonment, the Norwegian Mission to the Jews and the Hebrew Christian Alliance negotiated with the Communist authorities for his release from Romania for $10,000. He was convinced by underground church leaders to leave and become a voice for the persecuted church.
Wurmbrand traveled to Norway, England, and then the United States. In May 1965, he testified in Washington, D.C. before the US Senate's Internal Security Subcommittee. He became known as the "The Voice of the Underground Church," doing much to publicize the persecution of Christians in Communist countries.
In April 1967, the Wurmbrands formed Jesus To The Communist World (later named The Voice of the Martyrs), an interdenominational organization working initially with and for persecuted Christians in Communist countries, but later expanding its activities to help persecuted believers in other places, especially in the Muslim world. However, when in Namibia, and confronted with the case of Colin Winter, the Anglican Bishop of Namibia, who had supported African strikers and was eventually deported from Namibia by South Africa, Wurmbrand criticized the latter's anti-apartheid activism, and claimed resistance to communism was more important.
In 1990 Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand returned to Romania for the first time in 25 years. The Voice of the Martyrs opened a printing facility and bookstore in Bucharest. He preached about God together with pastor Ioan Panican.
The Wurmbrands had one son, Mihai. Wurmbrand wrote 18 books in English and others in Romanian. His best-known book is entitled Tortured for Christ, released in 1967. His wife, Sabina, died August 11, 2000.
Pastor Wurmbrand died on February 17, 2001 in a hospital in Long Beach, California. In 2006, he came fifth among the greatest Romanians according to a poll conducted by Romanian Television (Televiziunea Română).
Richard Wurmbrand, the youngest of four boys, was born in 1909 in Bucharest in a Jewish family. He lived with his family in Istanbul for a short while; his father died when he was 9, and the Wurmbrands returned to Romania when he was 15.
As an adolescent, he became attracted to communism, and, after attending a series of illegal meetings of the Communist Party of Romania (PCdR), he was sent to study Marxism in Moscow, but returned clandestinely the following year. Pursued by Siguranţa Statului (the secret police), he was arrested and held in Doftana prison. Wurmbrand subsequently renounced his political ideals.
He married Sabina Oster on October 26, 1936. Wurmbrand and his wife were converted to Christianity in 1938 through the witness of Christian Wolfkes, a Romanian Christian carpenter; they joined the Anglican Mission to the Jews. Wurmbrand was ordained twice - first as an Anglican, then, after World War II, as a Lutheran pastor.
In 1944, when the Soviet Union occupied Romania as the first step to establishing the communist regime, Wurmbrand began a ministry to his Romanian countrymen and to the Red Army soldiers. When the government attempted to control the churches, he immediately began an "underground" ministry to his people. He was arrested on February 29, 1948, while on his way to church services.
Wurmbrand, who passed through the penal facilities of Craiova, Gherla, the Danube-Black Sea Canal, Văcăreşti, Malmaison, Cluj, and ultimately Jilava, spent three years in solitary confinement. His wife, Sabina, was arrested in 1950 and spent three years of penal labor on the Danube Canal.
Pastor Wurmbrand was released in 1956, after eight and a half years, and, although warned not to preach, resumed his work in the underground church. He was arrested again in 1959, and sentenced to 25 years. During his imprisonment, he was beaten and tortured.
Eventually, he was the recipient of an amnesty in 1964. Concerned with the possibility of further imprisonment, the Norwegian Mission to the Jews and the Hebrew Christian Alliance negotiated with the Communist authorities for his release from Romania for $10,000. He was convinced by underground church leaders to leave and become a voice for the persecuted church.
Wurmbrand traveled to Norway, England, and then the United States. In May 1965, he testified in Washington, D.C. before the US Senate's Internal Security Subcommittee. He became known as the "The Voice of the Underground Church," doing much to publicize the persecution of Christians in Communist countries.
In April 1967, the Wurmbrands formed Jesus To The Communist World (later named The Voice of the Martyrs), an interdenominational organization working initially with and for persecuted Christians in Communist countries, but later expanding its activities to help persecuted believers in other places, especially in the Muslim world. However, when in Namibia, and confronted with the case of Colin Winter, the Anglican Bishop of Namibia, who had supported African strikers and was eventually deported from Namibia by South Africa, Wurmbrand criticized the latter's anti-apartheid activism, and claimed resistance to communism was more important.
In 1990 Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand returned to Romania for the first time in 25 years. The Voice of the Martyrs opened a printing facility and bookstore in Bucharest. He preached about God together with pastor Ioan Panican.
The Wurmbrands had one son, Mihai. Wurmbrand wrote 18 books in English and others in Romanian. His best-known book is entitled Tortured for Christ, released in 1967. His wife, Sabina, died August 11, 2000.
Pastor Wurmbrand died on February 17, 2001 in a hospital in Long Beach, California. In 2006, he came fifth among the greatest Romanians according to a poll conducted by Romanian Television (Televiziunea Română).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 10, 2014
One of the things that amazes me most about Richard Wurmbrand is how learned he is in spite of the years he suffered persecution, imprisonment and torture. The book is made up of 2 or 3 page stories of people who have suffered/been tortured for their faith in Christ the Lord, but every here and there are references to important personages of history, i.e. how Lenin and Freud became atheists, or how even Lenin might have accepted Christ in his deathbed; explanatory notes on subjects as varied as Science and Linguistics, i.e. the idea that Mark, the Evangelist, might be the rich man whom Jesus told to give everything to the poor and follow him, based on the word "eutheos", immediately (p.201).
The story about the Christian man was a mole in the Soviet secret police, Nikolai Khokhlov, who even wrote a book that now is out of print, is completely intriguing. Pity he didn't dwell more on some of these issues. Another little chapter that I will always treasure was the Parable of the Three Trees. A wonderful little story to tell to children (p.101).
The mention of the fact that in Aramaic there is no word to say "to have" (so Jesus never pronounced this word) is quite intriguing too. (p.100); or that there are 40 ways to say No in Japanese.
But definitely, the lesson to learn from this one is that though not everybody is made of the stuff to withstand torture or be a hero of the faith, every one has a part to play, even though not in a very orthodox way: like the Christian preacher who praised -as he was told to do- the Rumanian dictator Ceausescu with his speech, while gesturing the opposite with his body language. Was his real meaning understood? Yes. Then he was not failing God. He was serving, astutely, Him, his own way (p.93). The author was imprisoned in Romania many years under the Soviet regime for his faith.
The story about the Christian man was a mole in the Soviet secret police, Nikolai Khokhlov, who even wrote a book that now is out of print, is completely intriguing. Pity he didn't dwell more on some of these issues. Another little chapter that I will always treasure was the Parable of the Three Trees. A wonderful little story to tell to children (p.101).
The mention of the fact that in Aramaic there is no word to say "to have" (so Jesus never pronounced this word) is quite intriguing too. (p.100); or that there are 40 ways to say No in Japanese.
But definitely, the lesson to learn from this one is that though not everybody is made of the stuff to withstand torture or be a hero of the faith, every one has a part to play, even though not in a very orthodox way: like the Christian preacher who praised -as he was told to do- the Rumanian dictator Ceausescu with his speech, while gesturing the opposite with his body language. Was his real meaning understood? Yes. Then he was not failing God. He was serving, astutely, Him, his own way (p.93). The author was imprisoned in Romania many years under the Soviet regime for his faith.
February 28, 2015
Powerful tales of God's sovereignty as He works through sinful, weak, frail humans. This is a must-read. The chapters are all 2-3 pages long, making it easy to pick up and put down for times when you need a quick dose of encouragement. "Overcomers" was convicting to me; as an American Christian, I often forget (or don't even realize) the intensity of torture and persecution the international church faces. This book spares no arrows: descriptions are frequently blunt regarding the physical pain and degradation these Christians endure.
Richard Wurmbrand shares the message of hope: our own human "strength" and "goodness" is worthless, and we can't depend on it. But God. God is rich in mercy, compassionate with His children, the very source and foundation of our faith. With God, all things are possible that are impossible with man. "Overcomers" proves that, time and time again. The horrors that are described throughout the book are just a reminder that, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear death and evil for the sheer fact that God is, and always was, and always will be. Richard reminds readers that persecution is but for a moment in time; joy comes in the morning, and the rewards of Heaven are eternal. When we become followers of the Lord, we're bound for persecution ("the servant is not greater than the master"), just as the Lord faced persecution while on earth.
I wouldn't recommend this for younger readers as it is a very honest and blunt account, as mentioned previously.
Richard Wurmbrand shares the message of hope: our own human "strength" and "goodness" is worthless, and we can't depend on it. But God. God is rich in mercy, compassionate with His children, the very source and foundation of our faith. With God, all things are possible that are impossible with man. "Overcomers" proves that, time and time again. The horrors that are described throughout the book are just a reminder that, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear death and evil for the sheer fact that God is, and always was, and always will be. Richard reminds readers that persecution is but for a moment in time; joy comes in the morning, and the rewards of Heaven are eternal. When we become followers of the Lord, we're bound for persecution ("the servant is not greater than the master"), just as the Lord faced persecution while on earth.
I wouldn't recommend this for younger readers as it is a very honest and blunt account, as mentioned previously.
February 1, 2016
Wonderful book! True heartwarming short stories and painful short stories teach us to appreciate our freedoms and to forgive others - both those who sin against us, and those who could not stand up to torture and denied the faith. There are also gems of wisdom that could only come from those who have suffered much. I have shared some of these stories with my teen, agreeing with Wurmbrand's own description of the book, "This book will profit you." This book reminds me of Alcorn's book, "Safely Home," and Lisa McCay's "My Hands Came Away Red," both of which I loved. Wurmbrand writes,"There remains nothing for us to do, however low we may have fallen, except to receive His love with confidence and to continue our life with praise."
"We should identify in prayer with the martyrs, especially those who are weak and cannot remain loving and pure to the very end ... Even the noblest sufferer for Christ needs comfort, encouragement, and the willingness of a friend to cover up their sins."
“Practice humility, which Vincent de Paul calls the most powerful weapon to overcome the devil, because he neither knows how to use it, nor does he understand how to defend himself against it.”
"We should identify in prayer with the martyrs, especially those who are weak and cannot remain loving and pure to the very end ... Even the noblest sufferer for Christ needs comfort, encouragement, and the willingness of a friend to cover up their sins."
“Practice humility, which Vincent de Paul calls the most powerful weapon to overcome the devil, because he neither knows how to use it, nor does he understand how to defend himself against it.”
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews