Richard Wurmbrand and His Letter

W Because his story is about a Christian who suffered alone in New York, most of the meetings were small mili- M for his faith, and because of a letter he later wrote to tary chapel gatherings; and, believing them to be unsuccess- 1 our General Conference, we will here tell part of the ful, Wurmbrand scheduled an immediate return to . 0 Richard Wurmbrand story. His book, Tortured for Christ, But, prior to his planned departure, he went to Phila- 3 2 is well-known and you may already have read it. But delphia to visit the only friend he knew, a Jewish-Christian few know the following story: minister. His friend discouraged him from trying to stay in the , declaring that, after years of imprison- Richard Wurmbrand died on February 17, 2001 in ment and torture, Wurmbrand was too feeble to pastor a Whittier, , at the age of 91. A Romanian Jew, he church. “You will not be able to raise a salary,” were his and his wife converted to Christianity in 1936. When World final words. War II ended, Wurmbrand pastored a church of 1,000, mostly Before his departure for New York, to board a ship to of Jewish converts. He also printed and organized the dis- Norway, Wurmbrand asked his friend to show him a little tribution of a million Russian Gospels to the Russian troops bit of Philadelphia. As they were walking down the street, that occupied . He was fluent in nine languages, they came upon a large anti-Vietnam rally. Out of curiosity, including English. the two entered the large building where it was being held. In 1947, two years after the war ended, Wurmbrand A Presbyterian minister was the main speaker, and he was arrested and imprisoned for 14 years for leading an was telling the people that communist leaders, although athe- underground Christian church and smuggling Bibles into ists, were our friends and we should not oppose them. Russia. His wife, also a Christian, was imprisoned for three Wurmbrand went straight for the microphone, shout- years. ing, “You know nothing of . I am a doctor [ex- While in prision he converted several high-ranking se- pert] in communism! You should be on the side of cret police officers who helped provide his eventual release. communism’s victims, instead of defending their torturers.” In 1964, the Communist Government allowed him and his “How could you be a doctor in communism,” was the family to be ransomed for $10,000 by Norwegian Chris- sarcastic reply. “Here are my credentials,” answered tians—and leave Romania. Wurmbrand, as he took off his shirt to show deep torture In December 1965, the Wurmbrands arrived in Oslo, scars on his trunk. Norway. Not understanding Norwegian, on their first Sun- The police led Wurmbrand off the stage and told him to day, they attended the American Lutheran Church. Impressed put his shirt back on. But not before newspaper reporters by the freedom of worship, they both cried uncontrollably took dramatic photographs and asked him for interviews. during the entire service. The Lutheran pastor opened his The next day, on page one of nearly all major newspa- home to the refugee family while he was checking through pers in America and some overseas, were pictures of his the U.S. embassy government connections, to verify torture scars. Requests for interviews and speaking engage- Wurmbrand’s strange account of suffering and torture. People ments poured in. in the West did not know what was happening behind the Wurmbrand had to postpone his return to Norway for newly formed Iron Curtain. several months while he spoke in various parts of the na- Wurmbrand’s contacts answered, “fully reliable,” and tion. More speaking engagements followed afterward, and so he was invited to speak at the largest NATO base chapel he had to return once again to America. In May 1966, he meeting in Oslo. When the meeting was opened for testified before the U.S. Senate’s Internal Security sub-com- quesetions, Colonel-Chaplain Cassius Study asked Pastor mittee. His testimony became the U.S. Government’s most Wurmbrand why the West should or should not try to coex- sold publication during the next three years. ist with communism. Wurmbrand, always dramatic in his In November 1966, Wurmbrand immigrated with his behavior, quickly stepped off the podium, snatched the family to the United States. Immediately, he started the colonel’s wallet from his pocket and replied, “I took your Christan Missions to the Communist World (presently called money, your money is in my pocket. Let’s co-exist!” The ), a worldwide organization trying Communism has taken over half the world, and now it to help Christians persecuted by communist regimes. (Af- wants coexistence. There might be no solution to cancer, he ter the fall of the , it switched its activities to added, but no one has decided to coexist with cancer. Ev- helping persecuted Christians in Arab countries.) His book, ery thief would like to coexist with the police, but this is Tortured for Christ, became one of the first books to alert unacceptable, Wurmbrand said heatedly. the West as to what was taking place in Communist prisons. Colonel Sturdy stood up immediately; and, turning to In the years following, Wurmbrand spoke all over the the audience, he said, “Gentlemen, let’s send this man to world and helped many people. On one occasion, he was in America to snatch the wallets from all the leftists and open the audience when Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the outspoken their eyes.” A collection was taken right then to pay atheist, was speaking on a television broadcast. He rose Wurmbrand to go to the U.S. and said, “I have traveled throughout the world and have An initial itinerary of several speaking engagements was DATE OF PUBLICATION: AUGUST 2001 seen many charitble works such as Christian hospitals and prepared for him in the Eastern states. But, upon arriving Jewish orphanages. Could you give me an example of one fined to his bed. On August 11, 2000, his wife, Sabina, died; atheistic charitable establishment?” O’Hair was struck dumb and on February 17, 2001, Richard Wurmbrand died in and could not speak for three minutes. Whereupon, Allan Torrance, California. Burke, the moderator, invited Wurmbrand into the debate. Now you can better understand why he wrote the He continued to travel and speak past his 85th birth- following letter to our church leaders. Wurmbrand day; but, during the last five years of his life, he was con- knew a lot about our friendly relations with the com- munists.

Since he had been a persecuted Christian, he cancer is preferable to faith. writes to the General Conference of Seventh-day This is the major difference between us and Adventists describing the persecution he saw Marxists: love toward God and hatred toward Him. Adventists were receiving and his astonishment at When you write about the parallel between the attitude of the General Conference to the Com- and Christianity in morality, standards munist authorities in Russia notwithstanding this and values, again you show complete ignorance of persecution. In this letter, Mr. Wurmbrand com- Marxism. They glorify violence, murder, lying. My ments about an article he saw in an official Sev- book "The Answer to 's Bible" which I en- enth-day Adventist magazine: close, too, will show that we are at opposite poles. To the General Conference of Seventh-day It is true they have no pornography in Russia. Adventists The magazine Ministry 55 W Oak Ridge They wish their people strong, but they support Drive Hagerstown, Maryland 21740 pornography in the whole world to weaken their Dear Brethren: enemy. In this regard read the book of their Minis- Your article about depression was highly appre- ter of Police, Lavrentii Beria's "Psychopolitics." Is this ciated. more moral? I am a Jewish Christian pastor who have been I wonder if you know Russian. If not, as I as- persecuted since childhood for being a Jew. Almost sume, how many of their novels and poetry have our entire family perished in the Holocaust. After I you read? What radio of theirs have you heard, to became a Christian and a pastor, I was in Nazi pris- give such a preposterous appreciation of what you ons, and then in Communist jails for 14 years. do not know? You wrote, "their standards relative Now in America, I lead a mission which helps to literature and art resemble what most Western the Christians persecuted in Communist countries. Christian churches attempt to teach." Their books Everyday I read reports about Christians who are and radio programs are satiated with God-hatred. imprisoned, tortured, and killed there. This does What does the Constitution of the USSR count? not depress me. What weighs upon me is the un- Do the authorities give the rights they promise? In loving attitude of American Christians toward their what world do you live that you do not know their persecuted brethren. words to be vain promises? Your magazine is an example of this. In your I sent to brother Hegstad of your Department of article about Russia, you find "similarity between Religious Liberty a bunch of material about Marx and God's promises." Adventists in prison for their faith in Russia. Where How can one be a Christian teacher if he does was the liberty for the Adventist preacher Shelkov not distinguish between what one says and what who died in jail- after 24 years of detention? The one does? I send you my book "Was a same for many others of the underground and of Satanist?," with plenty of quotations from Marx. He the official Adventist Church. says verbatimly that he wishes to ruin the world. It is simply a lie that the Adventist church lost To success in this and to catch naives, they speak its organization prior to World War II because of about beautiful plans for the world. internal problems, as you assert. Did you not read Are you not aware that the language of criminal the "Gulag Archipelago?" seduction and that of love are the same? If I wish a It is not permissible to write about Adventism girl for one night, to throw her away afterwards like without having read Ellen White. It is not permis- a dirty rag, I will tell her, "I love you." I will say the sible to write about Russia without having read same if I wish a girl for honest marriage. Sotzhenitsyn. Don't you know that Stalin killed Before finding "similarity between Marxism and millions of Orthodox, Protestants, Adventists, Jews God's promises," you should have studied Marx and and that he destroyed church buildings? Where are Lenin. The latter wrote in a letter to Gorki: "Thou- the buildings the Adventist churches owned before? sands of natural catastrophes and epidemics are The Adventist church in Moscow must gather preferable to the slightest notion of God." Thus, now with the Baptists in a building which belonged W Richard Wurmbrand and His Letter 3 M

1 formerly to the Reformed church. Its pastor and all The Adventist leadership of Roumania today 0 the congregation simply disappeared under Stalin's also praises the Communist government. I was at 3 2 terror. the same time in jail with many Adventists, official You praise the Russian Adventist leader Kulakov and underground, beaten to the blood because they for urging cooperation with the government authori- refused to work on Saturdays. In jail they ate al- ties. These are Marxists. Marx wrote in "The Com- most nothing, fearing there might be some pork in munist Manifesto" that his aim is to abolish all re- the food. In times when we got one slice of bread a ligion and morals. At what can Christians cooper- day, they gave tithe. They renounced to this bit of ate with them? bread in favor of somebody who was older, sick, or It was not the endeavors of Kulakov which weaker. sparked the reunification of your church. It was the At the burial of Tachici, the former Adventist fact that the KGB put in jail every Adventist who general secretary of Roumania, a delegate of the dared to say, "we do not collaborate with Godhating Communist party spoke, disclosing only then that communists." On what side would Ellen White, the Tachici had been a member of this Party secretly, author of "The Great Controversy," have been? many years before its coming to power. They also It is a shame that your General Conference sup- carried cushions with the medals he had obtained ports the Russian Adventist preachers who had from the God-hating Communist government. The become stooges of Communists. The founder of Adventist leaders of Russia are of the same kind. Adventism, Ellen White, sided with Christians who When I was in South Africa, I heard that Com- worked underground against Papacy. munists jailed there are tortured. I am against Com- Why had the audience no place in the church munism, but Communists are human and should in Kiev? Such things are solved simply. Why do they be well treated. I knocked at the gate of their jail not have a second church? It is because the churches and asked to see them in the absence of any guards. in Kiev exist not to accommodate believers, but to I was permitted without difficulty. They themselves fool foreigners. The believers profit of this. denied the story of tortures. In every civilized coun- How could you write about Russia and not men- try, pastors have access to prisons. Why did you tion even one martyr? The Christians Hmara and not ask for the permission to visit the imprisoned Burda were savagely killed. They had their eyes Adventists? gouged out and their tongues torn. The Christian Wherever you are, you are meant to seek Jesus. Hailo and hundreds of others are in psychiatric Jesus has given His address in Russia: "I was in asylums for their faith. Nikolai Moiseev is in such jail and you visited me not." Did you even try? A an asylum since 16 years. Michael Ershov and Ba- refusal of the authorities would also have been illu- sil Shipilov are in jail since 40 years. minating. I suffer of depression. You and those like you Ellen White prophesied there will be a great are its cause. Nothing can help me except your con- persecution of Sabbath keepers in the USA. Sup- version and return to Christ. pose this will happen, will you be on the side of the If you would have gone on a fact-finding tour to Adventist, loyal to their faith, who will worship un- Israel 2,000 years ago, you would have praised the derground, or will you collaborate with the perse- full liberty in the temple with 12,000 priests and cutors as your kin does in Russia? Levites, and the fact that all over the country many If I were an Adventist, I would leave the church synagogues functioned without interference. As if you do not get disciplined for the ''grave sin" of about a Carpenter crucified because He was the having written this article. The board of your Gen- only one who represented the true faith, why lose eral Conference would have to be dismissed, too, our time on martyrs of today? We better spread Ellen for siding with the Communist stooges in Advent- White's books about the martyrs of old. It makes ism. interesting reading and obliges to nothing. I would also retain my tithes until assured you The story of betrayal of Adventists by its leader- refunded this holy money which has been misused ship is old. I remember the German Adventist lead- for such travels and pro-Communist propaganda. ership shouting, "Hiel Hitler!" I am sure you would have neither the courtesy The General Conference collaborated with them, or courage to publish this. Yours in Christ, while true Adventists filled jails under Hitler and (signed) some of them were beheaded. Richard Wurmbrand I attended an Adventist congress in Roumania in which the dictator King Charles II was praised. -- Letter to the General Conference from Rich- Many Adventists were in jail at that time. ard Wurmbrand.