Review: William Levi's The Bible Or The Axe
William Levi’s book The Bible Or The Axe is valuable on many levels. It reels us in with a lyrical evocation of childhood life in the Sudan and Uganda, at times worthy of comparison to Willa Cather’s prose poems of the American Midwest. It then gives a first-hand glimpse of the recent history of his troubled homeland, and a frightening look into Christian life under Shari’a, the uncompromising form of Islamic law. It even provides suspenseful and exciting encounters with Muslim soldiers. The book has everything! Most importantly, it shows how faith in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit delivers us from troubled circumstances into a life of truly loving our neighbor and shows us the way to building God’s kingdom on Earth.
The “Axe” of the title is the World, which is shown to be the Devil’s playground, a place of temptation to evil at all turns – even when one is trying to do good. So we see William Levi tempted to return in kind the evil words of the Muslims who insult and berate him for his faith. How he manages to remain peaceful and forgiving through these times is a lesson to us all.
The book tells the story of Levi’s determined odyssey to get an education so that he can return to his homeland and be of service. On this journey he introduces us to several unforgettable characters, especially his friend the Rev. Michael Longwa, now serving alongside Levi in Operation Nehemiah, their mission providing medical, educational and spiritual services to the Sudan. There is little doubt in my mind that if Levi had achieved only his initial goal, of acquiring a worldly education in engineering, the world and the Sudan would have been a lesser place for it. But it is obvious throughout the book that Levi has a larger calling, and the point in the book where Levi himself hears that calling to God’s service is moving in its evocation of the way God works in all our lives.
I highly recommend this challenging and fascinating book to anyone who needs a refresher in listening to the lessons of the Spirit. I suspect this describes us all at some time or another.
I actually wished this book was longer, and look forward to hearing from Rev. Levi again. The story of Operation Nehemiah should make for enlightening reading.
This review was written for Stacy Harp’s Mind and Media.