William Levi: The Bible or the Axe

William Levi & Family
from Operation Nehemiah

"A few more dead Christians could only be a good thing in their way of thinking, especially if the dead Christians were young males who had the potential to lead or fight. It was then I understood that Michael, Gosh, and I were dead men."
- William Levi, The Bible or the Axe

One of the remarkable things about William Levi's life (there are several) is the fact that he's still alive to tell his story. The Bible or the Axe is an amazing autobiographical account which not only relates Levi's personal experiences of persecution from Islamic jihadists in his home country of Sudan, but also looks at the origins of his people and gives an intelligent analysis of the conflict which upturned his way of life. This is the kind of story we don't hear about in the mainstream media and need to hear more of.

Levi prefaces his autobiogrpahy by tracing his own origins to ancient biblical times - and it is fascinating. Often we can have a picture of people in African nations having no history of Christianity until European missionaries arrived. Yet Levi gives a history of his roots which dates back to Noah's grandson Cush, and the movement of his descendents from Egypt into Sudan. He writes:

"My family came from an African Hebrew tribal group. We traced our ancestry to the priestly line of Levi, and we had survived for hundreds of years in isolation - with an amazingly well preserved system of Levitical laws and traditions."

From this tribal group, and others like it, "there emerged a vibrant Messianic Jewish population that came to know Yeshua for the first time". I found the way he traced his people from Eden, and then the time of Noah, very interesting, especially his reference to the bible record that Christianity was first received in his region in the first century AD. It strikes me as remarkable that his people were living according to the Torah when the gospel was first brought to them - they had a biblical heritage and lifestyle pointing to the Messiah. He also gives a history of the arrival of Islam and the slave trade that resulted and takes the reader up to the present day conflict. He notes:

"Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that the enemy is waging one of his most bitter battles in my homeland, among my people. While there is indeed a terrible physical battle going on, the heart of the battle is supernatural - and it has been raging there in the cradle of Eden since the fall of Adam."

The story of his early life is both idyllic and exciting - and it's easy to imagine the young shepherd boy out in the wild who has both an innocence and a firsthand knowledge of the dangers of his surroundings. The way his practical, real spirituality develops is also quite moving. Being a Christian in Sudan was not an easy life, and despite being removed from most outside influences Levi's tribe were, like other Christians, persecuted. He relates a very different sort of coming of age - one where conflict, persecution and the risk of death are realities that he must be aware of. He is faced with a choice of responses - the bible or the axe. His choice sets the course for the rest of his journey.

What follows is powerful and heart-rending in places, and also profoundly inspiring. In an effort to escape having to join the fighting - either as a "rebel" or as a forced conscript for the Sharia law government, Levi finds himself in a variety of situations. His goal is to continue his education. He describes his treatment by jihadists in Sudan who tortured him to try to force him to convert to Islam. That in itself is a testament to a faith that sustains in even the most impossible situations. His travels outside of Sudan, from which he finally escapes, brought equally difficult experiences working alongside muslims in Egypt who were abusive everyday. He feared for his life. At the same time there were muslims trying to induce him to convert with bribes. Of those times he writes:

"On the one hand the "bad cop" villagers would use threats to induce me to recant my faith in Christ. On the other hand, the "good cop" villagers were kind to me and offered me pleasant rewards as inducements to convert... At that point, I was so worn down that I was close to giving up and becoming a muslim".

I appreciated this kind of realism - this insight not only into the political and spiritual battle but also showing Levi's own transparency about it's effects on him personally. One has the sense of a man guided - in his own inventiveness and in escapes and coincidental circumstances beyond his control. Most compelling is his absence of hate.

At the end of the book there is an appendix on the politics of jihad which is forthright, understanding and perceptive in analysis. Levi outlines not only the reasons for jihadism and the forms it takes, but the very real consequences of it for Christians and moderate muslims in Sudan and other countries. He observes:

"Jihad as a political system has often been used for ethnic cleansing purposes. The tactics are similar to those seen during the imposition of any totalitaian government, be it secular or theocratic. With the murder of men, the raping of women, burning of churches, synagogues, and even mosques, and brainwashing of the children, they can succeed in eradicating a culture and a generation."

He speaks both theoretically and personally, having lost family members and nearly his own life. He also observes that while things are currently calmer for Christians in southern Sudan, the moderate muslims in Darfur are experiencing the same jihadist ethnic cleansing. One aspect of his story that is intriguing is the way he is able to work together with other Sudanese refugees in America without being biased or drawn into a political faction. How he arrives in America is in itself a suspenseful narrative. It's an interesting insight into how a mixture of naivete and wisdom led him to his own purpose - in obtaining his tertiary education and beginning his ministry afterward. He went on to found Operation Nehemiah, which directly provides ministry and practical help to Christians in Sudan. This is not a depressing book - it's exciting, moving, inspiring, and quite frankly hard to do justice to here. The story is narrated intelligently and perceptively in a style that is easy to read but not lacking depth and complexity. It's hard to put down. Reading about Levi's life and current work I was struck both by the extreme and the everyday types of testing and trial he endured. His story is one of suffering, strength in weakness, hope, and joy. The Bible or the Axe is a book I can highly recommend.


The Bible or the Axe

My copy of The Bible or the Axe was provided for review by Mind and Media, courtesy of Winepress Publishing.