Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand
Week 1: Preface & Introduction — A Voice from the Underground
Read the Preface and Introduction of Tortured for Christ. Key passages: Luke 21:12–19; Romans 8:35–39.
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Before entering Wurmbrand's story, take a moment to consider what you already believe about suffering and faith — because this book will test every assumption you bring to it.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Wurmbrand opens by describing how he appeared before the U.S. Senate subcommittee and removed his shirt to show the eighteen deep torture wounds covering his body. What was your immediate emotional and spiritual reaction to that image? What did it make you feel about your own faith?
2.He states that he writes not to create sensation but to "tell the West the truth" about Christianity behind the Iron Curtain. Why do you think he felt the West needed to hear this truth? What had the West gotten wrong or missed?
3.Wurmbrand describes being warned by well-meaning people not to speak out, because it might endanger believers still living under Communism. How do you think about the tension between protecting the vulnerable and telling hard truths? How did Wurmbrand resolve that tension?
a.What does his choice to speak out reveal about his understanding of the church's responsibility to its persecuted members?
b.Is there a situation in your own life where speaking the truth carries a cost to others? How do you navigate that?
4.The introduction establishes that Communism was not merely a political system but an explicitly anti-God ideology — one that sought to replace Christ with the state. How does understanding this ideological dimension change the way you read the stories that follow?
5.Wurmbrand notes that many Western Christians were largely unaware of, or indifferent to, the suffering of the underground church. Why do you think that indifference existed? Do you see any of that same indifference in yourself or your community today?
6.Wurmbrand founded Voice of the Martyrs out of a conviction that the global church is one body. How does 1 Corinthians 12:26 — "If one member suffers, all suffer together" — become not just a spiritual metaphor but a practical obligation in light of what he describes?
7.What do you hope to gain from reading this book? What are you most afraid it might ask of you?
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, we come to this book as people who have largely known Christianity without chains. We confess that we have often treated our faith as comfortable and private, insulating ourselves from the cost of following You. As we prepare to hear the voices of Your people who suffered under brutal regimes, open our hearts to be genuinely disturbed and genuinely changed. Give us the humility to receive their witness, the courage to let it challenge our complacency, and the love to stand with those who still suffer for Your name today. We ask this in the name of the One who was Himself tortured for us. Amen.
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