Watchman Nee was a Chinese pastor, theologian, and author. He was
born in 1903, and was martyred for his faith at the age of 69.
Communists arrested Nee in 1952, and he spent the next twenty years
imprisoned in a Chinese Labor Camp. Although offered release if he
promised to leave the country, Nee refused and died in prison in 1972.
Some accounts say he died after authorities had cut out his tongue in an
attempt to stop his preaching.
Watchman was not his birth name, but was what he called himself after
his ordination to pastoral ministry. His grandfather was a pastor, and
Nee saw himself as a guardian of the truth of the Chinese church, which
he primarily did through his teaching and writing.
Nee’s name is attached to at least forty different books. Ranging
from daily devotionals to complex theology, he was certainly a prolific
writer. Yet it is very difficult to know with confidence what he
actually penned. One can read his works and legitimately conclude that
they were penned by different authors—not only did Nee rarely have an
unexpressed thought, but it is said that many of his books were actually
pieced together by his disciples from his oral teaching.
As with much of his life, it is very
difficult to distinguish fact from fiction with Nee. After his death,
stories began to circulate describing how Communist authorities had
chopped off his hands to stop his writing effort. But their tactics
proved futile. Nee supposedly penned book-after-book from behind bars
and in the face of intense physical persecution.
Are the stories true? That depends on who you ask. One thing is
certain: they add to the mystery and intrigue surrounding his life and
elevate interest in his teachings. Continue at Tommy Clayton
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