God’s Spooks: Religion, Spying, and Cold War

In the early years of World War II, the U.S. State Department asked all American personnel living near enemy lines in China to return home. Baptist missionary John Birch refused to leave. God, he believed, wanted him in Asia. For years Birch had worked with local Chinese communities. He knew their language, their customs, and the layout of their land. He soon put this knowledge to work—not just for God but for Uncle Sam. In 1942 his life took a dramatic turn when a squadron of bombers led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle crashed in the Chinese countryside. The American airmen had taken off from a carrier in the Pacific, dropped bombs on Tokyo, and then flown toward safety in China, where they parachuted from their planes as their fuel supplies ran out. When Birch received word of the raid and subsequent crash, he rendezvoused with the soldiers and helped them navigate through enemy lines and to freedom. Read Full Article »