TOUGH FAITH
One church leader's experience of living by faith when deprived of virtually everything but life itself.
Benjamin M. Weir with Dennis Benson
January 1, 1989
Adapted from Hostage Bound, Hostage Free with Dennis Benson, (c) 1987 Ben and Carol Weir. Used by permission of the Westminster/John Knox Press.
For Ben Weir, a Presbyterian missionary who had lived in Lebanon for thirty-one years, life changed dramatically on May 8, 1984, when he was taken hostage at gunpoint by Shiite Muslims in Beirut. For the next sixteen months, he faced loneliness, imprisonment, and the constant threat of execution.
In this excerpt adapted from his book Hostage Bound, Hostage Free, Weir tells of his experiences and the spiritual resources on which he drew for sustenance in the ordeal. His testimony points to the unchanging Source of strength for every pastor facing a crisis.
Before we left the apartment that morning, I gave Carol our residence permits. Since it was always possible for them to be stolen or lost, I asked Carol to have them photocopied at the seminary where we both taught. At the door I paused briefly, considering the possible dangers of going out into the street again. But we both felt the meeting to which we were going at the seminary was important.
We had walked only a short way when a car pulled up from behind us and stopped. Two men got out and said something. The words were not clear.
"What do you want?" I asked.
I barely understood the response: "I want you!"
With that one of them grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the car. Carol began screaming, and I yelled for help.
I tried to resist, but the man was much younger and stronger than I. He twisted my necktie and pulled me toward the car. I braced my hands on both sides of the open back door, but he gave me a tremendous shove from behind and forced me into the back seat.
A man with a black beard jumped into the front passenger ...
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