THE INSANITY OF GOD

When Nik and Ruth Ripken decided to become missionaries in Africa, they had no idea it would turn into a lifelong search for answers all over the world. THE INSANITY OF GOD, based on Nik’s bestselling book of the same title, chronicles Nik and Ruth’s lives as missionaries and the incredible stories they experienced and heard along the way.

All her life, Ruth felt called to be a missionary overseas. So, in the early 1980s, she and her husband, Nik, left their fairly comfortable life as pastors in Kentucky, and traveled to witness in Malawi in Africa. Uprooting their two children was easier than they expected at first; the people accepted them, and they brought many to Christ. However, after a while, they found themselves afflicted by malaria. They were hesitant to move and find a new, unknown community elsewhere, but their leaders told them, “Serving God is not a matter of location. It’s a matter of obedience.”

They went to Somalia, where they were safe from the mosquitoes, but a different danger awaited them there. Apartheid, warfare and the drug trade kept the Ripkens from spreading the Gospel. So, their words fell on deaf ears. They were shocked at the depravity they found in Somalia. Nik describes this experience as “getting in the plane in the New Testament and getting off the plane in the Old Testament.”

Nik proceeded to go on a journey to find solutions. He wanted to know how Christians thrive in oppressed countries, and how he could stay stalwart in his own faith. He traveled to the hearts of China and Russia and discovered the brutal persecution Christians face in those countries. Through many interviews with other believers, Nik found what freedom to share the Gospel truly means. He also realized the church can find joy even in the darkest trials.

THE INSANITY OF GOD is deeply moving. In the West, we often forget what other believers go through in order to share the Gospel, while also forgetting or neglecting to share it ourselves. According to the movie, nine out of ten American Evangelicals will go their entire lives without witnessing a nonbeliever. Meanwhile, in countries with limited religious freedom, Christians sacrifice their lives every day for the privilege to share the Word of God.

While this movie has a strong Christian and Biblical worldview, discretion is advised for older children. There are many graphic descriptions of abuses committed against Christians, and frank images of the poor conditions millions of people endure in impoverished Africa. There are also references to drugs and bloody conflict. Some scenes may frighten younger children, including staged depictions of prisoners being beaten.