The Secret File on John Birch

Reviewed by A. C. Smith                                                                              Vol. IX, No. 3, March 1996

James & Marty Hefley, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1980, 196 pages.

When I used to hear the names John Birch, I would think extremist. After reading this book, I see Birch as a patriot American, who loved his country and was concerned about the spread of communism in the world.

Those interested in Southern Baptist history and the spread of liberalism will also enjoy the book. Birch, who had a brilliant mind, finished first in his class at Mercer University. While there as a ministerial student, he recommitted his life to the Lord, which included speaking up about the liberalism that was rampant at this university in the 1930s. Birch and his fellow students found that “Dr. Freeman and several other professors had said Adam and Eve were mythical, Christ’s death was not necessary for salvation, the Bible contradicted itself and biblical writers were shackled by the superstitions of their time” (p. 50).

The students sent their concerns to the local ministers’ fellowship, who contacted the president of Mercer, Spright Dowell. Dowell, “... dismissed the complainants as irresponsible. ‘They belong to a secret society of heresy hunters,’ he claimed. ‘They don’t represent our student body at all.’”

Dowell later attempted to prevent Birch from receiving his degree, even though he finished at the top of his class.

Birch’s stand against liberalism brought him into contact with J. Frank Norris, the well-known fundamentalist who was pushed out of the Southern Baptist Convention for his attacks against the convention’s liberalism of his day.

Birch went as a missionary to china, where he successfully led many people to the Lord. Birch later joined the American forces who were assisting the Chinese during world War II. During this time the communists were coming to power, and Birch recognized their oppressive power against the Chinese. The book details Birch’s death by the communists and the U.S. cover-up of his murder. The reader will not be able to put this book down.

The Hefleys write this book in an easy-to-read, journalistic style, with short paragraphs and a direct quote conversational method.