And Now For The Good News...

If last week's feature was about a Christian who resisted brushes with the law in Johnny Cash, this week's is about a Christian who flouted the law quite deliberately.

Dutch born Andy van der Bijl - better known simply as Brother Andrew - broke the law numerous times during the mid to late 1950s by smuggling Bibles into countries annexed by the Soviet Union.

In addition to risking his life to support the persecuted churches behind the Iron Curtain, Brother Andrew also supported missionary teams in countries with hostile regimes of China and Cuba.

His autobiography God's Smuggler, was written in 1967 and this Spire comic, illustrated by Al Hartley was published in 1972.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s Brother Andrew turned his attention to the Middle East, particularly the Christian churches in Palestine, Israel and Lebanon.

He met with PLO leader Yasser Arafat and cheekily gave him a Bible for Arafat's daughter's first birthday.

While most people of his age are in retirement, at the age of 79 (he was born in 1928), Brother Andrew is active in a number of organisations including Open Door and Secret Believers that supports often churches in Muslim countries.