I Once Was Dead - Paperback

by Cedric Kanana (Author)

Who holds the strongest power over us? Is it the forces of darkness? No, the authority of Jesus over our lives can defeat even the greatest strongholds of evil!

From a youth spent consumed by drugs and violence to an adulthood dedicated to defending Islam, Cedric Kanana knows what it's like to be far from God. But when Cedric was lost to madness, Jesus healed him. When Cedric was dead, Jesus brought him back to life.

Now, in I Once Was Dead: How God Rescued Me from Islam, Drugs, Witchcraft, and even Death, Cedric shares his incredible testimony with the world. This compelling narrative echoes the book of Acts; the miracles Cedric witnessed give all glory to God--whether healing, deliverance, resurrection, protection from threats, or hearing God's voice. Though Cedric's story is more dramatic than most, his testimony illustrates many of the pressing issues in Africa today.

Throughout the riveting, action-packed plot of I Once Was Dead, one central message shines through: Jesus is stronger than death, than addiction, than Islam, than traditional religion, than curses. No matter how lost we are, God will never stop pursuing us.

Author Biography

For the last ten years, Cedric Kanana has preached at university missions and evangelistic conferences all over East Africa. He often preaches to over 100,000 people a year at large crusade events in Rwanda, South Sudan, Kenya, Cameroon, Zambia, Angola, Uganda, South Africa, and Congo. He has been a featured guest on Rwandan radio and television in a series of highly rated debates with atheists which have led to the conversion of several prominent Muslim sheikhs. He is also a speaker with the GoodWORD Partnership, RZIM in South Africa, and Africa Evangelistic Enterprise (AEE), and maintains connections with the Barnabas Fund. He is ordained in the Anglican Church of Rwanda and connected to Anglican church leaders across East Africa. He holds a BA and MA in Theology from Uganda Christian University and is working on a PhD from South African Theological Seminary. The co-author, Benjamin Fischer, holds a PhD and MA in Language and Literature from the University of Notre Dame, and an MA in Church History from Emory University. He has been the editor of a scholarly journal, Nineteenth-Century Contexts, and has written numerous articles on mission in colonial and post-colonial contexts. He is ordained in the Anglican Church of Rwanda. The coauthors have founded a university ministry with chapters at all the Rwandan universities as well as several branches in Uganda.