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BraIran 09-08-132 |
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Iran Open
Hearts in a Closed Land Mark
Bradley Authentic,
2007, 114 pp., ISBN 978-1-85078-770-9 |
Mark Bradley gives a very concise and readable
overview of the historical and current reasons Iran is so closed to the
Gospel and why the hearts of the people are so open to Jesus. The author also recommends a very
attractive 30-day prayer guide for Iran.
See it at www.iran30.org. The Iranian government is hostile to the
Christian gospel. Evangelism, the
printing of Scriptures, and home Bible studies are illegal. The law of apostasy demands execution of
any Iranian born a Muslim who changes their religion. Yet "more Iranian Muslims have become
Christian in the last twenty-five years than at any other time in the history
of the country since the coming of Islam to Iran in the mid seventh
century." (Introduction) The majority of people in Iran are not fierce
fundamentalists. But a minority support
the ayatollahs who control all government and own all the guns. The rule of the ayatollahs came with the
1979 revolution against the U.S. supported Shah. Ayatollah Khomeini (whom the people
expected to bring freedom from the Shah's control and corruption), developed
a radical new Islamic political doctrine that an Islamic Republic should be
ruled by a supreme spiritual leader.
He rejected any role for secular politicians in a pure Islamic
state. So the elected government can
be overruled at any time by the Supreme Leader. The government barely tolerates Christians as
long as they stay quiet and just exist.
If they speak out they get in trouble.
Evangelism is completely illegal as it dishonors Islam. A new convert in a church is an apostate
from Islam, a dishonor for Islam.
Islam truly does call on the devout to kill apostates. Most Iranians are very uncomfortable with
the law of apostasy, but there are enough in government committed to
enforcing it that Iran is a very closed country. Shi'as believe that the leaders of the Muslim
community have to be from Mohammad's family.
These are the Imams. The Shi'a
faith was adopted nationally by the Iranians at the beginning of the
sixteenth century. Iran is the only
Shi'a nation. Ahmadinejad and his
spiritual advisor, Mesbah-Yazdi, are guided in all policy by bringing back
Mahdi, the 12th and final Imam, who is believed to be alive and
will return. This return will be
accompanied by worldwide catastrophe and turmoil. So creating such turmoil is not seen as
negative. The tone of the government
is clear: this nation is only for Muslims. The Iranian government hates and fears the
West. Iranians as individuals are
among the most hospitable and polite people in the West. They have a great respect for Westerners on
a personal level. But they are angry
towards Western governments. They are
fixed on the belief (not without reason) that the West has interfered with
Iran to exploit her oil reserves. They
are also angry about oppression of the Muslim Palestinians by Israel. There are two main types of above ground
churches, the historical churches of the Assyrians and the Armenians and the
churches founded by 19th century missions (Presbytierans and
Anglicans). An above ground Assemblies
of God church was started in the 1950s from a Bible Study. The policy of the government is to
recognize the Armenian and Assyrian churches.
They are allowed to print Bibles and literature and follow their own
rules for marriage and church life.
They even have 3 representatives in Parliament. However, they are kept under tight
control. Assyrians and Armenians
struggle financially and in other ways.
They have massively emigrated to the West. There are fewer than 10,000 remaining. Although tolerated, they are intimidated. Menacing intimidation and harassment is government
policy toward the newer Protestant churches because their members all used to
be Muslims. It is forbidden to print
any Christian literature in Persian.
Anything printed in Persian is for Muslims, because there are no
historic Persian-speaking Christians in Iran.
Conferences, Bible camps, etc. are banned. The government insists that only Christians
be allowed in their services and constantly gathers information on them and holds
people for questioning. If a Muslim
becomes a Christian, he may not be turned in to the government but he will
surely be fired from his job and his children may be expelled from school. The underground church is very active and
growing. Iranians are open to Jesus
because they are deeply disillusioned with their Islamic government, they
have a strong awareness of their identity beyond Islam, and they are
attracted by what they learn about Jesus and by the witness of the
church. Clergymen have arrested and executed thousands of
young people, whereas Jesus told his followers to pray for their enemies and
he forgave those who tortured and killed him.
There is a widespread view that the mullahs are corrupt and this
spreads to disillusionment with Islam. Under the Islamic regime they have
experienced war, economic chaos, and interference in their private
lives. They are very proud of their heritage that existed
long before Islam came. Being Iranian
does not depend on Islam. Their
happiest time is a festival that precedes the Islamic Republic. Every schoolchild knows that Iran was the
leading civilization of the ancient world and it was not created by
Muslims. Iranians are not Arab, but
Indo-European, and their mother tongue is not Arabic but Persian. All Iranians are aware that their country
was Zoroastrian before it was Muslim.
Even the Shi'a faith is very Iranian.
And in the Shi'a faith there are a number of clear links to central
truths in the Christian faith. They have an instinctive respect for those
willing to die for their cause, so they respect Christians who have paid the
ultimate price. Whenever disaster has
struck, Iranian Christians have always been on the scene giving help. They notice the amount of time Christians
give to fasting and prayer. While the Iranian government is actively
strangling the established churches, the underground churches are
growing. Its continued growth is
likely for three reasons. One, it is
very secretive and hidden from authorities.
Two, the churches are very active and vibrant. Most have never been in a church building,
so Christianity grows up around the Scripture, spreads by relationships, and
takes on natural cultural forms. Three, new members recognize the urgency of
telling others and take on a sense of ownership very quickly. Outreach to Iranians in expatriate communities
can have an important impact on Iran because new Christians want to see their
family members saved. Advocacy from
outside the country can be very important to protect those who are known to
be arrested. They are very encouraged
to know that the worldwide family cares and will speak out. |
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