Christian Encounters With Iran

Describes the experiences of the authors' four years of living in Iran as part of a student-exchange program, sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee.

The interface between the current Shi'ite landscape and Christian thinking is of the greatest significance for the shifting political and religious dynamics of the Middle East. Sasan Tavassoli here examines Iranian Shi'ite thinkers' encounters with Christian thought since the Islamic revolution of 1979, and provides insight into the cultural and intellectual climate surrounding Christian-Muslim dialogue in contemporary Iran. The literature on Christianity in Iran reveals a wide range of approaches and attitudes, and Tavassoli demonstrates that traditional polemics are giving way to a more descriptive and subjective understanding of Christian thought. He also studies Muslim-Christian dialogue and research conducted and supported by governmental as well as non-governmental organizations, and offers a close examination, with interviews, of the work of three prominent liberal religious intellectuals - Abdol Karim Soroush, Mostafa Malekian and Mojtahed Shabestari. Placing contemporary Shi'ite thought in the broad historical context of pre- and post-revolution Iran, Tavassoli relates concrete religious, cultural and socio-political realities to the themes and orientations in the latest phase of the Shi'i Islam-Christianity encounter, and offers fresh insight into the dynamism of contemporary Islam and the religious complexities of the Muslim world.

Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh knew they were putting their lives on the line. Islamic laws in Iran forbade them from sharing their Christian beliefs, but in three years, they’d covertly put New Testaments into the hands of twenty thousand of their countrymen and started two secret house churches. In 2009, they were finally arrested and held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, a place where inmates are routinely tortured and executions are commonplace. In the face of ruthless interrogations, persecution, and a death sentence, Maryam and Marziyeh chose to take the radical—and dangerous—step of sharing their faith inside the very walls of the government stronghold that was meant to silence them. In Captive in Iran, two courageous Iranian women recount how God used their 259 days in Evin Prison to shine His light into one of the world’s darkest places, giving hope to those who had lost everything and showing love to those in despair.

In From Ashes To Glory, Ramin Parsa, a former devout Muslim describes his supernatural encounter with Jesus Christ that consequently led to his dramatic conversion from Islam to Christianity after he learned that Jesus Christ died for him on the Cross, was buried and rose from the dead on the third day. Ramin describes life under rigid Islamic sharia law in Iran which he once thought was the way to Allah. Until he became a victim of the unjust Islamic law himself which devastated his life. That caused him to investigate Islam more closely which resulted in discovering devastating truth about Islam that caused him to reject and abandon Islam entirely. Leaving Islam was not easy for Ramin because his entire life he endeavored to please Allah through keeping harsh Islamic laws and rituals. Although Ramin left Islam, but he couldnt ignore the fact that there is a God. His hunger for truth sat him on an exciting journey that led him to find the only true and living God whom he never knew but was desperately seeking. In this engaging and thought provoking book, with depth and clarity, Ramin compares Islam vs. Christianity and their respective impacts on the world around us. This book reminds us to take heart because the simple but powerful message of the Gospel is healing and transforming the lives of people everywhere including the Muslim world. In this book you will learn about Ramins story, his dramatic escape from Iran, living as a refugee. You will also learn about the rise and fall of Ancient Persia, the birth of Islam and its dark History, the truth about the Islamic sharia law, Islamic Jihad and the plan of Islam for the West. Redemptive Love Ministry International P.O. Box 2595, LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA 93539 www.raminparsa.org [email protected] Phone:1-805419-0177

Writing on an often overlooked section of contemporary Persian culture, A. Christian van Gorder provides a comprehensive and readable introduction to the experience of Christians and other non-Muslims in Iran throughout history and into the present day. Van Gorder gives a fascinating account of the history of Christianity in Persia. By debunking the common misconceptions and stereotypes driven by recent political events and the media, he shows the current relationship that the Muslim majority in Iran has developed with people of other faiths. Book jacket.

When it was originally published this book broke new ground in presenting one continuous narrative of the history of Christians in Persia from the second century A.D to the 1970s. The material gathered here was previously only to be found in obscure books, manuscripts and foreign periodicals. Christians in Persia shows the intricate history of the period concerned; the personalities of the rulers and the ruled; the difficult task of the missionaries; their successes and failures and the consequences of their efforts. All this is related to the wider history of the country and to the expansion of Christianity in the East.

ONE MILLION MUSLIMS TO CHRIST. In the mid 1980’s, Dr. Shariat together with his wife, prayed, “Lord, use us to save Iran!” His passion for Muslims stems, in part, because of the murder of his brother, Hamraz, who was arrested in Iran at the age of sixteen on a minor political charge. After two years in jail, he was executed by firing squad. God showed Hormoz the best way to respond to this tragedy was to dedicate his life to bring one million Muslims to salvation in Christ. Join Dr. Shariat on a journey out of bondage to Islam to freedom in Christ. Learn what the Bible says about Iran and why Iran is just the beginning of something big, eternal, and of historical proportion that is already happening! God said, “I am going to do a great work in Iran and change that nation forever, and I am giving you the honor to be a part of it.”