Friday, December 11, 2009

Ir@n at a Crossroads?

In today's Opinion page on Yahoo, by an experienced Iran-watcher.
This is not a simple moment[in Iran], and it would be a terrible tragedy not to grasp it with intelligence and nuance. For this could mean the beginnings of a real turnaround in the entire Middle East. This could signal the rise of the modernized Turkeys and the beginnings of the ends to the revolutionary "Islamic republics" and to Islamic terrorism.

This well-written article is intriguing. But it only tells part of the story.

What makes this more intriguing?
Conservative data and reports that indicate in the last 2-3 years over 1 million people in Iran have given up on Islam and its false promises in exchange for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is experiencing its harshest persecution since 1980 as well as its most explosive growth ever. (sources protected)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Membership in the Baha'i Faith is also growing astronomically. But the Baha'i Faith recognizes the divine origins of Islam, and yet also accepts and affirms the lordship of Jesus Christ. It is not syncretic. It is its own religion with its own books, history, Prophet-Founder, Baha'u'llah, and its own independent and new theology.

God help and support you as you spread the Good News of the Kingdom and of Jesus Christ!

www.bahai.org
www.bahai.us
www.bahaullah.org
www.bahaullah.com

Pastor Jim said...

Dear Anonymous Baha'i adherent,

You are correct on one and only one statement on your comment. Every religious expression, except Islam (and maybe Judaism) is growing in Ir@n.

However, the growth of Baha'i or any other false religion, simply proves the desperation of the Persian people to get out from under the yoke of oppression. It does not prove its validity as a true or even plausible faith.

I would respectfully challenge you to reconsider your faith in Baha'i. It is a false religion from a false prophet. It does not, as you write, 'affirm the lordship of Jesus Christ.' Lordship is singular and unique. This is not the Jesus Christ revealed in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament.

And may I also point out that your false faith is syncretic.

The definition of syncretism is as follows.
syn⋅cre⋅tism –noun
1. the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion.

You own definition states mutually exclusive concepts. You are trying to reconcile opposing principles of two religions.

A person cannot serve two lords. Either one or the other is the true lord. Jesus will not be shared with any other religion.

The first commandment given in the Old Testament is 'You shall have no other gods before me.'

I invite you to dialogue further about this important life or death matter.