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Iranian Religious Authorities Acknowledge the Spread of Gospels

Despite the pressures and threats on one hand and the ban of printing and selling the gospels on the other hand, Christianity is increasingly spreading among the youth and families in Iran. The word of God is making its way into many Iranian homes.

Iranian Christian News Agency "Mohabatnews" reports, that according to the article 13 of the Islamic Republic of Iran's constitution, "Iranian Christians, Jews and Zoroastrian minorities are the only recognized religious minorities, who, within the limits of the law, are free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies, and to act according to their own canon in matters of personal affairs and religious education." Article 14 also states that "the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Muslim citizens are obligated to behave honorably towards non-Muslims and to interact with them with justice and good ethics and that they should honor their human rights."

But it's not like that in the real world. The freedom and good ethics described in books is replaced by threats, imprisonments, beatings and hangings for these minorities, especially Christians. The government does not tolerate these minorities nor does it give them the right to live without fear.

According to the news published by Mohabatnews on 14 March 2011, the office of Contraband Search and Seizure along with the Revolutionary Guards discovered two boxes, each containing 300 New Testaments in a routine border inspection of a bus, and after removing them from the bus, burned them.

The rapid growth of the Christian faith in Iran seems to have caused significant concern and even fear in the hearts of the leadership of the Islamic regime which has sparked increased suppression of Christians especially in the last year. After the Supreme Leader Ali Khameniei's speech regarding the need to oppose and silence the home-based churches, a brutal and inhumane crackdown along with numerous arrests of Christians inside Iran has been witnessed. It is shameful to see the authorities show complete disregard for the sacred Scriptures of more than two billion Christians around the world, while burning those scriptures with disrespect.

The penetration of Bibles into Iranian homes

Despite the pressures and threats in one hand and the ban against printing and even selling the gospels within Iran on other hand, Christianity is increasingly spreading among the youth and families and the word of God is making its way into every Iranian house.

According to the reports published by the government-run website –Hamseda- the head of the Islamic Thoughts and Culture's research center, acknowledged the penetration of the Torah and Gospel (Old Testament and New Testament) among Iranians in a ceremony in auditorium of the office of the Islamic propaganda. He said "Today, the gospel is available in three thousand languages around the world, while the number of translations of the Quran hardly reaches one hundred.

Mullah Sadegh Reshad and his colleagues insulted the Holy Bible, claiming that it is distorted. "The gloss and interpretations of the worthless content of the Gospel and Torah has penetrated throughout the world and has even entered the Iranian borders and has made its way into the houses and minds of the youth. But we are still doing nothing. We are stuck and can't decide whether to lift our pens and write or not."

Although he insulted the Bible to this extent and called it a book with worthless content, he neglected to answer his own question concerning why and how this very same book was able to cross the country's borders which the Revolutionary Guard's margraves are guarding and make its way into Iranian homes! No doubt, the spirit of the living God finds and penetrates every thirsty and eager heart and satisfies it with his own word.

The Judicial system and religious figures of the Islamic republic use deceptive and hollow titles (like the distorted Gospel and Torah) to justify their own shameful acts. But it's evident to all that insulting the integrity of the Christian Scriptures is nothing other than the continuation of a previously designed and prioritized strategy of the regime to confront and oppose the growth of Christianity inside Iran.

The fear of the spread of Christianity among the younger generation of Iran has caused the regime to use every possible strategy to crack down on the followers of Christianity and to prevent its growth among the youth and Iranian families. One of the boldest strategies is to burn confiscated Bibles. What is remarkable here is that none of the Iranian authorities took the responsibility for burning the bibles.

At the same time, the representatives of the minorities in the Iranian Parliament never reacted or raised their voices in protest against the burning of Bibles, the destruction of a church in Kerman, the closure of some churches nor the arrest of a number of Christian leaders.

In a ruling, the ministry of the Culture and Islamic Guidance has forbidden all bookstores from selling the Gospels approved by the official churches of Iran. And still the religious figures of regime acknowledge that the gospel is spreading throughout the country. Although talking about the gospel and discussing Christian theology is a risky endeavor with potentially serious consequences, Christian youth and many other people clearly talk about these issues and share the message of Christ's love with others.

Iranian Christian News Agency "Mohabat News"

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TAGS: Iran Christianity Muslim Gospel Bible spread Iranian Parliament Culture and Islamic Guidance burning destruction church Kerman

[10/18/2011]

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