Following through on Trump's threat to "end" Iran would obliterate the Christian church there

[TitanTiger 20,499]

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump warned Iran early on Monday not to threaten the United States again or it would face its "official end," shortly after a rocket landed near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad overnight and only 48 hours after he seemingly sought to soften his tone...

https://www.oaoa.com/news/world/article_c49dc76a-d8ed-52df-a561-a71873c1d547.html

Our bumbling in Iraq essentially destroyed the church there.  If Trump follows through with his threats to Iran, he'll eradicate one of the fastest growing areas of Christianity in the world:

 

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Worth a Thousand Years of Waiting

THE STAGGERING RISE OF THE CHURCH IN IRAN

Robert Bruce, a Scottish missionary to Iranian Muslims in the late nineteenth century, wrote home to his supporters, “I am not reaping the harvest; I scarcely claim to be sowing the seed; I am hardly ploughing the soil; but I am gathering out the stones. That, too, is missionary work; let it be supported by loving sympathy and fervent prayer.”

For many years, Iran was one of the most difficult regions of the world to reach with the gospel. A significant development occurred in 1979, however, with the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The ruling monarch, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was overthrown, and in his place an Islamic Republic was birthed, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Sharia law became the law of the land, and Muslim clerics became the heads of state.

Many in those days believed the revolution would lead to a time of flourishing in Iranian society. The new regime made great promises about rights and economic progress, as Iran was finally free from the influence of the West. The laws of man would be replaced by the laws of God, they claimed. Under the Republic, conversion to any other religion was considered apostasy and could be punished with death.

 

Door Opens

As we near the fortieth anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, however, we see that the prayers of many Christians over the years have been answered, and the climate in Iran is vastly different. The gospel has spread throughout the land in unprecedented fashion despite increased persecution of Christian believers. To use the words of the apostle Paul, “A wide door for effective work has opened . . . and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9).

As of 1979, there were about five hundred known Christians from a Muslim background in Iran. In 2005, it was estimated that there were 40,000 ethnic Iranian Christians (not including ethnic minority Christians who live in Iran). That number grew to about 175,000 Christians in 2010, according to the Joshua Project. Today, the average estimates of Christians within Iran range from 300,000 to upwards of one million, according to some missions experts. Operation World, a missions research organization, continues to list Iran as having the fastest-growing evangelical church in the world. In fact, more Iranians have become Christians in the last twenty years than in the previous 1,300 years, since Islam came to Iran...

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/worth-a-thousand-years-of-waiting

 

[Grumps 3,704]

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 11:35 AM, TitanTiger said:

Our bumbling in Iraq essentially destroyed the church there.  If Trump follows through with his threats to Iran, he'll eradicate one of the fastest growing areas of Christianity in the world:

 

 

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing!

[Strychnine 1,802]

For all Trump's faults, he does at least appear to not be foolish enough to let Bolton drag him into dragging the US into yet another Middle East quagmire.  That said, I doubt the preservation or growth of Christianity in Iran ranks highly in the priorities of either of them.

[alexava 6,973]

19 hours ago, Strychnine said:

For all Trump's faults, he does at least appear to not be foolish enough to let Bolton drag him into dragging the US into yet another Middle East quagmire.  That said, I doubt the preservation or growth of Christianity in Iran ranks highly in the priorities of either of them.

I think he’s easily foolish enough. 

[homersapien 11,388]

I'd love to see the Christian church thrive in Iraq.  I have a bias toward diversity in general.

Also, I think it would be fascinating to see which has the stronger influence - their culture on Christianity or Christianity on their culture.

(After all, there's nothing inherently evil about Islam - or at least any more inherently evil than is Christianity. Non- religious aspects of culture still make a difference.)

[TitanTiger 20,499]

19 hours ago, alexava said:

I think he’s easily foolish enough. 

Never bet against Trump's propensity for foolishness.

[alexava 6,973]

38 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Never bet against Trump's propensity for foolishness.

Stroke his ego and you control him.