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Iranian Christian Thought and the Islamic Republic

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American Missionaries in Iran during the 1960s and 1970s

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Abstract

Christianity in Iran was largely limited to certain ethnic groups, mainly the Armenians and Assyrians, until the Islamic Revolution. The Christianity that American missionaries brought to Iran during the 1960s and 1970s was foreign to Iranians.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Betty Jane Bailey and J. Martin Bailey, Who Are the Christians in the Middle East? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 117−18.

  2. 2.

    Foltz, Religions of Iran: From Prehistory to the Present, 122.

  3. 3.

    An example of such harassment is apparent with the case of Mohammedreza Jalaeipour, a Muslim PhD student from Oxford University who has influential family members in Iran and was involved in the 2009 protests. He was recently arrested on his return to Iran. See: ‘Oxford PhD Student Denied Legal Counsel 40 Days after Being Arrested in Iran’, 1 June 2018, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2018/06/oxford-phd-student-denied-legal-counsel-40-days-after-arrest-in-iran/, site editor, Center for Human Rights in Iran, accessed on 5 June 2018.

  4. 4.

    Ansari, The Politics of Nationalism, 195.

  5. 5.

    Aside from Ansari’s work, Abbas Amanat and Farzin Vejdani, eds., Iran Facing Others: Identity Boundaries in a Historical Perspective (New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2012); Nasrin Rahimieh, Iranian Culture: Representation and Identity (Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2016) are pieces that discuss Iranian identity.

  6. 6.

    Ansari, The Politics of Nationalism, 8−18.

  7. 7.

    Abdolkarim Soroush, Reason, Freedom and Democracy in Islam (Oxford, 2000), 156.

  8. 8.

    Becker, Revival and Awakening, 97−98.

  9. 9.

    H. B. Dehqani-Tafti, The Hard Awakening: A Courageous Personal Testament of Love that Outlives Violence and Death (London, Triangle, 1981), 15.

  10. 10.

    Dehqani-Tafti’s, The Hard Awakening is an autobiography explaining his thought throughout the work, as does H. B. Dehqani-Tafti, The Unfolding Design of My World (Norwich: Canterbury Pres, 2000).

  11. 11.

    Dehqani-Tafti, The Unfolding Design of My World, 267 n. 1, uses the terms ‘Persia’ and ‘Iran’ interchangeably.

  12. 12.

    Helmut Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1956).

  13. 13.

    John Travis, ‘The C1 to C6 Spectrum: A Practical Tool for Defining Six Types of ‘Christ-centered Communities’ (‘C’) Found in the Muslim Context’, Evangelical Missions Quarterly (October 1998): 407−408.

  14. 14.

    Dehqani-Tafti, The Unfolding Design of My World, 10.

  15. 15.

    Ibid., 231.

  16. 16.

    Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, ‘The Art of Being a Christian Minority’, Iran Diocesan Association Publication no. 95 (December 1965), in Dehqani-Tafti, ed. Hassan Barnaba Dehqani-Tafti 1920−2008 (Basingstoke: Sohrab Books, 2008), 120.

  17. 17.

    Ibid., 127

  18. 18.

    Dehqani-Tafti, The Hard Awakening, 3.

  19. 19.

    Ibid., 92.

  20. 20.

    Ibid., 99.

  21. 21.

    Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, ‘The Plague of Westernization or Scope for Integration’, translated by Shrin Ward, Rehavard Magazine no. 57 (July 2001), in Dehqani-Tafti, ed. Hassan Barnaba Dehqani-Tafti 1920−2008, 128.

  22. 22.

    Dehqani-Tafti, The Hard Awakening, 3.

  23. 23.

    Ibid., 8

  24. 24.

    Ali Shariati, Bazgasht be Khishtan [Return to Oneself], http://www.shariati.com/farsi/bazgashtbkhish/bazgashtbkhish1.html,http://www.shariati.com/farsi/bazgashtbkhish/bazgashtbkhish2.html, site editor, Shariati.com, accessed on 3 March 2018.

  25. 25.

    Dehqani-Tafti, ‘The Art of Being a Christian Minority’, 125.

  26. 26.

    Dehqani-Tafti, The Unfolding Design of My World; the Persian translation of book of Yek Chah o Do Cheshmeh [One Well with Two Sources], 230−31.

  27. 27.

    Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, ‘Excerpts from the Iran Diocesan Association Publications, 1960−1973’, no. 100, in Dehqani-Tafti, Hassan Barnaba Dehqani-Tafti 1920−2008, 59.

  28. 28.

    Dehqani-Tafti, ‘The Art of Being a Christian Minority’, 124.

  29. 29.

    Dehqani-Tafti, The Unfolding Design of My World, 175.

  30. 30.

    Dehqani-Tafti, The Hard Awakening, 4.

  31. 31.

    Ibid.

  32. 32.

    Javier Gil Guerrero, The Carter Administration & the Fall of Iran’s Pahlavi Dynasty: US-Iran Relations on the Brink of the 1979 Revolution (New York: Palgrave-MacMillan, 2016), 36.

  33. 33.

    Dehqani-Tafti, The Hard Awakening, 33.

  34. 34.

    Ibid., 6.

  35. 35.

    Guerrero, The Carter Administration, 62.

  36. 36.

    Rzepka, Prayer and Protest, 118.

  37. 37.

    Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, Masiḥ va Masiḥiyat Nazd-e Iranian [Christ and Christianity Amongst the Iranians], vol. 3 (Basingstoke: Sohrab Books, 1994), 400.

  38. 38.

    Dehqani-Tafti, The Hard Awakening, 106.

  39. 39.

    Rzepka, Prayer and Protest, 89.

  40. 40.

    Bradley, Iran and Christianity, 147.

  41. 41.

    Hagop A. Chakmakjian, Armenian Christology and Evangelization of Islam: A Survey of the Relevance of the Christology of the Armenian Apostolic Church to Armenian Relations with Its Muslim Environment (Leiden: Brill, 1965), 62.

  42. 42.

    Rzepka, Prayer and Protest, 59, 184−85.

  43. 43.

    ‘Iran: Saints Orientaux et Conversions, Avec le père Humblot’ [Iran: Eastern Saints and Conversions with Father Humblot], 1 November 2016, https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/chretiens-dorient/iran-saints-orientaux-et-conversions-avec-le-pere-humblot, site editor, Le Direct, accessed on 8 March 2018.

  44. 44.

    ‘Iran: Le Témoignage du Père Pierre Humblot au Service des Convertis Iraniens’ [Iran: The Testimony of Father Pierre Humblot in the Service of Iranian Converts], 22 January 2015, https://www.oeuvre-orient.fr/2015/01/22/iran-temoignage-du-pere-pierre-humblot-au-service-convertis-iraniens/, site editor, L’Ouvre d’Orient, accessed on 8 March 2018.

  45. 45.

    ‘Christians in Parliament All Party Parliamentary Group Report on the Persecution of Christians in Iran’, (n.p.: n.d.), 7; ‘Iran: On Conversion to Christianity Issues concerning Kurds and Post-2009 Election Protestors as well as Legal Issues and Exit Procedures’, Danish Refugee Council, 26 February 2013, https://landinfo.no/asset/2313/1/2313_1.pdf, site editor, Landinfo, accessed on 8 March 2018.

  46. 46.

    Rzepka, Prayer and Protest, 208−09.

  47. 47.

    Rzepka, Prayer and Protest, 77.

  48. 48.

    ‘Iran: On Conversion to Christianity’, 14.

  49. 49.

    ‘Sohrab Books––Christian Literature’, http://www.farsinet.com/sohrab_books/catalogue.html, site editor, FarsiNet, accessed on 2 March 2018.

  50. 50.

    H. B. Dehqani-Tafti, The Faithful Remnant (London: Sohrab Books, n.d.).

  51. 51.

    John Drewett, Not Many Mighty: A Study of the Biblical Idea of the Remnant (London: Church Missionary Society, 1951).

  52. 52.

    H. B. Dehqani-Tafti, Chimes of Church Bells (London: Sohrab Books, n.d.).

  53. 53.

    Kenneth Cragg, The Call of the Minaret (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956).

  54. 54.

    H. B. Dehqani-Tafti, Garanbahri va Arami [Anxiety and Peace] (Tehran: Nuri Jahan, 1969, rev., London: Sohrab Books, n.d.), 52.

  55. 55.

    Ibid., 27.

  56. 56.

    Ibid., 52.

  57. 57.

    ‘Iranian and Afghan Christian Resource Catalogue’, http://www.persianwo.org/Farsi%20to%20English%20Books,%20Booklets,%20DVDs,%20and%20CDs%20List.pdf, site editor, Persian World Outreach, accessed on 3 March 2018.

  58. 58.

    ‘About Us’, https://www.mojdehministry.org/what-we-do-1/, site editor, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, accessed on 6 March 2018.

  59. 59.

    H. B. Dehqani-Tafti, Christ and Christianity in Persian Poetry (Basingstoke: Sohrab Books, 1986), 1.

  60. 60.

    H. B. Dehqani-Tafti, ed., Keshish Norman Sharp va Nagahrahayeh Zibayi Irani [Norman Sharp’s Persian Designs] (Basingstoke: Sohrab Books, 2001).

  61. 61.

    Bradley, Iran and Christianity, 34−37.

  62. 62.

    Ibid., 37.

  63. 63.

    Rzepka, Prayer and Protest, 192; Bradley, Iran and Christianity, 37. Note: also both Bradley and Rzepka used Dehqani-Tafti as a reference. See: Rzepka, Prayer and Protest, 192 n. 28; Bradley, Iran and Christianity, 43 n. 43.

  64. 64.

    Bradley, Iran and Christianity, 37.

  65. 65.

    Farough Farrokhzad, ‘Border Walls’, translated by Layli Arbab Shirani, http://www.forughfarrokhzad.org/selectedworks/selectedworks3.php, site editor, Farough Farrokhzad, accessed on 2 March 2018.

  66. 66.

    Dehqani-Tafti, Christ and Christianity in Persian Poetry, 9; c.f., Bradley, Iran and Christianity, 36, 43 n. 40 states the English translation was from A. J. Arberry.

  67. 67.

    Leonard Lewisohn, ed., Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry (New York: I. B. Tauris, 2010), 53, 90−96, 160, 170.

  68. 68.

    Lewisohn, Hafiz and the Religion of Love, 159.

  69. 69.

    Mottahedeh, ‘A Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving’, 36−37; Charles E. Brewster, ‘Profiles of Middle East Christians: An Iranian Bishop’, in Dehqani-Tafti, Hassan Barnaba Dehqani-Tafti 1920–2008, 78.

  70. 70.

    Mottahedeh, ‘A Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving’, 37.

  71. 71.

    Elam Ministries has both Iranian Christian music and hymnals for sale. See: ‘Music’, http://shop.kalameh.com/music.html, site editor, Elam Ministries, accessed on 18 April 2018; ‘Song Books’, http://shop.kalameh.com/song-books.html, site editor, Elam Ministries, accessed on 18 April 2018.

  72. 72.

    ‘Farsi Christian Hymns and Poetry’, http://www.farsinet.com/farsi_hymns/, site editor, FarsiNet.com, accessed on 18 April 2018.

  73. 73.

    ‘Pastor Jalil Sepehr’, http://epiphanychristianarts.com/artists/pastor-jalil-sepehr/, site editor, Epiphany Christian Arts, accessed on 25 July 2018.

  74. 74.

    ‘Kaveh Rafiei’, https://epiphanychristianarts.com/gallery/kaveh-rafiei/, site editor, Epiphany Christian Arts, accessed on 25 July 2018.

  75. 75.

    ‘Daniel Shayesteh’, http://www.eaglechurch.us/images/uploads/DanielShayestehBio.pdf, site editor, Eagle Church, accessed on 25 July 2018.

  76. 76.

    ‘Gilbert Hovespian’, http://www.gilberth.com, site editor, Gilbert Hovespian, accessed on 18 April 2018.

  77. 77.

    Daniel Kaboli to Philip O. Hopkins, 29 March 2018, transcript of typewritten email, Special Collections, Philip O. Hopkins, London, England. Permission to use email for granted in email.

  78. 78.

    Article 13 of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Constitution states: ‘Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian Iranians are considered the only recognized religious minorities. They may exercise their religious ceremonies within the limits of the law. They are free to exercise matters of personal status and religious education and they follow their own rituals.’

  79. 79.

    ‘Iran: Christians and Converts’, https://landinfo.no/asset/1772/1/1772_1.pdf, site editor, Landinfo (7 July 2011): 8, 9, accessed on 8 March 2018.

  80. 80.

    Ayatollah Khomeini, The Little Green Book: Selected Fatawah and Sayings of the Ayatollah Mosavi Khomeini, translated and ed. Harold Salemson (New York: Bantam Books, 1985), 8.

  81. 81.

    Bradley, Too Many to Jail, 163.

  82. 82.

    Dehqani-Tafti, The Unfolding Design of My World, 188−208.

  83. 83.

    Bradley, Too Many to Jail, 169.

  84. 84.

    ‘The Persecution of Christians in Iran’, 13.

  85. 85.

    ‘Unprecedented Death Sentence for Christian Pastor on Charge of Apostasy’, 7 December 2010, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/12/khanjani-nadarkhani-apostasy/, site editor, Center for Human Rights in Iran, accessed on 13 June March 2018.

  86. 86.

    ‘The Cost of Faith: Persecution of Christian Protestants and Converts in Iran’, 2012, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/wp-content/uploads/Christians_report_Final_for-web.pdf, site editor, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, accessed on 19 March 2018, 30 n. 86.

  87. 87.

    Foltz, Religions of Iran, 122.

  88. 88.

    Bradley, Too Many to Jail, 175 n. 302.

  89. 89.

    ‘Christian Bishop in Iran is Reported Missing’, 27 January 1994, https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/27/world/christian-bishop-in-iran-is-reported-missing.html, site editor, New York Times, accessed on 12 March 2018.

  90. 90.

    Issa Dibaj, 23 April 2012, ‘Westminster Hearings’, in ‘Christians in Parliament’, 14.

  91. 91.

    Stefan J. Bos, ‘Iran Releases Pastor of Largest Pentecostal Church; Congregation Remains Closed’, 5 July 2013 https://www.worthynews.com/12472-iran-releases-pastor-of-largest-pentecostal-church-congregation-remains-closed, site editor, Worthy News, accessed on 12 March 2018.

  92. 92.

    He was later released and is now in London working for Pars Theological Centre.

  93. 93.

    ‘Iran: Christian Retreat Centre Ordered to Close by Tomorrow’, 9 March 2018, https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2018/03/iran-christian-retreat-centre-ordered-close-tomorrow/ site editor, World Watch Monitor.

  94. 94.

    ‘Iran: Church Retreat Centre Confiscated for “Being Funded by CIA”’, 12 December 2016, https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2016/12/iran-church-retreat-centre-confiscated-for-being-funded-by-cia/, site editor World Watch Monitor, accessed on 12 March 2018.

  95. 95.

    Van Gorder, Christianity in Persia, 226.

  96. 96.

    David Yeghnazar, ‘The New Translation of the Bible has been Dedicated’, https://www.elam.com/article/new-translation-bible-has-been-dedicated, site editor, Elam Ministries, accessed on 12 March 2018.

  97. 97.

    Baroness Caroline Cox, Cox’s Book of Modern Saints and Martyrs (London: Continuum, 2006), 168.

  98. 98.

    ‘The Cost of Faith: Persecution of Christian Protestants and Converts in Iran’, 8.

  99. 99.

    ‘Southeastern Begins New Persian Leadership Program’, 16 February 2017, https://www.sebts.edu/news-and-events/headlines/2017/02/SP17_Persian.aspx, site editor Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, accessed on 12 March 2018.

  100. 100.

    ‘One Muslim’s Conversion to Christianity’, 28 December 2016, http://www.edgefieldadvertiser.com/2016/12/one-muslims-conversion-to-christianity/, site editor, The Edgefield Advertiser (Edgefield, South Carolina), accessed on 12 March 2018.

  101. 101.

    International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran interview with Daniel Shahri, 31 October 2011, in ‘The Cost of Faith’, 48.

  102. 102.

    ‘Iran: On Conversion to Christianity’, 25.

  103. 103.

    Rashin Soodmand, 30 April 2012, ‘Westminster Hearings’, in ‘Christians in Parliament’, 13.

  104. 104.

    Tavassoli, Christian Encounters with Iran, 108, 21, 22.

  105. 105.

    ‘Christian Converts to Iran’, 21 August 2015, https://migri.fi/documents/5202425/5914056/62318_Suuntaus-raportti_Kristityt_kaannynnaiset_IranissaFINALFINAL160915_2_.pdf/5d13ea14-9aa8-4896-a737-7bcd5a8d4c24, site editor, Finnish Immigration Service, accessed on 29 March 2018, 9.

  106. 106.

    ‘Christians in Parliament’, 6.

  107. 107.

    ‘Country Policy and Information Note. Iran: Christians and Christian Converts’, Version 4.0, March 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/686067/iran-christians-cpin.pdf, site editor, United Kingdom Government, 10, accessed on 19 March 2018.

  108. 108.

    ‘The Persecution of Christians in Iran’ (London: Christians in Parliament APPG, March 2015), 2, 17.

  109. 109.

    Anna Enayat to The Immigration Appeal Tribunal, 16 April 2008, transcript of typewritten report, Special Collections, Anna Enayat, Oxford, United Kingdom; Anna Enayat, ‘Unpublished paper to given to the Dutch Council for Refugees’, 6 November 2013, updated 16 May 2014, transcript of typewritten report, Special Collections, Anna Enayat, Oxford, United Kingdom. Both papers are used by written permission from Enayat.

  110. 110.

    For a detailed analysis of John Piper and his understanding on this topic see: Philip O. Hopkins, God’s Desire for the Nations: The Missiology of John Piper (Gonzalez, FL: Energion, 2010).

  111. 111.

    Edward Hovespian, in Afshari, ‘An Examination of the Growth of Christianity and the Contribution of Farsi Christian Media in Contemporary Iran’, 30.

  112. 112.

    Catharine, 12 April 2012, ‘Westminster Hearings’, in ‘Christians in Parliament’, 8.

  113. 113.

    ‘Treasury Sanctions Iranian Official for Human Rights Abuses’, 23 May 2014, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl2411.aspx, site editor U. S. Department of the Treasury, accessed on 18 March 2018.

  114. 114.

    ‘Iran Arrests Christian Missionaries: Official’, 4 January 2011, https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/01/04/132214.html, site editor, Al Arabiya News, accessed on 18 March 2018.

  115. 115.

    Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ‘Bayanat dar Ejtemae Bozorg Mardom Qom’ [Speech at the People’s Large Gathering in Qom], 19 October 2010, https://www.leader.ir/langs/fa/index.php?p=bayanat&id=7363, site editor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accessed on 19 March 2018.

  116. 116.

    ‘Vazir Etelaat Onvan Kard: Hoshdar Nesbat be Sheklgiri Sahyounist Shiyi/Nokhbegan Howzeh Mored Hojoum CIA Hastand’ [Minister of Intelligence Warns Against the Formation of Shia Zionist/Howzeh’s Elite Are Being Attacked by the CIA], 23 September 2010, https://www.mehrnews.com/fa/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1157266, site editor, Mehr News, accessed on 19 March 2018.

  117. 117.

    ‘Tabligh Masihiyat dar Miyan Danesh Amouzan Keshvar’ [The Promotion of Christianity Among Students], 9 August 2010, https://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8905181239, site editor, Fars News, accessed on 19 March 2018; ‘Kelisaye Khanegi Barname Estekbari Sahyounisthast’ [House Churches are the Zionists Arrogant Plan], 23 October 2010, https://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8907300494, site editor, Fars News, accessed on 19 March 2018.

  118. 118.

    ‘Ekhtesasi/Kashf 200 Kelisaye Khanegi dar Mashhad’ [Exclusive/The Discovery of 200 House Churches in Mashhad], 2 October 2012, http://www.javanonline.ir/vdciq5a5qt1azu2.cbct.html, site editor, Javan Online, accessed on 19 March 2018, in ‘Iran: The Cost of Faith’, 24.

  119. 119.

    ‘Biahnat dar Ajtamagh Bozorg Mardome Qom’ [Statements in the Great Society of Qom], 21 October 2010, http://www.leader.ir/fa/speech/7363, site editor, Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran, accessed on 18 April 2018.

  120. 120.

    ‘Hoshdar Shadid Al-Lahn Ayatollah Al-Ozma Vahid Khorasani’ [Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani’s Severe Warning], 10 March 2011, http://aftabnews.ir/vdcjy8evvuqe8mz.fsfu.html, site editor, Aftab News, accessed on 21 March 2018.

  121. 121.

    Bradley, Too Many to Jail, 203.

  122. 122.

    ‘Iran: Christians and Converts’, 11.

  123. 123.

    Enayat to The Immigration Appeal Tribunal, 24.

  124. 124.

    ‘Iran: House Churches; Situations of Practicing Christians; Treatment by Authorities of Christian Convert’s Family Members’ (Vienna: Austrian Red Cross/ACCORD, 14 June 2017), 3; ‘Iran: The Cost of Faith. Persecution of Christian Protestants and Converts in Iran’ (New York: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, 2013), 22.

  125. 125.

    ‘Update on the Situation for Christian Converts in Iran’, 11 April 2014, https://www.nyidanmark.dk/NR/rdonlyres/78D46647-A0AD-4B36-BE0A-C32FEC4947EF/0/RapportIranFFM10062014II.pdf, site editor, Danish Immigration Service, accessed on 29 March 2018, 22.

  126. 126.

    ‘Iran: On Conversion to Christianity’, 12−31.

  127. 127.

    ‘Iran: House Churches’, 3.

  128. 128.

    ‘Iran: On Conversion to Christianity’, 15.

  129. 129.

    Foltz, Religions of Iran, 124.

  130. 130.

    ‘The Persecution of Christians in Iran’, 17.

  131. 131.

    Donald McGavran, Bridges of God (London: World Dominion, 1955, rev., 1981), 10−13.

  132. 132.

    Donald McGavran, Understanding Church Growth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 85.

  133. 133.

    C. Peter Wagner, Our Kind of People (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1980), 75.

  134. 134.

    Rene Padilla, ‘The Unity of the Church and the Homogenous Unit Principle’, International Bulletin of Missionary Research vol. 6, no. 1 (January 1982): 29.

  135. 135.

    According to Martin Luther King, Jr., 11:00 AM on Sunday morning (the time that church services are usually held) was considered to be the most racist time in the United States. See: ‘Interview on Meet the Press’, 17 April 1960, transcript of type written report, http://okra.stanford.edu/transcription/document_images/Vol05Scans/17Apr1960_InterviewonMeetthePress.pdf, site editor, Stanford University, accessed on 20 March 2018. This still may hold true. See: Ed Stetzer, ‘The Most Segregated Hour of the Week? Reflections on Church Diversity on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day’, 19 January 2015, http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/january/most-segregated-hour-of-week.html, site editor, Christianity Today, accessed on 20 March 2018; Bob Smietana, ‘Diversity & Churches: Progress Being Made, Study Says’, 20 March 2018, http://bpnews.net/50555/diversity-and-churches-progress-being-made-study-says, site editor, Baptist Press, accessed 20 March 2018.

  136. 136.

    According to a personal conversation with an Iranian travel guide, Seyed Rahim Bathaei, who can be seen in the video, Rick Steves’ Iran (Back Door Productions, 2009).

  137. 137.

    ‘Excerpts from the Iran Diocesan Association Publications, 1960−1973’, no. 104, in Dehqani-Tafti, ed. Hassan Barnaba Dehqani-Tafti, 65.

  138. 138.

    ‘Iran Missions Trip [date redacted]’, [date redacted], private collections, Philip O. Hopkins, London, United Kingdom. According to the directives on this trip, the leader required each person going to Iran to have at least two people praying every hour of the day for the duration of the trip.

  139. 139.

    ‘Brother Andrew’s Story’, https://www.opendoorsusa.org/about-us/history/brother-andrews-story/, site editor, Open Doors, accessed on 22 March 2018.

  140. 140.

    Enayat to The Immigration Appeal Tribunal, 41.

  141. 141.

    Ibid., 5, 40, 41; Enayat, ‘unpublished paper to given to the Dutch Council for Refugees’, 50, 60.

  142. 142.

    Pamphlet distributed around Noruz 2014, March 2014, private collections, Philip O. Hopkins, London, England.

  143. 143.

    The author of this work put several of the SD cards into his phone and computer as an experiment. Only Christian material was on the cards. The cards were acquired from Armenia and the United Kingdom.

  144. 144.

    Enayat, ‘Unpublished paper to given to the Dutch Council for Refugees’, 21.

  145. 145.

    ‘The Cost of Faith’, 57.

  146. 146.

    Enayat, ‘Unpublished paper to given to the Dutch Council for Refugees’, 44.

  147. 147.

    Ashton Stewart, in Afshari, ‘An Examination of the Growth of Christianity’, 33.

  148. 148.

    Jahani, in Afshari, ‘An Examination of the Growth of Christianity’, 33.

  149. 149.

    Becker, Revival and Awakening, 34, 71, 80, 97−103.

  150. 150.

    ‘About the Jude Project’, https://judeproject.org/about/, site editor Jude Project, accessed on 18 April 2018.

  151. 151.

    ‘Antsharat Javan Adabiat Masih’ [World Literature Christian Publishing House], https://judeproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/JP-book-catalogue.pdf, site editor, Jude Project, accessed on 18 April 2018.

  152. 152.

    For example, see: ‘About’ https://www.twr.org/about, site editor, Trans World Radio, accessed on 18 April 2018; ‘Radio Nedaye Omid––Persian Christian Webradio Voice of Hope’, http://www.farsinet.com/ibcdallas/nedaye_omid/, site editor FarsiNet.com, accessed on 18 April 2018; and ‘About’, https://sharecmi.com/about/ site editor, Christian Media International, accessed on 18 April 2018.

  153. 153.

    Issa Dibaj, 23 April 2012, ‘Westminster Hearings’, 24.

  154. 154.

    Sara Afshari, ‘Christian Media in the Middle East: An Introduction’, 5 August 2016, http://christian-orient.eu/2016/08/05/christliche-medien-im-nahen-osten-eine-einfuehrung/?lang=en, site editor, Christian Orient, accessed on 18 April 2018.

  155. 155.

    ‘Persian Christian Radio and TV’, http://www.farsivideo.com, site editor, FarsiNet, accessed on 6 April 2018, provides a sample of the programmes.

  156. 156.

    ‘Iran Alive’, http://iranaliveministries.org, site editor, Iran Alive, accessed on 18 April 2018; ‘TBN Nejat’, https://nejattv.org, site editor, TBN Nejat, accessed on 18 April 2018; ‘About Us’, http://222ministries.org, site editor, 222 Ministries International, accessed on 18 April 2018; and ‘SAT-7’, https://www.sat7usa.org, site editor, SAT-7, accessed on 18 April 2018.

  157. 157.

    Afshari, ‘An Examination of the Growth of Christianity’, 11.

  158. 158.

    ‘Khatami to Receive Honorary Degree’, 25 September 2006, https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2006/title,43148,en.php, site editor, University of St. Andrews, accessed on 17 April 2018.

  159. 159.

    ‘Khatami Lecture Attracts Protestors’, 13 October 2006, https://www.theguardian.com/education/2006/oct/13/highereducation.iran, site editor, The Guardian, accessed on 17 April 2018.

  160. 160.

    ‘Transcript of Interview with Iranian President Mohammed Khatami’, 7 January 1998, http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9801/07/iran/interview.html, site editor, CNN, accessed on 17 April 2018.

  161. 161.

    For a brief summary of the debate, see: Mark David Hall, ‘Did America Have a Christian Founding?’, 7 June 2011 https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/did-america-have-christian-founding, site editor, The Heritage Foundation, accessed on 18 April 2018.

  162. 162.

    ‘Iran: On Conversion to Christianity’, 58.

  163. 163.

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  164. 164.

    Enayat, ‘Unpublished paper to given to the Dutch Council for Refugees’, 51, 120.

  165. 165.

    Ibid., 50.

  166. 166.

    Natan Roufergarbashi, 23 April 2012, Westminster Hearings, in ‘Christians in Parliament: All Party Parliamentary Group’, 24.

  167. 167.

    ‘Iran: House Churches’, 4.

  168. 168.

    Enayat, ‘Unpublished paper to given to the Dutch Council for Refugees’, 50.

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    ‘Iran: House Churches’, 4.

  170. 170.

    ‘Welcome’, http://home.talimministries.com, site editor, Talim Ministries, accessed on 17 April 2018.

  171. 171.

    ‘Ashton Stewart’, https://www.spreaker.com/user/tatstewart, site editor, Spreaker, accessed on 17 April 2018.

  172. 172.

    While they are United Kingdom based, both Elam and Pars have Americans working for them.

  173. 173.

    Elam Ministries, 13 June 2017, in, ‘Iran: House Churches’, 4; ‘About’, http://www.parstheology.com/about/, site editor, Pars Theological Centre, accessed on 28 March 2018.

  174. 174.

    ‘Courses’, http://www.parstheology.com/pars-school/courses/, site editor, Pars Theological Centre, accessed on 19 April 2018.

  175. 175.

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  176. 176.

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  177. 177.

    ‘What We Offer’, https://www.mojdehministry.org/what-we-do-1, site editor, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 19 April 2018.

  178. 178.

    ‘Persian Leadership Development’, https://www.sebts.edu/academics/gti/about.aspx, site editor, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, accessed on 29 March 2018.

  179. 179.

    David Page to Philip O. Hopkins, 17 April 2018, transcript of typewritten email, Special Collections, Philip O. Hopkins, London, England. Page is on the Board of Directors for the Persian Leadership Development programme at Southeastern. Permission to use the email for the granted in email.

  180. 180.

    Dehqani-Tafti, The Hard Awakening, 17.

  181. 181.

    Bradley, Iran and Christianity, 59.

  182. 182.

    Ibid., 60.

  183. 183.

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  184. 184.

    ‘Update on the Situation for Christian Converts in Iran’, 8.

  185. 185.

    Bradley, Iran and Christianity, 11.

  186. 186.

    Afshari, ‘An Examination of the Growth of Christianity’, 30.

  187. 187.

    Bradley, Too Many to Jail, 151.

  188. 188.

    Iraj Mottahedeh, ‘A Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving’, in Dehqani-Tafti, Hassan Barnaba Dehqani-Tafti 1920−2008, 36−37.

  189. 189.

    Afshari, ‘An Examination of the Growth of Christianity’, 9.

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  1. Associate Professor of Church History, Gateway Seminary, Ontario, CA, USA

    Philip O. Hopkins

  2. Professor of Christianity and Islam, Russian-Armenian University, Yerevan, Armenia

    Philip O. Hopkins

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Hopkins, P.O. (2020). Iranian Christian Thought and the Islamic Republic. In: American Missionaries in Iran during the 1960s and 1970s. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51214-9_6

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