Christianity in Iran

I am glad to commend a new book by Mark Bradley entitled, Iran and Christianity: Historical Identity and Present Relevance (Continuum)

Mark Bradley clearly knows Iran and the Iranian people. Dealing honestly with the historical and political identity of Iran as well as the growth and suffering of the Iranian church, the book reads like a novel, I did not want to put it down. With so much mutual misunderstanding and mistrust between the United States and Iran, this is an important and timely book. It deserves a wide readership. I hope it dispels ignorance and helps diffuse tensions between Iran and the West. It should become a standard popular text on the development of Christianity in Iran.

Beginning with an in-depth look at the historical identity of Iran, religiously, culturally and politically, Bradley shows how this identity makes Iranians inclined towards Christianity. He goes on to look at the impact of the 1979 revolution, an event which has brought war, economic chaos and totalitarianism to Iran, and its implications for Iranian faith. The study concludes with an analysis of church growth since 1979 and an examination of the emerging church.

This is a fascinating work, guaranteed to improve any reader’s knowledge of not only Iranian faith and church growth, but of Iranian culture and history as a whole thanks to the thorough treatment given to the country’s background.

Some photos of Iran