Over 70 Christians Arrested in Iran

"In the early morning hours after Christmas day, the Iranian government arrested 25 Christians in Tehran and other locations. They also planned to detain sixteen others, but were unable to locate them. There are also unconfirmed reports that the authorities have arrested over 50 other Christians. According to BBC Persian, the Governor of Tehran has vowed to arrest more evangelical Christians.

One of those detained was able to make a call to friends from an unknown location on the morning of the arrests, leaving this message -

"Unfortunately early this morning the authorities came to our homes. They arrested us and many other believers. I want to ask you to pray for us. We are sure God will never leave us or forsake us. God bless you. Sorry for giving you bad news over Christmas, but I believe God will do something for us."

Those who received the voice message were impressed by the caller's courage and calmness.

Armed, plain-clothes, special security officers forcefully entered the homes of Christians while they were asleep, and verbally and physically abused them. They were handcuffed and taken for interrogation. Among those arrested were five married couples. One couple was separated from their two-year old baby. Another couple was also forced to leave their baby that the mother was breastfeeding. A number of single young women were also among those taken.

Another sixteen Christians would have been arrested, but were not at home. The security forces broke into at least five such homes, ransacking them, taking personal possessions, changing the locks and placing a government seal on the door. Family members of these Christians have been called by the authorities and threatened and harassed. They were instructed to tell the Christians to surrender themselves.

After many hours of interrogation, eleven of the detained were released. The other fourteen are still in prison. There has been no contact from eight of the arrested. Six have been able to make a very short call to their families. In one of the brief calls, one of the arrested complained that they are being subjected to sleep deprivation.

None of them have been granted any legal representation. No charges have been made, though it is clear that they were arrested for their active Christian faith. There has been a gross lack of due process. The government authorities have not provided any written documents as to the reason for the arrests, any record of the items confiscated, and family members are not allowed to visit the detained.

There is an urgent need for Christians all over the world to intercede for our brothers and sisters in prison in Iran.

Let us pray that they will experience the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, even in their prison cells. Pray they will have supernatural endurance and courage through this trial, and be shining witnesses to the guards and other inmates. Pray for peace and wisdom when they are being interrogated. Pray for their health. Pray for comfort and confidence for their families. Pray they will soon be released.

Pray for the welfare and protection of those the government is still seeking to arrest. Pray the Lord will guide their every step. Pray for the wider church in Iran to continue faithfully and fearlessly proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel. Pray for those who are working to help the persecuted and their families.

It is comforting to know that our sovereign, omniscient, all-powerful God knows about every single arrest that has been made, and that He will bring glory to His name through this suffering. He will cause this persecution to bring victory for His Kingdom in Iran."

And Assist News Service writes, "It seems that the recent attacks and arrests have become more intense, frequent, and organized in light of the recent speech given by Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic republic of Iran, in the city of Qum on October 19, 2010, in which he publicly, for the first time, warned his followers of the dangers of the rapid growth and expansion of home-based churches, surpassing the dangers of Baha'i and other mystical sects, as the new threat to the Islamic regime."

And the Islam Tribune reports on the story here. 

HT: Josh Harris

EXCLUSIVE: 'Radically different' story emerges about Baptists detained in Haiti

Paul Thompson reads the media accounts describing the journey of him and nine other jailed Baptist volunteers in Haiti who are all now free, and scratches his head. He was there. What he reads is not what he experienced.

Thompson, pastor of Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho, was one of those 10 Baptist volunteers who went to Haiti in late January with the goal of taking orphans out of the earthquake-ravaged country and into an orphanage being started in the Dominican Republican. That trip took a disastrous turn Jan. 30 when the 10 were shocked to learn they were being charged with child kidnapping, with allegations swirling that the group had plans to sell the kids into slavery, or worse, to harvest and sell their organs.

Such rumors were false, but it took more than 100 days to finally resolve the matter. Eight of them were freed in February, a ninth one released in March, and the final one -- Laura Silsby -- was let go May 17, more than 100 days after the ordeal began. Read the rest HERE

It’s Getting Dangerous Out There — A Preacher Is Arrested in Britain

From The Telegraph:

During the exchange, he says he quietly listed homosexuality among a number of sins referred to in 1 Corinthians, including blasphemy, fornication, adultery and drunkenness. After the woman walked away, she was approached by a PCSO [Police Community Support Officer] who spoke with her briefly and then walked over to Mr. McAlpine and told him a complaint had been made, and that he could be arrested for using racist or homophobic language. The street preacher said he told the PCSO: “I am not homophobic but sometimes I do say that the Bible says homosexuality is a crime against the Creator”.

The police officer, identified in the news report as a homosexual and as the “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender liason officer” for the local police department, then identified himself to Dale McAlpine. The preacher responded, “It’s still a sin.”

He then preached a sermon on a range of issues that did not include homosexuality. The paper reports, “Three regular uniformed police officers arrived during the address, arrested Mr. McAlpine and put him in the back of a police van.” read it all HERE

A Gospel That Will Get You Arrested: Preparing Our Children to Be Persecuted (Acts 25:22-26:8)

A Gospel That Will Get You Arrested: Preparing Our Children to Be Persecuted (Acts 25:22-26:8) from Russell Moore on Vimeo.