Repost | Pray For Youcef: Iranian Pastor To Be Executed For Refusing to Deny Christ

The news is breaking that an Iranian Christian pastor likely faces execution due to his refusal to recant of his Christian faith.  Please pray for him, his family, and ultimately the gospel.  Christian history has proven that such methods of silencing the gospel are futile, but that does not negate the heartache and pain that such evil leaves behind.  It is well documented that Iran is changing from the inside and Islam is slowly losing its grip on its people despite of its leaders efforts to suppress movements like Christianity.

The Christian, Youcef Nadarkhani, is quite bold in the faith.  Consider the following paragraphs from Fox News and pay particular attention to his words:

An Iranian pastor who has refused to recant his Christian faith faces execution as early as Wednesday after his sentence was upheld by an Iranian court.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who maintains he has never been a Muslim as an adult, has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ, the 11th branch of Iran's Gilan Provincial Court ruled. Iran's Supreme Court had ordered the trial court to determine whether Nadarkhani had been a Muslim prior to converting to Christianity.

An undated photograph provided by the American Center for Law & Justice shows Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian pastor who faces execution for refusing to recant his Christian faith.
The judges, according to the American Center for Law & Justice, demanded that Nadarkhani, 34, recant his Christian faith before submission of evidence. Though the judgment runs against current Iranian and international laws and is not codified in Iranian penal code, the judge stated that the court must uphold the decision of the 27th Branch of the Supreme Court in Qom.

When asked to repent, Nadarkhani stated: "Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?"

"To the religion of your ancestors, Islam," the judge replied, according to the American Center for Law & Justice.

"I cannot," Nadarkhani said.

Nadarkhani is the latest Christian cleric to be imprisoned in Iran for his religious beliefs. According to Elam Ministries, a United Kingdom-based organization that serves Christian churches in Iran, there was a significant increase in the number of Christians arrested solely for practicing their faith between June 2010 and January. A total of 202 arrests occurred during that six-month period, including 33 people who remained in prison as of January, Elam reported.





Fox News - Iranian Pastor Faces Execution for Refusing to Recant Christian Faith 
The Blaze - Iranian Pastor Must Disavow His Christian Faith This Week…or He’ll Be Executed


For more:
Blogizomai - Pray for the Persecuted: Memorial Day & the Persecuted Church
Blogizomai - Pray For Our Brothers and Sisters in Iraq   
Blogizomai - Punishing Prejudice By Being Prejudice:  The Lesson and Legacy of Hate Crimes
Blogizomai - Repost | Coming Out of the Closet As Christians?: Welcome to the New World
Blogizomai - The (In)Tolerance of the Homosexual Movement: See, I Told You So

Blogizomai - The (In)Tolerance of the Homosexual Movement: A Response

Blogizomai - Where Does The Madness End? Where the Homosexual Agenda Leads - Part 2

Blogizomai - Feel the Rainbow:  Is There a Hate Crime For That?  

Blogizomai - D'Souza: The Equal Protection Hoax

Blogizomai - Colson: A New Form of Discrimination

Blogiomai - Mohler: "An Enforced Secularism" -- A Threat to the Pulpit