Pastor Saeed Abedini Beliefs

Islamic extremists attacked the US in 2011 in the name of Islam. The Pope called for another meeting where he declared ‘Terrorism never again’. All the leaders jointly condemned religious violence at this meeting. The Pope showed the common strand running in the three Semitic religions viz. Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In

Have you heard of Bowe Bergdahl. A U.S. soldier named Bowe Bergdahl was a prisoner. Bow was held five years as a prisoner. The U.S. army exchanged five Afghan prisoners for Bowe Bergdahl. Bow did not support the Americans. He wanted to start a new life. He slipped off the remote military outpost in Pakistan province on the border. Soldiers went looking for him and they were sadly killed looking around the Afghans land.

Mullen also explains, “Hill converted from complete unbelief to Christianity; many other people considered themselves complete unbelievers before their conversion.” (Mullen, 3) Mullen used Hill as an example to argue about how much

‘Those people who did not and would not follow the same religion as the pope, Catholicism, were considered infidels and were pursued and punished. ‘

As it has happened in Sarah’s Key, some faithless people were involved in the suffer of their people. For example, the Jewish police sold out their people by helping the Hungarian in expelling them from their villages, sending them to their

“What is remarkable about persecuted Christians is their resilience,” said Philpott. “They are not just victims. Understanding this is the key to being in solidarity with them.”

This method of avoiding enslavement was particularly used by early Christians as detailed by Bradley’s description of them. “Christians regularly evaded persecution by running away from their tormentors, taking refuge either in cities where they could literally lose themselves in a crowd, or else in remote rural areas, woods and deserts, for instance, where they could avoid detection.” (Bradley, 117) The rise of Christianity can be attributed to change in mentality of the slaves, the religion appealed to everyone including slaves regarding how people would achieve happiness by praying to God and would receive salvation if they were devoted. The Rule of Saint Benedict further illustrates the insistence of putting one’s faith ahead of one’s devotion to one’s master.

In specific ranges, the individuals who rehearse a specific religion may be derided or focused by nearby legislators and may even face

For me to begin to process the lives of those who have suffered in the East, I must critically evaluate their beliefs and actions. According to the story, Christians who were being persecuted chose to make the sacrifice in order to remain loyal to God. The first point that most people tend to rely on when forming a decision is that of reason. When choosing what to believe or how to respond in a situation, reason allows us to judge our surroundings in a rational manner. For instance, many newly converted Christians of the East have no knowledge of God to begin with; therefore, they are not purely believing in God based on faith alone. Many of them have felt an intense urge to follow Christ, or are instinctively drawn to Him by the power of His

The prisoners still believe that faith will get them through any and everything. They carry their faith with them in their times of struggles. So when the trial begins there are many prisoners who come to God’s defense. A prime example would be Lieble, the man who was given the choice to pick one son out of three. He had to tell his story when the prosecutor talked of free will, “Yes, there is evil in the world because God gave man free will and opted to make the evil”. A man that charged God with murder, replied that free will did not mean anything and even though everyone has it the decisions do not have to be fair but you still have to choose. Agreeable, just because you have decisions does not mean that one decision is good and one is evil. As Lieble is a living proof of that, how could a loving and caring father choose only one son. Even though he was faced with this terrible decision, he did not denounce God. He came to his defense when people were criticizing God, he sided with God on the fact that it was not God that gave him the choice to choose between his three sons but just an evil man. Lieble also later tells a story of the good wasps, that without benefit carry and collect pollen. The fact that God created such a creature that just does good for no benefit for him but for the greater good is beyond words. Of course

Quoting Luke 14:26-27, Abedini wrote that God has asked him to make a radical decision. His first radical decision was his first ministry of establishing underground churches and training pastors in Iran. The second one was his decision to leave Iran and move to America, where he married Naghmeh and had two children. The third radical decision would be his call to go back to Iran and continue ministering to persecuted Christians.

In a brief article, Reuters writes about the use of faith to transform criminals in El Salvador’s prisons and break the cycle of violence. Pastor Manuel Rivera, who was formerly a member of notorious gang Barrio 18, strives to use his voice to deliver a message of salvation to rows and rows of imprisoned gang members. According to the article, “by embracing religion, these men can leave their gangs without retaliation” (Cabezas, Jose). In fact, the majority of the inmates have found redemption, which “shows the country that it is possible to rehabilitate those in the Mara Salvatrucha or other gangs”(Cabezas, Jose). It is not unusual for people to “look for God” when going through hardships. However, while it probably exists elsewhere, this

When the Shah of Iran was overthrown in 1979 by Khomeini’s regime known as the Islamic Republic of Iran, many Iranian families who were supportive of the Shah were placed on a list to be killed. My family was on that list facing capture and execution. As tensions escalated, my teenaged father fled to the United States with his brother, becoming one of the many political refugees who had left everything behind in Iran. As he started from zero in a new country with a language he did not understand, he had to struggle for years to adjust and assimilate into a new culture.

It can be said that faith is just believing in God and his teachings. In fact, faith in God stems from a unique journey to everyone, where through actions and morally right choices, true faith is found through understanding. From December 26, 1991 to February 8, 2002 a civil war raged in Algeria between a corrupt government and the Armed Islamic Group(GIA). Formally a French colony, Algeria, after gaining its independence fell into disarray as the newly established government was consumed and manipulated by laws and unelected leaders. The GIA in response began to terrorize the military and mostly the defenceless citizens. Around the middle of the civil war in the 1996 a life or death decision presented itself to a small Trappist Monastery in

Although some Muslims were forced to convert into Christianity, some were intelligent enough to hide in Christianity so that they could secure a return to Africa (Berg 11). In several regions, the African Muslims were recognized due to their boldness in resisting conversion to Christianity. Instead, they coerced other black communities to convert to Islam. They were bold enough to protect the interest of their religion. According to Turner, the famous African Muslim slaves in Jamaica in the 1800s coerced other African Muslims in their communities to adhere to the Islamic religion (24). Islam as a religion encouraged fasting, helping one another, and fighting for justice. Resistance to other religious groups helped the Muslims slaves to