Too Many to Jail by Mark Bradley

Too Many to Jail by Mark Bradley ISBN-13: 9780857215963 Trade Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Monarch Books Released: December 1, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description from Goodreads:
In 1979, there were fewer than 500 known Christians from a Muslim background in Iran. Today there are at least 100,000 new believers. Church leaders believe that millions can be added to the church in the next few years--such is the spiritual hunger that exists. The religious violence that accompanied the reign of President Ahmadinejad drained its perpetrators of political and religious legitimacy, and has opened the door to other faiths.

This book sets the rapid church growth in Iran in the context of the deteriorating relationship between Iranians and their national religion. There is a major focus on the Ahmadinejad years, but the author also covers the history of the church before 1979, developing the central idea that the spark may have become buried in the ashes but has never been extinguished.

Careful, proportionate, well-informed, and accurate, Too Many to Jail is a powerful reminder of the Christian revival that the headlines ignore. The stories of faith, persecution, and encouragement will inspire every reader to see anew God's work in the world.


My Review:
Too Many to Jail describes the recent growth of house-churches in Iran, including the factors behind why Muslims in Iran are now choosing to follow Jesus and why house-churches work better in Iran than building-churches. The book described the politics in 1979 up to now and explained political and cultural reasons why Muslims in Iran are interested in Jesus. He also described several types of house-churches, why they work better than building-churches in Iran, and the persecution that converts and Christian preachers are facing. He also provided the history of the church in Iran up to 1979 and details of known cases of persecution against Christians in Iran.

I appreciate that the author tried to give an accurate idea of what's going on rather than going with whatever numbers sound impressive. I could easily follow and understand the author's reasoning and found the information very interesting. It was both sad (due to the suffering) and exciting (due to the growth) to read. I feel like I understand the situation in Iran much better now. I'd recommend this book to those interested in the Christians in Iran.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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