The Petition
Petition for the ACLJ to cease referring to Youcef Nadarkhani as a Christian, as well as a pastor.
The signers of this petition urge the ACLJ to cease from referring to imprisoned Youcef Nadarkhani as a Christian. By all accounts Youcef Nadarkhani denies the trinitarian God of the Bible, an act which places him outside of historical and biblical Christian orthodoxy.
We are currently living in a time where inclusivism is on the rise within liberal to moderate protestant denominations and the confusion as to what is and what is not Christian is growing. With a Mormon running for the office of the Presidency of the United States, and growing political and societal pressure from both inside and outside the institutionalized church to consider him a Christian, that confusion has escalated.
It is our desire that the ACLJ rise above the "lowest common denominator" mentality of the liberal media and report accurately and responsibly the religious convictions of Pastor Youcef so as to not implicate itself in this mass confusion in it's noble attempts to save his life. It is out of the desire to preserve the purity of the Christian faith and the only gospel of Jesus Christ that the signers of this petition call upon the ACLJ to both refrain from misrepresenting Pastor Youcef's religious convictions in it's reporting and issue a public statement clarifying what those convictions are.
The signers of this petition are grateful for the work the ACLJ is doing in attempting to save Pastor Youcef's life and encourage the ACLJ to continue to work hard to achieve that goal. It is also or desire that God may not only spare his life but reveal to him the truth about His trinitarian nature that he may believe upon the true gospel of Christ and receive life everlasting.
The signers of this petition fully support the pursuit of religious freedom for Christians in not only Iran, but in America and in every corner of the earth.
Failure to follow the request of this petition on the part of the ACLJ provides Youcef Nadarkhani a powerful platform to spread his false gospel and anti-Trinitarian beliefs whether this process ends in his death or successful release.
Whereas Scripture is the final authority on all things.
Whereas The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word; and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and the government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.
Whereas all things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.
Whereas the nature of God is Trinitarian in nature. Three Persons of One substance. As defined by Christian confessions and Scripture. Including the athanasian creed. As outlined here: http://www.ccel.org/creeds/athanasian.creed.html
Whereas the Westminster Confession of Faith defines Trinitarian: In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. WCF Chapter 2 http://www.reformed.org/documents/westminster_conf_of_faith.html#chap2
Whereas Youcef Nadarkhani denies the Trinity: An essential doctrine for the Christian faith.
SOURCES: YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=adRBJS5WdoM#!
ARTICLES: http://parsaweb.org/index.php/english/news http://mohabatnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3467:is-nadarkhani-an-evangelical-chrsitian-special-report-on-non-trinitatian-cult-inside-iran-&catid=36:iranian-christians&Itemid=279
To continue to deceive the people of God, and confuse the definition of Christian is a blight on the Church, a blasphemy against the nature of God and His People and ultimately a denial of the necessity of Christ for salvation.
Acts 4:11-12 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. (12) And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."