Episode 129 - An Iranian Christian View of the Iran-Israel Conflicts

Hanukkah
Written By Matt Davis
 

Helping Christians make sense of their roots. Helping the Jewish community make sense of Jesus. Together, we are restoring the Jewishness of the gospel.

What happens when a Muslim from Iran meets Jesus in America - then watches his homeland go to war with Israel? 

Shah Afshar was born and raised in Iran, shaped by a shame-based culture, a devout Muslim family, and the pressure to uphold family honor. But everything changed when he encountered a group of joyful American college students and heard the name of Jesus - not as a prophet, but as Savior.

In this episode, Shah shares his powerful journey from Islam to Christianity, the cultural weight of honor and shame, and what he sees unfolding in the Middle East today. 

With a foot in both worlds, he gives insight few can offer: why 80% of Iranians quietly cheer when Israel strikes military targets…and why Persians and Jews have a deeper shared history than most realize.

Key Takeaways

  • Why Shah sees honor and shame as central to understanding Iranian culture

  • What it’s like to leave Islam and follow Jesus as a Persian

  • The truth about Iran’s Jewish population - and how Persians and Jews once lived side by side

  • Why many Iranians support Israel in secret

  • How Jesus - not politics - is the only path to true peace in the Middle East

Chapter Markers

00:00 – Meet Shah Afshar: From Iran to the U.S.
03:00 – Growing up Muslim in a shame-based culture
05:45 – Depression, academic pressure, and thoughts of suicide
08:00 – The hippies who introduced him to Jesus
10:30 – Calling on Jesus without theology - and finding peace
13:15 – Starting the first Iranian Christian church in America
15:00 – What changed after the revolution in Iran
18:30 – Why many Iranians secretly support Israel
21:00 – The cost - and hope - of a Persian uprising
24:00 – Jesus as the only answer to generational hate
26:00 – Persians are not Arabs: cultural and ethnic clarity
29:00 – Are the Jews still God’s chosen people?
32:00 – One new man: Jew and Gentile united in Messiah

To learn more about Shah’s work and story, visit shahzamfactor.com.

For more episodes, teaching, and insights into the Jewish roots of your faith, head to thejewishroad.com.

Be a light. Be a voice. Be a blessing.

Thank you to Joshua Royal, for writing our closer song now running seven seasons straight. Listen to him at Joshua Royal Music.

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Matt Davis

Because great stories, and service, change everything. Delivering the StoryBrand and Unreasonable Hospitality frameworks to businesses and nonprofits so they can take on the world.

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Episode 128 - Is This the Spark? - Iran, Nukes, and the End of Negotiation